Pursuit of excellence continues at the farm home of co-op boss Jerry Henchy
Tim and Maria Henchy farm near Ballyburden, Ballincollig on the outskirts of Cork city, supplying liquid milk to Dairygold Co-op.
The farm and family which has "supplied" the new Dairygold boss has also been a well-known source of pedigree Friesians since 1957.
Average yield here in the Poulavone herd is around 1,750 gallons, almost twice the national average.
Their best cow, Blackberry 63, produces a whopping 2,300 gallons per year, so Tim and his father John are understandably proud of their stock.
The family sells many valuable replacement heifers after calving down.
The Henchys are the latest successful dairy farming operation to be profiled by equipment suppliers DeLaval, as part of their worldwide policy of promoting efficient family farming milk production.
In June 2002, the Henchy family invested in a new DeLaval midi line plant with recording jars and an ACR (automatic cluster removal) system, a major part of Tim's ongoing modernisation of the farm.
Milking takes place here 365 days a year, but the new parlour was successfully installed by DeLaval dealer Tom Harte, without interfering with routine milking operations. It used to take Tim or his herdsman Tim Daly one and a half hours to milk 60 cows. "Now, we can milk the cows in less than half the time. It's like having an extra man with you."
Of the ACR system, Tim says, "Anybody can milk the cows now." So Dairygold boss Jerry who is six years older than Tim could easily be roped in for milking during one of his many visits.
He maintains a keen interest in cattle and farming, confirms Tim.
Jerry's Ballincollig roots give him a special link to Dairygold's liquid milk subsidiary, CMP Dairy.
Both his grandfathers, through father John and mother Olive, were founder members of CMP Dairy, and John, now retired from dairy farming, is a former chairman of CMP Dairy and was a leading officer of the Irish Friesian Breeders Association during his farming days.
