Paula Hynes: First-cut silage completed despite challenging weather
It has been a tricky silage season for contractors so far, trying to dodge the showers.
Thankfully, the month of May finished with a few scorching warm days, but there was little time to enjoy the sunshine as fine weather increased the workload.
It has been a tricky silage season for contractors so far, trying to dodge the showers, and the fine week brought more shower dodging as the weather, while warm, wasn’t fully settled.
Thankfully, we got first-cut silage completed and, while we had to mow in between some light misty showers, the following morning graced us with a warm breeze and silage was picked up in super condition.
Niall and the crew also got the maize field ploughed and planted for us last week. We went with the Saxon variety from Goldcrop again this year after it yielded so well last year. It was later than we had planned, but none of us can control the weather.
I take my hat off to contractors and silage crews. The weather has been so challenging this year so far, and when it does come good, they get through a huge amount of work in a short space of time, with many crews running 24 hours a day to get the job done.
It occurred to me recently it is not just farmers who are tired after the long, wet, cold spring. Contractors and vets are also as tired.
We are all trying to catch up on work, all trying to deal with the challenges of the weather. Contractors are trying to get through months of work in a short space of time and, at the same time, doing work now weeks behind schedule and knowing it will make for a long, challenging harvest in the autumn.
Maize harvesting will most likely run into late November and, once the last tractor leaves the field, there will still be weeks of washing machinery and maintenance before the machinery can be safely stored for the winter.
The long spring increased the workload for vets. Weather challenges bring challenges for animals and, even as the weather improved, the temperature fluctuations also challenge livestock, moving from 10C one week to 28C a week later when animals simply aren’t acclimatised to the sunshine.
Increased TB breakdowns in herds across the country also lead to increased TB testing, adding to the workload of vets. The industry has been seeing a major shortage of young large-animal vets coming out of colleges, and those who do have to work hard from the word go.
The reality is that all our workloads are increased to the maximum due to weather. The world wants cheap food and we deliver it.
We don’t get paid anything extra when our workload increases, but policymakers need to join the real world and realise that they can’t expect cheap food while also expecting huge investment in emissions reductions.
Perhaps the EU should implement a policy where all MEPs spend one month working for a contractor, a farmer or a large-animal veterinary practice. I am sure they would head back to Brussels with a very different view on food policy.
A bit of hands-on, up-to-date experience in agriculture would do them the world of good, as very often we see European policymakers who sit on agricultural committees getting that position because they were born on a farm 40 or 50 years ago, and likewise an agricultural spokesperson for a political party gaining that appointment because their uncle or grandfather was a farmer.
From my position, if I ever have a bash at becoming an MEP, I am wondering should I put myself forward for an EU security and defence committee, as my grandfather was in the Irish army.
With silage safely in the pit, we headed to Belgooly Show to join the celebrations for the show’s 80th birthday.
We took four heifers with us, three of which were having their first day out. There is always a warm welcome at the Belgooly Show, which has a wonderful, hard-working committee.
The start time for the dairy classes was timed perfectly to coincide with the morning rain clearing. Mike Laffan was officiating as dairy judge and his first class was no easy task, with a fantastic line-up of junior handlers, which was wonderful to see.
Young Ricky Barrett topped the class, with Georgie in second place and Aisling in third place. I have to give special mention to the five young O’Sullivans from Lisduff Holsteins, all of whom did a super job in showing their calves given how young they all are. No doubt we will see plenty more of them in the future as they get older.
Becky won the senior showmanship again before the junior handlers entered the ring again for the Belgooly showmanship class. Georgie stepped up her skill set to take top spot in the class this time, with Aisling finishing in third place.
Belgooly Show has always had a strong passion for encouraging the youth in agriculture, and it was wonderful to see Mike Laffan give so much time to each competitor in the showmanship.
In the heifer classes, our Haniko-sired January Holstein heifer was having her first show and won a strong class to take home our first piece of silverware on the day.
We had two heifers in the January-born Jersey calf class, Rathard Classic Khassidy and Rathard Ghost Kohana, and they claimed first and second, with Georgie and Aisling, with another Rathard heifer we bred and now owned by the O’Sullivan family in Mallow, taking third place.
Sparkle won the autumn-born heifer class for a second week in a row and then went on to be junior champion, with Khassidy taking reserve champion.
Khassidy is now co-owned with an Australian farm and she is an exciting little Jersey heifer. Her dam and granddam are both previous national champions.
Sparkle went on to claim reserve supreme dairy champion and will now rest for a few weeks as we have a completely different team of very exciting heifers going to Clonakilty Show next weekend.
They have been getting their final preparations over the last few days, being walked on the bare silage fields to get them used to walking on grass for shows.
