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Farm Business FARM DESIGN KEY ELEMENTS IN BUILDING A PARLOUR

ENERGY COSTS SAVE MONEY ON YOUR SYSTEM

WEED CONTROL CONTROL OF WEEDS IN A WET YEAR

>> SEE PAGE 46

>> SEE PAGE 22

>> SEE PAGE 36

IRISH

Volume 5 Issue 2 Summer 2018 Edition Price €3.95 £2.95 (Stg)

DAIRYING

HEIFERS ARE YOUR FUTURE HERD BRING THEM BACK ON TRACK AFTER A DIFFICULT SPRING

CUBICLES A BUYERS GUIDE

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Farm Business

Foreword/Contents/Credits

IRISH

Features

DAIRYING

Volume 5 Issue 2 Summer 2018 Price €3.95 £2.95 (Stg)

22 HOW TO SAVE MONEY ON ENERGY/ELECTRICITY

There are ways to measure your existing energy usage which will allow you to select the best methods for your farm. By John Upton and Barry Caslin (Teagasc).

Foreword

rom the last issue to this sounds like a broken record; more rain, more rain resulting in a fodder crisis. Whoever said a farmer’s lot is not an easy one spoke the truth. We are now beginning to see a little growth and might soon get time to assess what is happening and plan for the period ahead. Once again we can only hope that those farmers that really need support get that support. Emer Kennedy of Teagasc has a good feature on heifers as it is of vital importance that they are brought back on track to calve in good condition and health as they are the backbone of the future herd. Paul Lyons provides a short history lesson on the cow cubicle. It is interesting to read of the first cubicles and their design and to see where they are now in terms of design development. One of the more interesting aspects is the drawing which explains the headroom required by a cow when lying down or getting up in a cubicle space. Tim O’Donovan is an acknowledged expert on weeds and weed control. In this edition he advises that because of the slow grass growth this spring weeds will have a headstart and will need more attention than usual. He lists the common weeds and has a tailored solution for each one. Many farmers have increased their herd size since the quota was lifted. It is becoming increasingly difficult to find labour and so they are spending a lot of time in the parlour. One solution is to increase the number of units or build a new parlour. Donal Flanagan gives advice on the process required to arrive at the parlour that suits your particular requirements. We hope you enjoy and gain from this edition…

28 SOLVING THE FODDER PROBLEM FOR HEIFERS After a tough spring remedial action is needed to bring heifers back on track as they are the future, advises Emer Kennedy, Teagasc.

32 GETTING THE BEST VALUE FROM YOUR ACCOUNTS How to extract useful information from your accounts as well as keeping the taxman happy by Philip O'Connor (IFAC).

34 EFFECTIVE WORM CONTROL Cattle must be allowed to develop a level of natural immunity.

36 WEED MANAGEMENT AFTER A WET SPRING Slow growing grass will allow weeds to thrive which requires a solution. Tim O’ Donovan, Seedtech, Waterford reports.

40 CUBICLES – A BUYERS GUIDE Find the cubicle design that best suits your herd, based on animal size, design of shed and yard. By Paul Lyons.

46 MILKING PARLOUR DEVELOPMENT-KEY CONSIDERATIONS

Much of a farmer’s life is spent in the parlour, hence it is crucially important to get it right. By Donal Flanagan

Until the next time………

66 VEHICLE SAFETY

The Publisher, Irish Farm Business

Publisher: Denis Lane Editorial: Denis Lane Advertising: James Small Design: John Barrett Production: Emma Meade Main cover photo © Can Stock Photo Inc. / [hansenn] www.canstockphoto.com

Tractor, Quads, farm vehicles and farm machinery are involved in over 50% of farm deaths in Ireland (HSA 2008-2017). Martina Gormley (HSA) reports. Contributors: John Upton and Barry Caslin (Teagasc), Emer Kennedy (Teagasc), Tim O’ Donovan (Seedtech, Waterford), Paul Lyons (Bo Steel), Donal Flanagan (Farm Buildings Services Ltd.), Martina Gormley (Health and Safety Authority), Philip O'Connor (IFAC), Jack O’Connor (MSD Animal Health)

Distribution: EM News Newspread Published by: Select Media Ltd, 4-5 Burton Hall Road Sandyford, Dublin 18 Tel. + 353 1 6622266 Email. info@selectmedialtd.com

All material contained in this edition is copyright of Irish Farm Business 2018 and may not be reproduced or electronically stored without the permission of the publisher. However items may be freely reproduced provided the source is acknowledged. Content and views expressed in the publication do not necessarily represent those of the publishers.

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IRISH FARM BUSINESS – DAIRYING

NEWS 27th EUROPEAN GRASSLAND FEDERATION GENERAL MEETING CORK Date: 17th to 21st June 2018 Event Time: 09.00 Venue: Rochestown Park Hotel, Rochestown Rd, Douglas, Cork In 2018, the EGF will be hosted by Teagasc in Cork. This will be the 27th General meeting. Cork, the second biggest city in Ireland is located in the heart of dairying in Ireland. It will offer delegates the first hand opportunity to see and experience dairy, beef and sheep production from grassland. Registration is Open 27th European Grassland Federation General Meeting Sustainable Milk and Meat Production from Grasslands l Early Bird Registration Deadline is 2nd of March 2018 l Early stage researcher scholarship Deadline is 28th February 2018 l Standard Registration Deadline is 8th of June 2018 Registration Fees: l Early Bird: €450.00 l Normal Registration: €550.00 l Working Group “Grazing”: €50.00 l Working Group “Sensing in grassland and forage science and practice”: €20.00 More information available at http://www.egf2018.com/ and see www.teagasc.ie/news--events/

MILK QUALITY FARM WALK 2018 Date: 4th July 2018 Event Time: 12pm Venue: John and Maria Walsh, Ballylomasna, Ballylooby, Cahir, Co Tipperary 2017 National Winners of the NDC & Kerrygold Quality Milk Awards. This event is organised by Teagasc, with the support of Dairygold Co–op, the National Dairy Council and Ornua, and celebrates the excellence of Irish dairy farming, highlighted annually by the NDC & Kerrygold Quality Milk Awards. The farm walk will address the following topics: l Farm performance, both current and over time l Producing high quality milk with low SCC and TBC l Sustainable milk production with due care for the environment l Family dairy farming including the Walsh family’s expansion plans, labour/ workload and lean farming l Growing, grazing and using more grass All are welcome to attend. Visit www.teagasc.ie/news-events/ for further information on this and other Teagasc news and events.

ENERGY IN AGRICULTURE 2018 – IRELAND’S LARGEST ENERGY EVENT FOR THE FARMING COMMUNITY Energy in Agriculture 2017 attracted 2500 attendees and 63 exhibitors. It proved to be a highly successful, interesting, informative and productive day for visitors, speakers and exhibitors alike.

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IRISH FARM BUSINESS – DAIRYING

NEWS The 2018 event will take place again at Gurteen College, Co Tipperary on Tuesday 21st August 2018.The format and set up will be bigger and better than last year with the Support Scheme for Renewable Heat, the Microgeneration Grant Scheme and the further development of the Renewable Electricity Support Scheme taking the energy opportunities in the agricultural sector to a much higher level.

