Striking a work-life balance on dairy farms

Achieving a balance between producing more milk and having a ‘quality of life’ means that many dairy farmers will be required to examine both labour usage and efficiency on dairy farms, according to Teagasc Dairy Specialist, Pat Clarke.

Speaking at a recent Teagasc/ ICOS Dairy Expansion Seminar, he said that in order to achieve efficient use of work time, farmers need to operate simple dairying systems, have adequate facilities for their herd size and make timely use of contractors.

Mr Clarke indicated that those farmers who start the evening milking around 4.30pm have consistently been shown to be more labour efficient due to being more organised between the two milkings.