Paula Hynes: Every day's a school day on the farm

It wasn’t just a learning day for the students, writes Aherla dairy farmer Paula Hynes.

3rd & 4th Class from Kilbonane National School with Rathard Choco Dream on their visit to the Hynes farm

They say every day is a school day in farming, and that was very literal for us on Tuesday, as Ms O'Driscoll from Kilbonane National School brought third and fourth class down to visit the farm. 

It is always a pleasure to have visitors to the farm, and it is extra special when it is a group of young people, as it is so important to educate the next generation on where their food comes from.

I’m sure many of the kids have seen cows before, but as our first stop was a paddock with the show cows, they might have been surprised to see Acclaim bounding up the field to say hello - she always loves meeting new people, and it allowed us a chance to explain that not only does she win rosettes, she also produces lots and lots of milk, twice the national average for a cow in fact. 

As the group moved down to the yard, it was a chance to get up close with some show heifers, all of whom wanted cuddles and photos. Some students met their namesakes, and Georgie put a heifer in the clipping crate to display how the heifers are prepped for a show.

Georgie and her closest school friend Aisling took out the two jersey heifer calves and gave a display on how calves are walked at a show. It was wonderful for Georgie to show her school mates how much work goes into showing and gave them a better understanding of how her weekends are so busy and the level of work it takes to go out and compete.

It wasn’t just a learning day for the students; our March calf, Alanna, needed to get used to crowds and noise, so she was taken out on the halter, and every student gave her a rub which would help her to get used to strangers.

There was time for a quick tour of the milking parlour and dairy followed by a group photo and a quiz to see who was paying attention, and then silence fell on the yard again as everyone left with a goodie bag.

As the school left, there was time to get the daily chores done as the afternoon was earmarked for the Cork Holstein Friesian Club herds competition judging. 

This year's judge, Christy McCarthy, arrived mid-afternoon, and it is always a pleasure to show the herd to a fellow breeder. 

Christy made a very important point that stuck with me, “It is so important we as farmers grasp opportunities to get off-farm,” and he is 100% right.
Farmers have been under constant pressure for a long time now; it feels like grass growth has never taken off this year, and a lot of farmers are back supplementing with silage as grass growth has been hampered by northerly winds and cool nighttime temperatures.

Christy produced the notepad and pen, and off we went to see the different groups we had selected for this year's competition before we had a look at the entire dairy herd. 

With 14 herds in our category, judging the competition is not an easy task; it takes time and dedication for breeders to travel the entire county visiting herds, and the culmination of the competition will take place in August at the CHFC barbecue when the awards are announced.

We have a little break from showing this weekend. The heifers are bouncing fit again after their busy weekend at the Cork Summer Show, but it is a little chance for Pete and me to get away for a short break together. 

We usually go away in July, but this year Becky will be away for most of July clipping and helping prep animals for sales and open days before she heads off to the UK showing for most of August and September. 

It is always great to get away as a couple, have a little fun, and ditch the wellies, although we probably still spend most of our time chatting about farming.

The number one priority will be to turn off the alarm clock, we’ll probably still be awake at the crack of dawn but who doesn’t love that second sleep when you open one eye halfway and remember you don’t have to get up.

We’ll be heading to Cork Airport on Friday afternoon. I wish we were getting on a plane, but our French agricultural student is arriving, so after we pick him up, it will be a quick introduction to the farm yard and milking parlour that evening before we leave him in Becky's capable hands to run the place for the weekend.

Hopefully, our mini breakaway will coincide with some magic growth rates. As I am writing, I am keeping a watchful eye on the forecast as there is some badly wanted rain in the forecast for early tomorrow. 

Temperatures reached 24 degrees here today, and the heat is badly wanted for growth as that cool, northerly wind has hampered growth rates and dried any rain that has fallen off later.

The farm is primed to grow with slurry spread on all silage ground and another 30 acres of paddocks via low-emission slurry spreading. We have also spread the entire farm with protected urea, which also includes sulphur to help grass growth in drier weather, along with potash, which is a major requirement for grass growth in the second half of the growing season.

The only fields we skipped with chemical nitrogen are the red clover fields, which have only received slurry. These fields seem to have really kicked on in the last 10 days as red clover really thrives in dry conditions. 

I’m looking forward to seeing these fields bloom with red clover flowers before they are mowed for silage the next time, it is crucial to let the crop flower during the season. 

Now, 10% of our farm doesn’t receive chemical nitrogen; it is a crop we will invest further in when milk prices deliver a better return and cover the cost of ploughing and reseeding more land.

There is always so much talk of farmers needing to become more sustainable, the reality is farmers will always invest in sustainability when we are getting a decent return for our produce.