IFA POSITION ON 0% VAT FOR VACCINES RECOGNISED BY EU COMMISSION

IFA Animal Health Chairman Pat Farrell has welcomed the announcement that the EU Commission has recognised the merits of the case put forward by IFA to reduce the VAT rate on vaccines by working on plans to allow Member States to reduce the rate of VAT to 0%. The Agenda for the day includes: He said that currently the VAT rate applied in Ireland is 23%. l A large dedicated EXPO Arena featuring over 60 exhibition With farmers spending in the region of €40m annually on vaccines stands plus additional external exhibitors alone, this could result in savings of up to €10m for farmers. l 3 plenary style panel discussion/showcase sessions Pat Farrell said,“IFA has actively campaigned for this approach l 3 streams of seminars running in parallel in dedicated venues for a number of years in order to reduce the cost of vaccines for adjacent to the arena incorporating over 20 talks throughout the farmers; and to provide some of the tools necessary to reduce day on a variety of practical and planning topics dependence on antibiotics on farms and help in promoting the l Practical demonstrations on Solar PV, Wind, Biomass and ‘Prevention is better than Cure’ approach”. Anaerobic Digestion Pat Farrell said farmers spend in excess of €135m annually on l Return of the highly successful 1:1 Advice Clinics on Tax, veterinary medicinal products and the clarification provided in Planning, Legal, Finance & Energy relation to all veterinary medicines that the VAT rate can be The official opening will be by Denis Naughten,T.D. Minister for reduced from the current 23% to 5% will significantly reduce this Communications, Climate Action and Environment. Panels will cost for farmers.The Minister for Agriculture Michael Creed must include Sustainability in Agriculture, Energy in Agriculture and ensure this is applied at the earliest possible date, he said. Innovation Showcase – showing the best of new & emerging This news article was originally published on technologies, products and services to improve efficiencies on www.ifa.ie/latest-news. farms.Talks will include Reducing energy cost – where to start, Generating your own power: farm scale electricity, Energy efficiency DAIRY FARM TECH START-UPS SEEKING TO BOLSTER A TROUBLED INDUSTRY options for Irish dairy farms and minimising fuel use in machinery. The event is Free to attend and all are welcome. For up to Whether it be single–cow farms in India or massive commercial dairies in the US, the dairy industry is under pressure in light of date information keep an eye on changing market forces and consumer preferences. https://energyinagriculture.ie/.

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FARM BUSINESS - DAIRYING

NEWS In 2014, India’s dairy industry grew to be larger than that of the rest of the world combined and the country has been the world’s largest dairy producer since 1997. Much of this production is made up of smallholder farmers, a recent ban on selling cows for slaughter, since the Hindi majority of the country gives the animals sacred status, means that dairy farmers are less likely to expand their herds since there is no market for cows that can no longer produce milk. Further, as the aggregators of the country’s small– holder output modernize, they are looking for higher levels of quality, transparency, and consistency in their supply chains. In Europe, where the European Union exerts price and herd– size controls over member states, prices are predicted to drop further due to a glut in supply. Brussels has reportedly been buying up powdered milk in massive quantities to keep prices stable, but farmers fear that when they can stockpile no more, they will sell it back to the market causing further price drops. In many developed markets, consumer tastes for both dairy alternatives, but also grass–fed dairy has segmented the market and made it more difficult for producers at both the high and low end of the price spectrum to find consistent buyers. In the US, falling prices and changing consumer tastes have caused an almost epidemic level of strain on the dairy industry – especially smaller operations. Even in premium products like organic milk, a glut in supply has led some organic dairy farmers to have trouble finding an organic buyer for their milk, forcing them to sell at the conventional price despite the increased cost of production. Low milk prices made news recently when a New York state dairy coop included suicide prevention information in their

monthly newsletter. Staff at a Cornell University–based farmer support hotline FarmNet told the CNHI News Service that financial stressors are a common reason that farmers call in. Further, a 2016 US Centers for Disease Control study revealed that agricultural workers commit suicide more than any other profession in the US. Technology can’t solve all of these issues. But even a quick glance at the state of the dairy industry around the world suggests that dairy farms are under intense pressure to operate more efficiently than ever. From sensors and software to biotechnology, these agtech startups are working to improve safety and efficiency on the world’s dairy farms. Advanced Animal Diagnostics – US Advanced Animal Diagnostics develops tools to diagnose livestock disease on the farm.The North Carolina–based company aims to help cut back on the number of antibiotics administered to livestock on farms. The technology uses the animal’s immune system response to identify and determine the stage of infections, offering an alternative to blanket preventative antibiotic–administration, which is increasingly blamed for growing antibiotic resistance, while also saving traditional testing time and expense. Advanced Animal Diagnostics is backed by agriculture funds Cultivian Sandbox and Middleland Capital, and life sciences VC Novartis Venture Fund. Cainthus – Ireland Cainthus is an Irish startup focused on using computer vision and predictive imaging analysis to monitor the health and well–

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COMMERCIAL FEATURE

FARM SAFETY CONTINUES TO BE A MAJOR CONCERN FOR FARMERS AND FOR FARM FAMILIES There were 47 fatal accidents last year, with 24 of these occurring on farms, making it the eighth year in a row that the sector has suffered the highest number of deaths. safety messages through its media campaigns on radio, TV, social media, in the press and on the ESB Networks website. One example is the ‘Farm Safely With Electricity’ booklet which explains how to recognise electricity hazards on the farm and to avoid injury. Electricity wires are ‘live’ and never safe to touch. In an emergency phone 1850 372 999. As well as understanding the consequences of coming too close to overhead electricity wires and poles, the other helpful principle to practise is to always be fully aware of your situation and how that might suddenly change. This is called ‘Situational Awareness’. This is basically about being aware of what is happening around you in terms of hazards and what could change and put you in danger. It is about staying focussed on the task at hand and being aware not to become distracted by rushing.

ARTHUR EXPLAINS THAT YOUR SITUATIONAL AWARENESS CAN REDUCE, OR DISAPPEAR ENTIRELY WHEN: • You feel you have become ‘expert’ at a task or activity • You are tired • You are completing routine, or perceived low risk tasks • You become complacent.

WATCH OUT FOR YOUR INNER VOICE WHEN IT SAYS: It won’t happen to me.; I’ve done this a thousand times. Think back to how carefully we approach a task for the first time or when we are fully conscious of a serious risk.

WHAT CAN YOU DO?

STOP –

here are many hazards on farms and yet, the experience of other Take 5 seconds to stop and think before you start. sectors does provide hope that improvements can be made LOOK – and accidents reduced. Name the hazards and think about what could go wrong here –

ARTHUR BYRNE, PUBLIC SAFETY MANAGER take the time to become situationally aware. FOR ESB NETWORKS EXPLAINS ACT – “Having an understanding of the consequences of something going wrong and realising that ‘it could happen to me’ are important personal safety principles to put into practice”. Working near overhead power lines and having an unsafe electrical installation are the main causes of electrical accidents on farms. Silage harvesters, slurry spreading, tipping trailers, and moving high

How could I make the situation safer – is there a better approach. For further information on electricity safety check out the ESB Networks website at ESBNetworks.ie and click on Staying safe. Safety stickers and information are available by contacting us at 1850 372 757.

