IHFA FOCUS FARMS update

What can the dairy industry learn from IHFA farms?

We introduced you to our 2023 Focus Farms in the Spring Journal. In the months since we have caught up with some of our focus farms again as calving for spring herds finished up, breeding began and farmers all over the country dealt with challenging weather conditions. Read on for more information on our focus farms breeding plans and how they fared through one of the wettest springs on record. You may notice Gearoid Maher not featured in this article – and that is because Gearoid and his family are hosting this year’s Pure Friesian Open Day and have been profiled elsewhere in the journal, make sure to check it out!

Farrell Scully, Choshull Herd, Ballymote, Co Sligo

Breeding for 2023 has gotten off to a good start for Farrell with cows showing strong heats. Farrell is content with using conventional semen rather than sexed as he has sufficient female calves to maintain his herd size and has repeat customers for his bull calves. He also utilises some easy calving beef straws on cows that he is certain he doesn’t want replacements from or that have not taken to the first AI. Farrell raises all the heifer calves on farm until October usually when he sells them on directly to other farms. Focusing on high EBI bulls for the herd Farrell is using Ballinroe Xaar, Cappauniac Aramax, Olcastletown Casper and Barrackhill Reuben amongst others this year. “I’m happy to use bulls from any of the AI companies once they match our system here. We are looking for good EBI, reliable bulls that are easy calving and ultimately give us a solid, robust cow that is trouble free for her productive life”. This is a tried and tested system for Farrell and is indicative of the sound farming systems he has put in place over the years that has allowed the herd grow from 10 cows in his fathers time to the 60-strong herd we see today. Sligo and around Ballymote where the Scully’s farm might not be the first area you think of for dairy farming, some of the land is marginal and the stones walls throughout the farm hark back to traditional small family farm holdings. Nonetheless Farrell, aided by his wife Anita, brother Michael and a part time college student, are running a superb spring calving herd with relatively low inputs of concentrates (around 6kg per animal per day in the spring and 2kg in the summer) and no additional forages for an average herd production of 6,100litres and a huge 489kgs solids. Farrell’s EBI average are higher than the national averages for all lactation groups and his calf crop continue to improve year on year – the 2022 calf crop stood at €236 and the 2023 calves soared past that value to €284. Farrell has seen the value of the EBI in both the milk tank and in the value of his stock and it has really helped him with making breeding decisions.

Kevin Flynn, Reary Herd, Clonaslee, Co Laois

There is one word Kevin Flynn always comes back to when speaking about his herd and breeding goals – uniformity. Aiming for uniformity in his herd has been a focus for Kevin for a number of years, and he believes its crucial in being able to have uniformity in management. In this vein Kevin has cut down on the number of bulls he uses, while he appreciates this can be a risk if you are using all genomic bulls perhaps, he has had no problems with his current set up, and relies mostly on proven bulls. Most importantly he always ensures the bulls used come from good pedigree lines (EX classified mothers ideally) with high production figures – especially components, and he looks for good chest and rump width for his ideal build of cow. Kevin uses a mix of imported and Irish bulls when they fit his criteria and is happy to use bulls year on year when they have proven to produce the stock he wants. On our visit we saw a number of Yamaska, Perseus and Praser daughters in the herd – the Praser’s Kevin feels grow into good cows, improving considerably in their second lactations, and the Yamaska’s have thus far proven really functional cows. Castleblagh Ruthless was probably the best Irish bull Kevin ever used in the herd and fit Kevin’s bull criteria blueprint – two generations of EX cows behind him and strong solids and fertility. Kevin has found calving heifers at 2 years the best for longevity and development of the animal herself. He has no problem getting these animals in calf year on year and they work hard in the herd without problems. Of course we couldn’t speak about the Reary herd without mentioning the Norah family. Originally bought from the Cabra Herd in Thurles in 1970 there have been over 670 Norah’s registered in the herd since, and another 170 Poppy’s registered which branched from the Nora’s a number of years ago. It’s an impressive feat for any herd to have such a proficient family and as Kevin says himself they have been excellent heifer producers always. The Norah’s consistently classify highly and encapsulate Kevin’s ideal type of cow – moderate stature with great chest and rump capacity, nice slope to rump, robust with a solid udder and excellent feet and legs. While the Reary herd don’t have far to walk on the milking block Kevin knows the importance of good “wheels” on a cow to ensure they last.

