Olivia Hynes September/October Update 2024
Infrastructure upgrades
- Paddock plans for going 100% AI
- New passageway added
- New Farming for Water EIP will be considered
Fodder budgeting
- Fodder budget completed
- More than enough silage available for the winter
- Silage samples to be taken
Latest sales
- 9 bull weanlings sold this month
- Weights are ranging from 320 to 405kg
- Average price of €3.26/kg
Grassland
As a result of a sub fertile bull, Olivia’s cow numbers were back this year and she is buying in-calf cows with calves at foot to get her numbers back up to 50 for next spring. The difficulty caused by the bull, and the original cost of him left her questioning if the risk is worth taking again and she has decided to go 100% AI for next year. She will be using a vasectomised bull and chin ball for heat detection.
The suckler cows stay on the home farm in Jamestown for the breeding season but it is a long land block that stretches away from the farmyard. While a passageway provided access to some of the land, a further 7 paddocks were inaccessible from it. Olivia decided to extend the existing passageway by 150 metres to make it easier to bring cows to the yard for AI next spring. In the meantime it is easier to move stock between paddocks and to access them with a tractor or quad. The biggest challenge will be to provide enough water to each paddock as the fields are high up and the pressure is low. She plans to contact her local ASSAP advisor in regards to availing of funding through the new Farming for Water EIP which has a suite of measures that she may be able to implement on the farm.
Figure 1: New roadway installed on Olivia’s farm
Click here to read more on the new Farming for Water EIP.
Animal Nutrition
Olivia has completed her fodder budget for 2024. She expects to have 50 cows (including heifers), 23 weanlings, 9 store heifers, 235 ewes, 65 ewe lambs and 8 rams for the coming winter. She expects to have the cattle housed for 5 months (November to March) and the sheep for 3 months.
Along with the large silage pit in Kilcash, Olivia also has 15 bales of hay and 400 bales of silage which is providing her with enough silage for a 6 month winter. Grass demand is very high on the famr in spring with ewes lambing and cows calving so she is happy to have extra feed in the yard in case it is needed.
She plans to take silage samples when the bales and pit are opened and will balance diets with ration based on the results.
Figure 2: Some dry suckler cows grazing on the outfarm in Kilcash
Performance
Olivia is in the process of selling her suckler bull weanlings through the local mart. Nine have been sold to date, ranging from 320 to 405kg. They have averaged €3.26/kg up to 22nd October.
Figure 3: Younger weanlings with their cows at grass