“It is important to understand that there are no second chances with electricity” loads where there are overhead power lines are major risks. Typical farm machinery can easily reach an overhead power line so always make sure to keep well clear of overhead wires and always steer clear of electricity poles and stay wires. Contact with LIVE electricity from any source is life threatening due to electric shock which causes the heart to stop or start to defibrillate. The passage of high electrical energy through the body causes severe soft tissue and internal organ damage which can be life changing. It is important to under– stand that there are no second chances with electricity. ESB Networks provides important farm

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IRISH FARM BUSINESS – DAIRYING

NEWS being of livestock. Cainthus uses various types of imaging equipment producers called Reveal. Reveal combines Consumer Physics’ to monitor livestock operations while artificial intelligence and SCiO, a small handheld Near–Infrared (NIR) spectrometer, with custom algorithms detect behaviour in individual animals to monitor Cargill’s forage lab analysis platform, to provide dairy farmers their health and alert the user when an action is required.The with real–time analysis of their corn silage, haylage and dry hay Cainthus system is able to detect food and water intake in individual on the farm to understand its content.This can help farmers to animals as well as when the animals are in heat. Imagery can come improve the diet of their herd and improve feeding efficiency. from drones, satellites, CCTV, and smart devices, but the most The University of Wisconsin has shown dry matter variation of common set–up in Cainthus trials is an installation of a few dozen 6–10% between lots of both alfalfa and corn silages. With today’s CCTV cameras on dairy farms. Cainthus is backed by Cargill. precision diets, those variations in dry matter can result in lost production, wasted nutrients, or both. Connecterra – The Netherlands Connecterra is a Dutch animal health monitoring technology Mastiline – Netherlands company that manufactures wearable devices for dairy cows to MastiLine develops and manufactures sensors and an automated monitor their health in real–time using machine learning and monitoring system to detect the early signs of mastitis. The sensor technology. Dairy wearables are nothing new as cows startup’s sensors enable dairy farmers to detect mastitis at a have been wearing pedometers for at least 20 years. But the subclinical level before visible signs of the disease manifest. It devices on the market today and previously, have been hardware does so by detecting somatic cell counts, which indicate whether technologies for the most part. In order to make use of the mastitis is present.The technology allows dairy farmers to reduce information coming from them, farmers and their advisors have costs as a result of mastitis prevention, reduce the use of antibiotics, had to analyze the data themselves. Connecterra is hoping to increase overall herd yield, and get better pricing for good quality remove that burden using machine learning to interpret the data milk with a low somatic cell count. Mastiline is backed by Dutch for the farmer, in the cloud. Connecterra is backed by UK IoT– investment and development agency NOM, Dutch loan financiers focused incubator Breed Reply, UAE–based fund MENA Venture Doefonds Fryslân, and early–stage impact investment firm SHIFT Investments, Japanese video game developer DeNA, and angel Invest. investor Elias Tabet. Silent Herdsman – Israel Consumer Physics – Israel Silent Herdsman has developed a neck–collar monitoring system Cargill Animal Nutrition is collaborating with Israeli startup used to detect estrus and health problems in dairy cows. The Consumer Physics over a new technology platform for US dairy device, which is currently used on hundreds of dairy farms

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IRISH FARM BUSINESS – DAIRYING

NEWS throughout Europe, is intended to help dairy farmers spend less time visually observing their herd and more time taking proactive steps to treat emerging problems.To maintain milk production, dairy cows must be bred regularly. Determining when the cow is ready to breed or whether health problems have arisen that might impact her breeding capability, is critical to keeping operations flowing smoothly. Developed with the Scottish Government’s support, the patented, neck–mounted device tracks cow activity, rumination, and eating patterns to help farmers keep a closer track of each cow’s condition. The collar transmits data wirelessly to a central computer on the farm using a base station.The farmer can also receive alerts to his or her cell phone or tablet using the software’s cloud computing platform. Israeli dairy farm management technology provider Afimilk acquired Silent Herdsman in 2016. TL BIolabs – US TL Biolabs offers $15 genomic tests for beef and dairy cattle, and the software needed to analyze the results.The company’s microarray testing is designed to help farmers predict every heritable trait in cattle from birth— including health, productivity, and fertility.This can enable them to make more data–driven breeding and farm management decisions, such as which calves to keep or sell, and which bulls to breed with which cows. It has a vertically integrated system, meaning TL Biolabs manufactures its own ear tags to automatically collect tissue samples upon tag insertion. It also stores samples at its facility in Santa Clara, California, and customers can order tests at any time through the herd management software platform.The results are returned

in around one to two weeks. TL Biolabs is backed by venture capital heavyweight Andreessen Horowitz, along with UK entrepreneur Josh Buckley, and accelerator Y Combinator. The full article by Emma Cosgrove was originally published on AgFunder News https://agfundernews.com/.

HSA CARRY OUT 200 FARM SAFETY INSPECTIONS IN MAY The Health and Safety Authority (HSA) carried out an intensive farm inspection campaign in May. Approximately 200 inspections were planned with the focus on safe working with vehicles and machinery.

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IRISH FARM BUSINESS – DAIRYING

NEWS Farm vehicles and machinery are the main cause of serious and fatal accidents on Irish farms. Over the last 10 years, half of all fatal farm accidents involved vehicles (30%) and machinery (20%). Farm vehicles are generally defined as tractors or quad bikes. In recent years there has been a sharp increase in the number of fatalities involving quad bikes, with 12 reported in the past 10 years (4 in 2017). Most accidents with farm vehicles or machinery will involve at least one of the following; poor planning, operator error, lack of training and inadequate maintenance of vehicle or machine.

The key message during this campaign was that preparation is the key to working safely, particularly during busy periods such as the silage season. This involves looking at the suitability of operators, the machinery and how the work is to be done. On a practical level the HSA are asking farmers to consider the following; l Are handbrakes or parking brakes working on all tractors and machinery? l Are cabs and doors maintained in working order? l Are tractor mirrors set and maintained correctly (not cracked or twisted)? l Has the driver ever received formal driver training for Tractor and Quad use? Pat Griffin, senior inspector for agriculture and forestry safety at the HSA says that good planning and control can prevent serious accidents and fatalities from occurring:“All farmers should organise their work in a way that is efficient and safe.This means having rules in place in relation to who uses which vehicle or machine, establishing one way systems, safe routes within fields and in and out of gates, care when reversing and who is in overall charge of the work. The person in overall charge must be realistic about how much work can be done and how many hours operators can safely work.” For more information on safe working with farm vehicles or machinery visit www.hsa.ie/eng/Your_Industry/Agriculture_Forestry

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IRISH FARM BUSINESS – DAIRYING

PRODUCT NEWS DON’T ASSUME YOUR SLATS ARE OK – CHECK THEM

Slat care advice from Banagher Cattle Slats

attle slats are often overlooked when it comes to farm safety and the well-being of stock but they need to be checked annually as slats have a design life of 20 years under current regulations, but their lifespan can vary greatly depending on use, load and manufacturer. Now is the best time to check your slats Every year farmers should check slats when cattle have been turned out, they should be washed down so cracked and damaged slats can be identified.A straight edge test should be carried out to check for deflection and farmers should keep an eye out for concrete in slurry or in fields after slurry has been spread. Slats may seem to be in good repair on the top but when deep or wide cracks start appearing on the underside of slats the sulphates from slurry will corrode the steel inside. Picture 1 shows the topside of a 30-year-old slat which seems almost perfect, picture 2 shows the underside of the same slat:

Picture 1

Picture 2

Take proper care When in doubt replace slats where problems are indicated or suspected. Also remember to check slurry agitation manholes for damage, wear and tear. If slurry has been allowed to build up to the underside of the slats their lifespan will be significantly reduced, as both the concrete and reinforcing steel will have suffered greater levels of corrosion. Never drive over slats with tractors or machinery unless they have been designed for this purpose as this will weaken the slats over time. Slats should be cleaned down every year and if using rubber mats check that they are still secured. Make sure that your slats have a good drop-off with a smooth finish on the sides to minimise blockages and ensure that the slurry is moving to the tank efficiently – this results in greater animal comfort and reduced lameness from digital dermatitis and slurry heel. Healthier cattle results in reduced vet bills and improved weight gain. Grant Available TAMS II is running until December 2020 under which farmers can get up to a 40% grant for new or replacement slats once the manhole slat is placed outside the shed. Fitting slats in new sheds can be done throughout the year but the best time to replace existing slats is when the cattle are out and the tanks are empty. Each farm is different so access to site needs to be assessed prior to replacement. Take the time now to inspect and plan. Email: info@bancrete.com Phone: 057 9151417

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COMMERCIAL FEATURE: WATER QUALITY

