Paula Hynes: We all need a little cow shine

It is the little gestures at challenging times like these that make a huge difference to someone's day, writes Aherla dairy farmer Paula Hynes.

Becky and Georgie Hynes with Eedy Rubicon Acclaim and Rathard Kasey.

Amongst the continuous rain, this week has been full of cow shine. Dock Holsteins in Kinsale were having a dispersal sale and we have always admired Brian Hayes as a breeder. We didn't attend the sale but Pete watched it online as we were interested in one particular cow . 

As lot 48 entered the sales ring, Pete enabled bidding on the Marteye app as we had previously been registered to purchase from the auctioneer Denis Barrett, three minutes later Dock Capital Champ ET EX94 4E was knocked down to us. 

As we paid for her over the phone, they kindly agreed to mind her for us until the following day so she could relax in her own surroundings after the sale. Champ is a seventh lactation cow, having just calved in February; she has produced 76,000kg of milk in six lactations with a super scc and is an absolute credit to Brian.  She settled in quickly when she arrived home to us and comes in the first row of milking every day and is such a friendly, quiet cow.

With Champ settled in, our attention turned to having two first lactations classified. John Kirby from the IHFA arrived at the yard just as the sun broke through the clouds. It's always a pleasure to have John visit to classify cows as he is a fountain of knowledge with cows so there is always plenty of chat.

The first to walk up the yard with Becky was Eedy Rubicon Acclaim, our two-year-old who calved in August 2023. Silence descended on the yard as John cast his eagle eye over her, and with his scores entered into the handheld, the final score was out, and she is now a VG88 two-year-old, she managed the maximum score on feet and legs, and to be fair, she does have a super walk.  

We were so lucky to have purchased her from the Helen family in September 2022 and she is a credit to their breeding. Claimy, as we call her has done everything we ever wanted, having won the Junior two-year-old heifer class at the Winter Fair in Belfast last December; she is also confirmed back in-calf to sexed semen and has produced 8898 kgs milk in 247 days, nearly 650kgs of milk solids.  

Her August 2023 born heifer calf sired by MB Lucky Lady Bullseye has developed into a super calf and we are really excited to see her start her show career now.

With Claimy safely back in bed, it was Rathard Kaseys turn to appear before John. Kasey is an FDL Barcelona sired Jersey two-year-old we bred, she was national champion as a calf, has won at Tullamore show in 2022 and 2023 and also won the junior colourbreed championship at Emerald Expo in 2023; she calved in February of this year giving us a super heifer calf sired by Avonlea Chocochip . 

She certainly impressed John as she classified VG87 even though she is still very fresh, and she will improve more through her lactation. We always find it crucial to get the heifers classified early before their show season in order to protect the pedigree. 

We're relatively new to the show scene so it a huge sense of achievement for us to have bred an 87 point two-year-old , it gives us confidence in our breeding decisions and also in how we are managing the heifers on the farm. We will classify more cows when the weather improves as it is easier to walk through the herd on a sunny summer day when they are content at grass.

We were so glad of that bit of cow shines around the farmyard, and it certainly lifted everyone's spirits after what has been a horrendous six months weather-wise. The weather still hasn't improved, and cows are still housed at nighttime. We were lucky that a fellow farmer agreed to sell us some really top-quality silage bales as we are out of fodder, and it is imperative we keep the cows well-fed and content. 

Our milk recorder Denis from Munster Bovine also paid us a visit to get the first milk recording of 2024 completed, it was a little later than we would have liked as we were hoping for more favorable weather however the somatic cell count has been super this season so we weren't overly concerned with the delay. 

It's a huge relief to see the cows cruising at a steady 1.95 - 2kgs milk solids, given how challenging the spring has been. Hopefully with brighter days ahead, the cows might get another little lift in production with some sunshine on their backs and an increase in grass dry matter. The biggest relief is that the herd is in super condition as we head to the beginning of the main breeding season.

The entire agricultural community is under huge pressure at the moment , livestock farmers are exhausted, tillage farmers are at a standstill and getting so frustrated that they can't commence field work.

Having had some great chats with John and Denis this past week along with the farmer agreeing to sell us some silage bales, it reminded me of the importance of us all looking out for each other at the moment . If you have surplus fodder and know a friend or neighbour that is struggling with fodder, perhaps give them a call to see if you could help them out.

Likewise, if you know a farmer that is a little more isolated or farms alone, give them a call or pop into the yard for a quick chat. Sales reps, agri advisors etc all know their clients so perhaps popping into the yard without needing to make a sale can make a massive difference to someone's day.

It is the little gestures at challenging times like these that make a huge difference to someone's day. 

There is a lot of support and advice available, some farmers are on the verge of burnout so please if you are finding it hard to cope, don't be afraid to pick up the phone and ask for a little help or advice. Hopefully, a little cowshine will turn into a lot of sunshine really quickly to make all our lives easier.