Things are slowly getting back to normal after a hectic week on Tullamore farm.

Like every other farm in the country, Storm Emma increased the workload over the past week. All the water in the sheds froze on Tuesday night, and while some water was returned on Wednesday, it meant filling IBC tanks and carting water to other sheds all week.

Seventeen cows and calves were also housed on Wednesday which put further pressure on housing and increased straw usage for the week. These cows and calves were kept in over the weekend before returning to the fields on Monday.

Fifty-nine dairy heifers stayed outdoors in a sheltered paddock for the duration of the storm, being fed silage and meal. These heifers returned to grass on Monday and weathered the storm very well. They had been grazing kale all winter and were well accustomed to poor weather conditions.

Calving is progressing with 38 cows having calved so far.

Lambing is due to start at the end of the month, with ewes now eating between 0.3 and 0.5 kg/day of a 20% protein ration.

For more details on Tullamore farm see this week's beef section of the Irish Farmers Journal.