GOOD QUALITY WATER

An Essential Nutrient For Dairy Cows. he most underestimated problem in livestock farming is drinking water quality. Water is an essential, but often overlooked, nutrient. It serves many functions in the animal’s body including the formation and processing of body cells, transportation of amino acids, regulation of blood pressure, normal processes of vital organs, removal of by-products and thermoregulation to name but a few. In order to fulfil its many functions, it is important that there is a sufficient supply of high quality water. A new study from the Netherlands looks at the issue of water quality, its impact on dairy cattle and a novel way to increase quality in the drinking water system. Farmers often assess drinking water based on its quality at source, whereas quality of the actual drinking water in the drinking system Figure 1 – Water quality measured at 5 different sample points often contains many pathogenic microorganisms. The intake of expressed in RLUs. these pathogenic bacteria disrupts healthy bacteria within the gut Using Relative Light Units (RLU’s) as a recognised measure of leading to negative consequences for the health of the cow. water quality, readings were taken that determined the incoming Previous studies have demonstrated a negative association between water to be safe for human consumption at 10 RLU but at the low water quality and a decrease in milk production. Besides fat, other five points in the system (storage tanks, drinking bowls and protein and lactose, milk is composed of 87% water. Cows will troughs) the readings were in excess of 1,000 RLU. With the limit consume less water if the quality is poor, which can have a severe for animal consumption being at 70-300 RLU the system required consequence on the health status of the cow and also impact on milk direct action to lower the RLU levels. production. Also for calves, it is important to have fresh water available from the first day of life. Milk flows to the abomasum while water ACTION & OUTCOMES The water storage tank was emptied and cleaned. A continuous enters the rumen to support rumen development which is important rate of 50-100ppm of Hydrocare was then added to the incoming for grain fermentation and starter intake. water immediately changing the RTU levels of the storage tank to less than 300 RTU (safe for human consumption).The dose rate was CLEANING IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN continued for a three month period. Within the first month the RTU DISINFECTION levels at all points in the system had more than halved and within three It is a major misunderstanding that problems may be prevented months all points in the system had an RTU rating of below 300 (safe by disinfecting water with chlorinated agents or acids. To prevent for human consumption). On reaching the desired points the dosing animals from getting ill due to contaminated drinking water, it is intensity was lowered to one day per week to maintain good water quality. very important to remove biofilm from water in the system. Adding One of the most notable outcomes was that drinkers that were medicines, vaccines and nutritional supplements to drinking water subject to uncontrollable external contamination from mucus and feed residues maintained the desired RTU levels throughout. Other key creates a biofilm resulting in organic pollution of drinking water. performances were noted in the comparison of the units twelve months Biofilm is a breeding ground for pathogenic microorganisms, statistics between 2014/15 and 2015/16 (October to October) where intake of which disturbs the natural balance of microorganisms daily milk yield per cow had improved by 1.3kg. Protein levels increased in the animal’s immune system resulting in negative health by 0.19% which together with a decrease in urea by 3ml/dl indicates a consequences. In addition, microorganisms in the biofilm are better protein utilisation.There were fewer days of drying off along often protected against disinfectants. Removing biofilm removes with a decrease in pre-weaning calf mortality from 6.5 to 3.0%. 99% of all microorganisms giving disinfectants a better chance to CONCLUSION deal with pathogens. This study emphasizes the importance of a clean water system and sanitized water to guarantee optimal health and performance FIELD STUDY of calves, heifers and dairy cows. The results demonstrate that it is A field study performed at the Dairy Academy in Oenkerk, the Netherlands, was carried out to investigate the effect of improving possible to clean the drinking water system and disinfect the water using Intra Hydrocare, and to maintain the system clean for drinking water for dairy cattle with Intracare Hydrocare, a waterthe period of currently up to 1 year. The improved water quality based solution of hydrogen peroxide and activated silver. This resulted in an increased milk yield, higher protein content and an water-based solution is effectively used for the removal of biofilm overall positive effect on animal health. from drinking water systems (cleaning) and elimination of microorganisms (disinfecting). At the time of the study the facility Study by Gerwen Lammers, PhD, Daisy Roijackers, MSc, Marc had 165 cows in lactation, 20 dry cows, and 135 calves and heifers. Spackler, MSc and Carly Vulders, Bsc. Intracare, the Netherlands. Before the study commenced they used an electrolysis system References are available on request. (generating chlorine) to treat drinking water. This worked insufficiently because the water was only being disinfected and Available from your local Vet shop, Merchant or Co-Op. the water system was not being cleaned. Distributed by Agrihealth Tel: 047 71800

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FARM BUSINESS - DAIRYING

NEWS

V-MAC SILOS ANNOUNCE €5M EXPANSION AND THE CREATION OF 30 EXTRA JOBS

McAree Engineering Ltd, a 3rd Generation Family business based in Ballinode, Co. Monaghan, recently announced a €5M expansion and the creation of 30 jobs over the next 2 years.

John McAree, Site Manager, Minister Heather Humphreys, Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation, and Vincent McAree, Operations Director at the announcements of McAree Engineering expansion

s well as being one of the country’s largest sheet metal fabrication businesses, they also design and manufacture the V-Mac range of bulk storage silos. This major investment will provide for a purpose built 3,700m2 (40,000 square feet) factory unit with 8,000 m2 yard space, adjacent to their current facility which will double their capacity to manufacture their V-MAC range of bulk storage silos. This facility will be operational by October 2018. McAree Engineering are one of the largest manufacturers of Bulk storage silos in Ireland or the UK and service the Agricultural, Bio-mass and Waste Water Treatment Sectors. Eamon McMeel,V-Mac Technical Sales Manager said: “We are delighted to make this announcement, demand for our V-Mac silos is at an all time high and this purpose built factory will allow us to increase our

“We are extremely grateful to our business partners including Enterprise Ireland and Bank of Ireland who are supporting us in this expansion,” stated Financial Controller Claire Doogan.

ABOUT MCAREE ENGINEERING McAree Engineering was set up in 1946 by Vincent McAree, just outside the picturesque village of Ballinode in North Monaghan. His son, Brendan McAree is the current Managing Director and three of his children are working closely with him in the business: Vincent, a qualified engineer is the Operations Director; Claire, an accountant is the Financial Controller and John is a Factory Manager. Nuala, Brendan’s wife is the company secretary. The business employs 120 people across two factories in North Monaghan whose focus is on the design and manufacture of sheet

“It is expected that this investment will lead to the creation of at least 30 jobs over the next 2 years” productivity and reduce lead times to our customers in Ireland and the UK”. Additional investment on a 12m x 2.5m Trumpf Laser, which will be commissioned by mid July this year will also significantly increase McAree Engineering metal processing capacity to approximately 230 tons per week. It is expected that this investment will lead to the creation of at least 30 jobs over the next 2 years with opportunities for Mechanical Design Engineers, Sheet Metal Fabricators and Operations staff. The recruitment programme for these staff has already started. Speaking at the North East Lean Network Open day held at their Ballinode Factory, Managing Director, Brendan McAree said,“We are delighted to make this announcement today in the presence of our local Minister Heather Humphries, Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation.This is the largest investment McAree Engineering have ever made and is in response to the growing demand from our customers. “We feel that this is a wonderful statement of our intent to continue to be leaders in the sectors that we operate in and is testament to the wonderful team that work in McAree Engineering that have worked hard to get us to this position.”

metal fabrication solutions for the industrial and agricultural sectors They offer a full outsource sheet metal service from design through to laser cutting, folding, fabrication, dry powder paint coating and assembly.

THE BUSINESS OPERATES ACROSS THREE LINES OF BUSINESS: • Sheet metal fabrication • In addition, they design and manufacture the V-Mac range of bulk storage silos servicing the agricultural, bio-mass and waste water industry in Ireland and the UK. • They also have a Projects division, operating out of their Carrickroe factory which focuses on specialist project based design, fabrication and manufacturing & coatings service for the industrial sector

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT: Eamon McMeel, McAree Engineering Ltd., Ballinode, Co. Monaghan P: 047 89333 E: sales@mcaree-eng.com Web: www.vmacsilos.ie

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ENERGY USAGE REDUCTION

HOW TO SAVE MONEY ON ENERGY/ELECTRICITY There are ways to measure your existing energy usage which will allow you to select the best methods for your farm. By John Upton and Barry Caslin (Teagasc).

