100% AI on Olivia Hynes Farm
Olivia Hynes is making changes to her farm management as she works to rebuild her herd and improve efficiency. After facing challenges with a sub-fertile bull, she has decided to transition to 100% AI for next year’s breeding season.
Grassland
Due to a sub-fertile bull, Olivia’s cow numbers are down this year, so she is buying in-calf cows with calves at foot to increase her herd back up to 50 for next spring. The issues caused by the bull, combined with his original cost, have left her questioning whether the risk is worth taking again. As a result, she has decided to switch to 100% AI for next year, using a vasectomised bull and a chin ball for heat detection.
The suckler cows stay on the home farm in Jamestown during the breeding season, but it is a long stretch of land extending away from the farmyard. While a passageway provided access to some of the land, an additional 7 paddocks were inaccessible from it. To address this, Olivia extended the existing passageway by 150 meters, making it easier to bring cows to the yard for AI next spring. In the meantime, it is now easier to move stock between paddocks and access them with a tractor or quad. The biggest challenge will be providing enough water to each paddock, as the fields are elevated and the water pressure is low. She plans to contact her local ASSAP advisor to explore funding options through the new Farming for Water EIP, which offers a range of measures that she may be able to implement on the farm.
New roadway installed on Olivia’s farm
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 anticipates housing the cattle for 5 months (November to March) and the sheep for 3 months.
In addition to the large silage pit in Kilcash, Olivia has 15 bales of hay and 400 bales of silage, providing her with enough feed for a 6-month winter. Grass demand is very high on the farm in spring with ewes lambing and cows calving, so she is pleased to have extra feed available in case it is needed.
She plans to take silage samples when the bales and pit are opened and will balance diets with rations based on the results.
Some dry suckler cows grazing on the outfarm in Kilcash
Performance
Olivia is currently selling her suckler bull weanlings through the local mart. Nine have been sold so far, weighing between 320 and 405 kg. They have averaged €3.26/kg as of October 22nd.
Younger weanlings with their cows at grass