Robert Shannon, Ballydehob Herd, Ballinascarthy, Co. Cork

Robert has always taken great care in the bulls used for breeding on his farm and the use of AI and particularly sexed semen has been a great aid in progressing the herd. Robert would always look for a bull that is positive in fat and protein percentages and positive for milk, or minorly negative at least. Type is still incredibly important in his mind and always selects for good udders, feet and legs. “Type isn’t only about how the cow looks – these are functional traits that determine whether a cow will last in the herd or not for multiple lactations”. Robert’s son and daughter take a keen interest in the selection of bulls for the herd also and Sarah was able to tell us some of the bulls they had selected for this year; Ballintosig Ring O, Renegade, Nortonhill R2 D2, Boghill Glamour Hailstone, Sandy-Valley I Batman, Peak Altalawson, 3star Oh Marcello, Westcoast Midmarch and Sandy-Valley R Conway . As Robert uses a lot of imported bulls he stresses the importance of checking their statistics in their home country as well as their converted EBI statistics as sometimes they can come across poorly. Robert would make sure anything he uses is not low on health and to maintain his ideal frame and build of cow he would focus on good udders with moderate to short teats, a wide chest and he would avoid anything too high in the pins. Robert is just as diligent with the stock bulls he sells on to other farmers – every bull is fertility tested before it is sold. Robert has used Pasture base for the last number of years to help with grass measurement and management on the grazing platform. Robert has a high percentage of clover in approximately ¼ of the farm which has reduced his overall fertiliser requirements.

Patrick Pentony, Gallrua Herd, Drogheda, Co Louth

The wet spring made for difficut grazing in Co.Louth – we visited the Gallrua herd the last week of May and that was the first week so far this year the cows had been out at grass full time. The farm has always been wet with difficult soils and so Patrick is well versed in selectively grazing at the beginning of the season to preserve ground conditions, while still meeting the herds nutritional demands. The herds calving pattern is also designed to not overburden the land with demand for grass in the spring –50 cows calve in the spring time and 30 more in the autumn, usually out at grass. This also helps Patrick mange his calf rearing as the batches of calves are more spread out throughout the year. Patrick is a fantastic example of how grading up can lead to a stellar pedigree herd – he began milk recording in 1990 and engaged the IHFA services to grade up the herd over time. The Margaret family which are numerous in the herd today trace back to the original herd. Patrick purchased a number of pedigree stock from the Moneymore (Seamus Kelly) and Honeylands (Maurice Kellett) herds to compliment the grade up of the original herd in the 1990’s. Both prominent herds in the North Eastern club it was only a matter of time before Patrick also became involved in the club and it is something that he has really enjoyed and benefitted from over the years. Patrick enjoys the social aspect of the club, visiting other herds and taking part in field evenings and the herds competition. He has been very successful in the herds competitions over the years which brings a great sense of achievement, pride and satisfaction for Patrick. When asked about the benefits of pedigree registration, Patrick highlights how much information it provides “The level of detail available on pedigree animals was the deciding factor for me when taking the decision to invest in pedigree stock in the early 90’s. It gave me the best chance at making the right choices for my herd and definitely helped me to get to where I am today. We classify twice a year, this is such a valuable impartial service. The classifiers have a wealth of knowledge and can help identify both the strong and weaker aspects of your herd to work on. I have learnt a lot from them and always enjoy the interaction and discussion we have on classification day – I see a strong correlation between classification and the quality and functionality of my stock”.

Patrick does his own AI and would select bulls around + 200 kgs milk that are positive on components and with good fertility and health numbers. He would also place emphasis on linear traits – chest width, pin position and teat position in particular. Patrick is a firm believer in the importance of dam Classification if using young bulls, ideally dams should be VG or higher he feels, otherwise you don’t know what you are getting regarding standards. This breeding season Patrick has used a mix of Chilton, Motion, Napavalley and Wimbledon. He also takes part in the Gene Ireland scheme where he receives 35 straws off their top bulls. The breeding policy is always evolving on the farm, of late emphasis on stature and angularity has diminished. Patricks attention to detail in his breeding has produced a robust, uniform herd with good overall fertility and health.

Keep your eyes peeled for more from our focus farms over the coming months!

If you want to read back over the farm focus piece from the Spring edition it can be found on the IHFA website.

Picture: The Gallrua Herd happily grazing after a wet spring

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