DAIRY ENERGY COSTS

The average cost of electricity usage on Irish dairy farms is €5 per 1,000 litres milk produced. But there is a large variation in that figure – from €2.60 to €8.70 per 1,000 litres produced, or from €15 to €45 per cow per year. These figures suggest that there is potential for many farmers to reduce their electricity usage by making some changes to how they produce milk. Teagasc estimates that the average farm could save €1,800 per year through altered management strategies and the use of energy efficient technologies. These costs exclude VAT and network charges. The main drivers of energy consumption on dairy farms are milk cooling (31%), the milking machine (20%) and water heating (23%), see figure 1.

l This can be done using a pricing comparison website such as

www.bonkers.ie. All you need is information about your present tariff, annual usage and night rate usage in order to make comparisons and calculate possible savings. If you decide to switch suppliers it is important to read the small print. Check the standing charges and termination charges. l Night rate hours are from 11pm to 8am during winter time

and 12 midnight to 9am for summer time. l Where appliances are required to operate during night rate

hours, i.e. electrical water heaters, digital time clocks with battery backup should be used. l Analogue timers without battery back-up will become out of

sync in power failures. Night Rate electricity Vs Day Rate electricity l Night rate is charged at €0.08 per KWh; day rate is charged at l The meter standing charges increase from approx. €0.46 per €0.16 per KWh, exact costs vary by the electricity supplier. day to €0.60 per day after moving to night rate electricity. This means that a minimum of 1.5 units of electricity would need to l Checking your pricing and tariff structure against the be used each night to offset the extra charges. best available rates can also yield significant savings. The l A typical dairy water heater uses approx. 1.5 units of electricity cheapest supplier could be 20% less than the most expensive per hour and takes about 6 hours to reach full temperature. one.

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ENERGY USAGE REDUCTION Development and Demonstration funding programme to deliver an on-line decision support tool to aide farmers in making decisions around energy efficiency. The tool is available to use at http://messo.cit.ie/dairy This online Dairy Energy Decision Support tool can be used to gain farm specific recommendations tailored to your situation (e.g. farm size and grant eligibility), seek out energy efficiency projects that deliver a return in 5 years or less.

WATER HEATING Introduction l An adequate and reliable supply of hot water is an essential element in the production of high quality milk on any dairy farm. Average component consumption on 60 commercial dairy farms

CALCULATE YOUR ENERGY COSTS A simple calculation can be made to approximate on-farm electricity costs. Firstly add up the total electricity charges over a year excluding standing charges,VAT and PSO levy, these figures can be found on the electricity bill. Multiply by 100 to convert from euro to cents. Next add up the total number of litres of milk sold to the processor over the same period. Dividing the electricity cost in cents by the number litres will give the cost in cent per litre. The average three bedroom house in Ireland uses approximately 5,000 units of electricity per year, this can be deducted to account for domestic usage if the dwelling house in on the same meter as the farm.

l Every farmer should have their water tested for hardness. A

water softener should be installed in areas of hard water. l Indicative running costs per 100 litre of water at 80 degrees are:

- Day rate electricity €2.00 - Night rate electricity €1.00 - Oil fired system €0.65 (heating oil at €0.62 per litre)

Key Points l All hot water pipes and hot water storage tanks should

be heavily insulated l Electrical water heating systems should be operated on

night rate electricity only

DAIRY ENERGY DECISION SUPPORT Teagasc has partnered with Cork Institute of Technology and the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland under the Research

l Oil fired water heating systems can provide large volumes of

hot water very quickly

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ENERGY USAGE REDUCTION

HEAT RECOVERY Introduction Heat recovery systems transfer energy from the cooling systems refrigerant to water in a storage tank thus raising the temperature of the water. Key Points l Supplementary heating of heat recovery water by electricity

or oil is always required to achieve the desired temperature of 80 degrees Celsius. l The heat recovery tank should be used as a buffer tank only. A

second tank to heat the water to 80 degrees is always required. l The heat recovery tank should pre feed the final temperature

water tank. l Installing HR is a specialised job and should only be done by a

registered refrigeration technician with experience of heat recovery. l Incorrect installation will stress the compressors and drive

Plate cooler with solenoid valve on the water pipe l Oil fired heating systems should be considered if daily usage

of hot water exceeds 300 litres l Generally, a minimum hot water requirement is 9 litres of 80°C

water per milking unit for each hot wash cycle plus a reserve for bulk tank washing

higher power consumption as well as decreasing compressor life. Key Risks l Installation of a HR system by anyone other than the original

manufacturer/commissioner of the system will almost certainly void the warranty.

l The bulk tank will require at least 1% of the volume of the

l Many older cooling systems still operate on old refrigerant R12

tank itself of hot water for washing

or similar, this is now no longer available. Upgrading an old

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ENERGY USAGE REDUCTION system to heat recovery involves changing to new 404A refrigerant which is expensive and is not recommended.

over 60% on vacuum pump running costs which would be a saving of €410 per year for the average 100 cow farm.

l When installed by a qualified refrigeration engineer as part of

l The VSD is able to adjust the rate of air removal from the

a new cooling system upgrade it is much safer.

milking system by changing the speed of the vacuum pump motor to equal the rate air is admitted to the system at a given vacuum level. All of the energy used to move air through the conventional vacuum regulator is saved.

l A guarantee should be sought for all heat recovery installations.

VACUUM PUMPS Introduction l International and Irish Milk Quality Co-operative Society (IMQCS) standards are a basis for installing a new milking machine. l New revisions of these standards were introduced in 1989,

2004 and 2008. One of the changes that has been implemented over the years was an increase in recommended vacuum pump capacity for a given size of milking machine for example in

SOLAR PHOTOVOLTAIC Solar Photovoltaic (PV) generates electricity from the sun, which in turn can be used by the farm. These systems can be stand-alone (i.e. the generate electricity is only used by the farm) or grid connected (where surplus electricity is fed into the national electricity grid). Unfortunately in an Irish context, micro-generators who export power to the grid from small scale wind or PV systems

“The system which reduces energy the most may not be a good investment” 1989 the recommended vacuum pump capacity was 1400 l/min do not receive payment for exported electricity, furthermore there are no capital investment grants to subsidize the purchase for a 20 unit milking machine. In 2008 the recommendation was 2422 l/min.This is because modern milking machines require a large cost of PV systems. Hence, the most logical solution for Irish farmers would be vacuum reserve for washing due to large milk-line bores. a stand-alone system sized so that all electricity generated is consumed by the farm. For a 100 cow spring calving herd, the Key Goals ideal system size falls at around 6 kW of installed capacity of PV, l During milking the plant consumption is a fraction of the which would cost in the region of €6,000. vacuum pump capacity resulting in large amounts of air being In the absence of a capital investment grant this system would drawn in through the regulator. deliver a payback after 11 years. If a 40% technology investment grant were made available, the payback would drop to 6.7 l Addition of a variable speed drive (VSD) to the vacuum pumps of these large modern milking machines can result in savings of years.

SELECTADNA IRELAND THE ULTIMATE THEFT, BURGLARY AND ROBBERY DETERRENT

electaDNA International has been at the forefront of providing Police and Insurance recommended security marking solutions in over 30 countries since 1985. This product is now available here through our distributor SelectaDNA Ireland. Our property marking, forensic coding and asset identification solutions have helped farming families, farm machine contractors, businesses, local authorities, hospitals and schools protect their property from robbery, theft and burglary. We provide cost effective, quality, independently tested security solutions which are accredited to the highest industry standards has always been at the core of our company ethos. Since launching SelectaDNA in 2004, our achievements in reducing theft, burglaries and robberies have been remarkable. SelectaDNA has been responsible for reducing theft and burglaries by up to 83% in areas where our products have been utilised. Our award-winning solutions use a uniquely coded forensic liquid to mark and identify assets and critical infrastructure to deter theft, burglary and robbery to help Gardai secure convictions. SelectaDNA is one of the most powerful, internationally recognised, crime prevention solutions available today. If you would like to know more contact us at 01-4693742, info@sdna.ie or click onto www.selectadna.ie We would be delighted to hear from you.

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ENERGY USAGE REDUCTION

STRATEGIES TO REDUCE ENERGY USE IN MILKING FACILITIES

MF and 21% for LF). The large farm could reduce electricity consumption by over 18%, saving over 3 tonnes of CO2 per annum by using a solar thermal water heater. Over a ten year period subsequent to the investment, however, the farmer will have reduced cumulative profitability by 1.8% (€9,200).

To examine potential strategies to reduce electricity consumption and costs, we used a model for simulating electricity consumption and associated costs and profitability of dairy farms. The main inputs to the model were milk production, Table 1: Summary of energy reduction strategies on total number of cows and capacity of the milk cooling, milking annual electricity consumption (kWh), associated CO2 machine, water heating, lighting and water pump systems, the winter housing facilities as well as details of the management of emissions (kg), associated costs (€) and return on investment (ROI) on three farm sizes, SF (small farm) MF the farm (e.g. season of calving, frequency of milking and (medium farm) and LF (large farm). Costs are based on milking start time). Three farm sizes were simulated; a small the Day&Night tariff. farm (SF) with 45 milking cows (255,278 L), a medium farm (MF) with 88 milking cows (499,898 L) and a large farm (LF) with 195 milking cows (774,089 L). The farms were spring calving herds operating grass-based milk production systems. Costs associated with the investment strategies were sourced from local equipment suppliers. The results of this analysis are presented in Table 1. Investment in technologies such as precooling coupled with direct expansion milk cooling systems (DXPHE) reduced electricity consumption by 28%, increased overall ten year profitability by 0.8% (€3,960) and reduced annual CO2 emissions by 4.8 tonnes on LF. Investment in ice bank milk cooling system with the addition of a pre-cooling system (IBPHE) and Solar Thermal Panels (SOLAR) both reduced electricity consumption, CO2 emissions and electricity costs on all farms. IBPHE resulted in the largest annual electricity cost saving: 46% for SF, 38% for MF and 45% for the LF, but the return on investment (ROI) figures were all negative (-9% for SF, -3% for MF and -1% for LF). Likewise, even though the Solar strategy reduced electricity consumption, CO2 emissions and electricity costs, the ROI figures were all negative (-25% for the SF, -18% for the MF and -16% for the LF). The most attractive ROI figures resulted from the DXPHE investment (17% for SF, 19% for

1 Base = investment in direct expansion (DX) milk cooling system, standard milking system vacuum pumps and electric water heating system; DXPHE = as per Base with the addition of a milk pre-cooling system; IBPHE = Ice bank (IB) milk cooling system with the addition of a pre-cooling system; Solar = as per Base with the addition of solar thermal panels. * Electricity costs.

SUMMARY Of the options studied, the most profitable technology investment strategy consisted of a direct expansion milk cooling system with pre-cooling of milk to 15°C before entry to the milk storage tank and heating water with an electrical water heating system. Ice bank milk cooling systems can reduce electricity consumption by 45% on a large farm with about 195 cows without delivering a positive return on investment in the ten year period subsequent to the investment.

Oil fired water heater with 500 L tank

Article by John Upton (Teagasc Dairy Research Officer Moorepark) and Barry Caslin (Teagasc Energy & Rural Development Specialist)

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GUIDE TO BETTER HEIFERS

SOLVING THE FODDER PROBLEM FOR HEIFERS After a tough spring remedial action is needed to bring heifers back on track as they are the future, advises Emer Kennedy, Teagasc.

pring 2018 was an extremely challenging spring, with difficult weather conditions and a lack of feed supply; as a consequence heifers may have been under target weight at mating start date. Although deficits in weight at key time points such as mating are not ideal they can now be made up to ensure heifers achieve target weight prior to calving. It must be remembered that your replacement heifers are the most important animals on the farm. Correctly rearing these animals and calving them between 22 and 26 months of age will ensure that you recoup the investment made, when growing them, by the time the heifer has completed 1.63 lactations. The key with heifer rearing is to ‘actively manage’ the heifers rather than leaving them in a paddock and hoping for the best. As with all aspects of farming, knowledge is power! Those who are skilled at measuring grass could no longer imagine trying to manage their farm without completing a weekly farm cover. Similarly, those that frequently weigh their replacement heifers realise that it is extremely difficult to assess their weight visually and they cannot accurately manage their heifers without knowing their actual bodyweight (BW).

CALCULATING MATURE BODYWEIGHT OF THE HERD Target weights are specific to your herd. In order to calculate the target BW which heifers need to achieve at certain time points during rearing, it is necessary to identify the mature bodyweight of the herd by weighting a sample of mature, fully grown cows from the herd. Cows which are in their 3rd or greater lactation and in mid-lactation should be used, these cows should also represent the future of your herd. If you are changing cow type, e.g. moving to Jersey x Holstein Friesian cross, base your target weights/mature weight on Jersey x Holstein Friesian cross animals rather than Holstein Friesians. Similarly, if you have animals which you know are under-grown do not use these animals to calculate your mature herd weight. An ideal time to weigh cows to calculate mature herd weight is May/June for spring calving cows.

TARGET WEIGHTS The key target weights to achieve at different time points are: l 30% mature BW @ 6 months of age l 60% mature BW @ 15 months of age or mating start date l 90% mature BW pre-calving (~24 months of age)

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GUIDE TO BETTER HEIFERS Achieving these target weights at each of the time points has previously been shown to maximise milk production potential and ensure longevity within the lactating herd. However, as previously mentioned some heifers may be below target given the over winter challenges. On the other hand heifers fed high quantities of meal over the winter/spring period may now be well ahead of target – this should also be avoided! Replacement heifers which are ahead of target weight are at higher risk of having reduced longevity within the lactating herd. Teagasc Moorepark data has shown that heifers that were overweight at mating start date had fewer total lactations and a later calving date from second lactation onwards than those heifers that were at target weight at mating start date. Figure 1 is a rough guide to the target weights replacement heifers should be at each month during rearing. If heifers are above or below these target weights corrective action needs to be taken.

ACHIEVING TARGET WEIGHTS The weight of replacement heifers needs to be continually monitored from weaning onwards. An ideal time to monitor weights is when heifers are brought back to the yard for dosing. [With regard to parasite control the aim is to limit egg contamination of pastures and try offer calves/heifers as clean a pasture as possible. The appropriate treatment/anthelminthic which should be used can be chosen in conjunction with your vet, Animal Health Ireland also has a number of leaflets providing advice]. Managing heifers during their first grazing season When managing the calves first grazing season it is preferable to group on weight/size, and if a calf is not keeping pace with the rest of the group it should be transferred to a more appropriate group. For calves that are struggling to achieve their target weight it is desirable to have two separate groups of calves. This second group of calves should be smaller in size and contain the lighter calves. A lesser number of similar sized calves will mean there is not as much competition within the group and calves

Figure 1. A rough guide of target weights which should be attained by February born replacement heifers with a mature bodyweight of 550 kg when aiming to calve them at 24 months of age

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GUIDE TO BETTER HEIFERS

have a greater chance of meeting their feed requirements. These calves should be given preferential treatment i.e. given the higher quality leafy grass and 1-2 kg of concentrate. As soon as they are back at target weight they can be moved back to the main group of calves. This smaller group is dynamic and calves are constantly changing in and out of it depending on their weight – the aim is to have as uniform a group of calves as possible. Towards the end of the summer months if calves appear to be behind target they should be supplemented with concentrate in early autumn as waiting to discover calves are under target weight at housing is too late. Recent Moorepark experiments show that calves supplemented with concentrate (1.5 kg) in autumn (September and October) gained 0.20 kg/calf more per

winter. Heifers should be turned out to grass as soon as possible in spring, as they can gain up to 1 kg/day at grass compared to <0.70 kg/day while on their winter diet. Consequently heifers have a greater chance of attaining their target weight with early turnout. During the main grazing season heifers should graze covers of 1400 – 1500 kg DM/ha and achieve a post-grazing height of 4cm, this will train them for efficient grazing when they join the lactating herd. While a number of people use leader follower systems, particularly for parasite control, this is where the younger calves graze ahead of the older heifers caution should be exercised as both groups of animals are growing and require sufficient nutrients to attain

“Splitting calves into groups by size will help to achieve correct body weight” day than those not supplemented during the autumn period. If heifer calves are at or over target weight a grass only diet should be offered, however remember that grass quality and digestibility are low at the end of the grazing season (Oct/Nov) and this coupled with high rainfall will result in little to poor weight gain so animals need to be closely monitored. If necessary, calves should be supplemented or housed.

their target weights. If the group of in-calf heifers are below target weight they should not be grazed in a leader follower system.

CONCLUSION

The message gathered from all the evidence is clear; good nutrition is fundamental to animal health, welfare and productivity. Through correct feeding and continuous monitoring from the Managing heifers during their first winter day the calf is born, target weights can be achieved. Reaching A silage only diet is not suitable for heifers either at or below these targets will result in more productive cows when they target weight over the winter months as weight gains are too low. reach the lactating herd. Concentrate will need to be included to ensure heifers achieve Furthermore, these animals should last in the herd for greater target weight at MSD.The quantity of concentrate will depend on than two lactations which will result in the initial investment heifer BW at housing. during the rearing phase being recovered, thereby allowing cows to generate a profit for the remainder of their lactations. Managing heifers during their second grazing season Regardless of diet offered over the winter, weight gains Article by Emer Kennedy, Teagasc, Animal and Grassland achieved post-turnout are higher than those achieved during the Research and Innovation Centre, Moorepark, Fermoy, Co. Cork

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FINANCE

GETTING THE BEST VALUE FROM YOUR ACCOUNTS How to extract useful information from your accounts as well as keeping the taxman happy by Philip O’Connor (IFAC).

WHY KEEP ACCOUNTS?

1. Profit and loss account – calculates the profit or loss over a given year.

2. Cash flow statement – measures the flow of monies in and out of Most farmers keep accounts to satisfy other people such as the the business over a given year. taxman or bank manager. 3. Balance sheet - shows the worth of the business at a given date We believe that accounts shouldn’t be seen as an obligation for a third party i.e. taxman but rather as management tool to make informed normally the accounts year end. decisions on your farm business. The value of these financial statements are enhanced if: Farmers are business people but most farmers tend to think of a) You have a number to compare the current year against. themselves as working the land and don’t put enough emphasis on b) You compare your own results against those farmers within a the financial aspect of the business. Farmers spend too much compiling similar enterprise. the information after the year end for their tax accounts and don’t A. BENEFITS OF COMPARING A NUMBER take the time to analyse them. OF YEARS If your accounts are not accurate when you seek advice on them Compare the following balance sheets for Joe Farmer for two years: the advice can be flawed. The quality of the advice can only be as good as the quality of the information provided in the first place. Many farmers are continuing to make serious financial decisions without having sufficient information to diagnose the current financial state of health of their farming business. Farmers in the past have restructured loans or made deals with the banks but have still ended up in financial difficulty; this arose because they did not have sufficient information to accurately measure the level of borrowings the farm could service on an on-going basis even after restructuring or settlement. In order to make an informed financial decision on the state of your business you need to understand your own financial circumstances. The main tools used by farmers are the Profit & Loss account, cashflow statement and the Balance Sheet.

Drop in net worth of business of €15,000 during the year.

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FINANCE

If the net worth of the business is going down then corrective action is needed otherwise financial difficulty is around the corner. There is a danger that farmers will consider their situation to be satisfactory if the Bank Manager is happy.

GOOD ADVICE DEPENDS ON GOOD INFORMATION:

It is generally accepted that the more progressive farmers have been more ready to ask for and to accept help from advisory services over the years. The same can be said for other businesses where wise and The above example shows that the amount owed to the Bank did intelligent mangers seek the best possible professional advice available not increase, yet the net worth deteriorated by €15,000 because the to them. value of stocks went down from €80,000 to €70,000 and the The quality and cost of good advice is governed greatly by the amount owed to creditors went up from €10,000 to €25,000. availability of information. You cannot expect a good doctor to provide you with an effective cure if you are unable to tell him the B. COMPARE YOUR OWN RESULTS AGAINST precise location of your pain, similarly an advisor or consultant will THOSE OF OTHER FARMERS WITHIN A be more effective in helping you to cure your farming problems if SIMILAR ENTERPRISE: you provide him with sufficient information to allow him to diagnose it To get these comparative figures, it is necessary to do accounts properly. with an accountancy agency that specialises in farm accounts and Always remember that if you require the services of a consultant, that has sufficient farming clients to provide a large data bank from that he may burn up a lot of time (and your money) in trying to which a comparative service can be provided. assemble the information that you should have had available in the IFAC is probably the most notable accountancy agency providing a first place.

“good advice is governed greatly by the availability of good information” comparative analysis service to clients. This type of service requires access to a large data bank of reliable information. IFAC’s comparative analysis report draws on information from IFAC’S 17,000 clients and compares a farmers own figures on output, individual costs and profit with the national average and the top 10% within similar enterprise mix’s. The benefit of using comparative groups in this way is that makes the comparisons more relevant to your particular enterprise. The comparative analysis is a very good at helping farmers to identify particular items of cost on their own farms which are out of line with the norm. The costs are expressed as percentages of gross output and each item of cost on the farm is expressed in this format. Where farmers own costs diverge from the norm there may be explanations for increases or decreases in certain costs. However, the report does focus the attention on an item of cost that should at least be looked at by the farmer and his agri advisor.

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ANIMAL HEALTH

EFFECTIVE WORM CONTROL Cattle must be allowed to develop a level of natural immunity. Repidose Bolas: Perfect for replacement heifers between 100kg and 400kg at turnout

“T

he ideal approach to controlling lung, gut and stomach worms is to use a worming program that allows some exposure to the worm larvae but kills adult worms”, according to Kanturk vet Eamon O’Flynn. He pointed out that the practice of using injectable or pour–on long– acting anthelmintics in calves during their first grazing season can severely hamper the build-up of immunity to infection, particularly to lungworm, Kanturk vet Eamon O’Flynn in later life.

All of this highlights the importance of using a product which allows the calf to develop natural immunity to hoose during the first grazing season. Eamon said that the Repidose bolus has season-long protection because of the product’s pulse release system where the anthelmintic is strategically released into the animal’s system. “The pulse system releases a treatment dose of oxfendazole every 21 days which is effective against adult and immature stomach and gut worms, lungworms and tapeworms (heads and segments) in cattle. In between pulses cattle are able to generate immunity to the worms in question.” Repidose is the only pulse release bolus on the market for the treatment of lungworms, stomach and gut worms according to MSD. Shane Naughton of MSD Animal Health said the bolus is divided

“Immunity to worms depends on adequate exposure to infection during the treatment period” “A worm control programme should be directed towards the three into seven individual chambers and every three weeks, a therapeutic main types of parasites. These are lung worms, which cause hoose, dose of the anthelmintic oxfendazole is released into the animal’s gut. stomach worms and gut worms. “This kills adult and immature worms. During the 21-day interval “When deciding on a dosing programme, farmers should ask them– between doses being released, cattle ingest worm eggs and larvae. selves the question: will the product I use control all three parasites? This allows some exposure of the calf’s immune system to worms And what affect will it have on the animal’s immunity later in life?” thereby enabling the development of immunity.” The cost of lungworm infection in dairy herds is estimated at Shane Naughton of MSD Animal Health said ‘This product is ideal €160/cow/year. for young dairy and beef stock more than 12 weeks old and This is mainly due to reduced milk yield which can be up to 6L/ weighing between 100kg and 400kg. It’s perfect for replacement cow/day. Hoose also results in body condition loss and a drop in heifers being turned out to an out-farm due to its activity for the full fertility which can lead to longer calving intervals and increased grazing season. Immunity to worms depends on adequate exposure culling. to infection during the treatment period’.

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WEED CONTROL

WEED MANAGEMENT AFTER A WET SPRING Slow growing grass will allow weeds to thrive which requires a solution. Tim O’ Donovan, Seedtech, Waterford reports. Old pasture in foreground and new ley in background. A well chosen and timed herbicide will significantly reduce dandelion populations.

fter a very difficult spring, grassland weeds are set to proliferate over the summer months of 2018. Buttercups, dandelions and rushes all thrive in slowly growing grass swards. The dock, thistle and nettle won’t be found wanting either when it comes to taking advantage of poached fields and poor grass growth. All of the weeds mentioned have set plenty of seeds in your pastures and these seeds will readily germinate where poaching has occurred, while later fertiliser applications and loss of nitrogen through leeching and denitrification will have impacted on grass vigour. In a nutshell, the late spring is advantageous for grassland weeds. So what weeds are likely to cause the most problems and what can you do to avoid these weeds taking over expensive (and badly wanted) grass?

small mammals. However, where production of fodder is the aim, weeds do impact on the quantity and quality of fodder. Teagasc research on docks has proven that every 1 kg of dock dry matter you ‘grow’, it displaces 1 kg of grass dry matter that is getting more valuable as we move through 2018. This was based on 6 years trials carried out in a 2-cut silage field (also grazed in spring & autumn) - so a very real, farming situation. Graph no. 1 shows the results of the Teagasc trial, and clearly shows that the trial plots that had a lot of docks grew little grass and vice versa. One very important finding of these trials and hugely applicable in 2018, is that docks impact more on second cut silage yields than first cut silage yields. An added problem is that weed grasses, of lower nutritive value, such as Creeping Bent and Annual Meadow Grass replace sown grasses where docks occur in severe patches.

HOW DO GRASSLAND WEEDS AFFECT YOUR PASTURES?

OTHER EFFECTS OF WEED ON GRASS SWARDS

While rare, animal deaths or severe sickness as the result of plant In normal circumstances, low levels of weeds in pasture are of no poisoning (e.g. Ragwort, St John’s Wort etc) can be very costly to consequence and their removal may not be cost effective. Certain the individual farmer. Certain weeds (e.g. thistles) discourage grassland weeds have high levels of trace elements and also have grazing by the nature of their prickly habit while chickweed and environmental benefits as food sources to birds, invertebrates and buttercups have low levels of water soluble carbohydrates and reduce the preservation of silage. As well as the physical impact of weeds on your grassland fields, you are obliged to control certain weeds by the Noxious Weeds Act and as part of your Cross-Compliance obligations.

WHAT GRASSLAND MANAGEMENT PRACTISES CAN I APPLY TO REDUCE WEED EFFECTS?

Management practices such as drainage, improving soil fertility, grazing, topping and mowing are very important when it comes to controlling weeds. All of these encourage the grassland to be competitive and dense. Remember – even though there is an abundance of weed seeds waiting to germinate, very few get the chance as a dense grass sward alters the sunlight and other

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WEED CONTROL environmental signals reaching the buried weed seeds. Grass intercepts part of the sun’s radiation and the ‘shadow’ that reaches the soil surface does not tell the weed seeds to germinate. As well as striving to have a competitive sward, the most effective non-chemical control method of grassland weeds is knowledge and understanding about the weeds themselves. It is surprising how effective and cheap you can control certain weeds just by knowing a little about how they grow and reproduce. So in this article I will concentrate on the main weeds that are common in good, productive swards and the key points which will help you control them and make the best use of the chemicals applied.

St john’s wort, close up of leaf with tiny visible ‘pores’ which are characteristic of this plant.

St john’s wort flowering

RAGWORT After docks and thistles, ragwort is probably the most well-known grassland weed due to its very visible yellow flowers in August and its poisoning characteristics. However, I still meet farmers who have lost animals due to ragwort. It is a danger to all stock and the main symptom from ragwort poisoning is cirrhosis of the liver. Although largely unpalatable, ragwort may be eaten when green, particularly when other grazing is sparse. It becomes more palatable to animals when cut or sprayed as it releases sugars. Any control strategy should be based on the fact that ragwort is a biennial (lives for 2 years) and also that just because you killed it with a spray does not mean it cannot harm livestock. Small numbers of ragwort can be effectively pulled or dug up and safely removed. For larger numbers, sprays such as MCPA, 2, 4-D, Dicamba and Forefront, applied before the flowering stem begins to grow, provide good control but measures must be taken to avoid stock eating any dying or dead ragwort present.

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WEED CONTROL

DOCKS

Spraying ragwort is more effective as the plant crown and extensive root system is destroyed

Cutting ragwort encourages it to become a multi-headed perennial for up to 5 years

Docks are the most common and troublesome weed in grassland. Docks have everything going for them in terms of surviving in your fields. They are perennial (live many years), have a large root system, produce many hardy seeds and are very opportunistic in terms of where they germinate. For a dock seed to germinate, the amount of light reaching the soil surface is the main factor as moisture and temperature are usually adequate. Open swards or swards after cutting facilitate this. In silage fields, the level of potassium may be in over-supply for the needs of the grass thus favouring the higher needs of the dock. This strategy will also reduce the competitiveness of docks in your grassland sward and facilitate effective chemical control. Research in Johnstown Castle has shown that dock seeds do not survive being ensiled (due to low ph) but can survive passing through the animal’s intestine so the type of fodder and way it is preserved may be important in their spread.

THISTLES

There are 2 main types of thistle and knowing one from the other DANDELIONS These can also reduce the overall value of a pasture if allowed is critical to controlling them effectively. Creeping Thistle is the to establish.The key to dandelions is to watch out for them after most widespread and troublesome thistle. It mainly spreads by poaching etc as they are only spread by seed. Once established, creeping roots which can be metres in length but also spreads by dandelions develop a large tap-root but unlike docks, creeping wind-blown feathery seeds (July & August). To make matters worse, thistles or buttercups, will not propagate from their root system. it can grow new plants from small fragments of its roots thus appearing One thing I have found about control of dandelions is that they to explode when reseeding is carried out. catch farmers by surprise each year. The trouble is that dandelions The extensive root system of creeping thistle is its key mechanism flower once they get one warm week in March and usually before of survival in your fields. Frequent topping can reduce the root most people think of spraying them. Once flowered, it is very reserves but will seldom eradicate the problem as root fragments hard to get good control of the root system. Products based on can lay viable and dormant for years. Thistles emerge in the Fluroxypyr and aminopryalid offer the best chance of translocating spring at different times so topping is a useful tactic to even into the roots. Recent Canadian research has shown very effective up the growth stages before spraying. Chemicals such as 2,4- control of dandelion by a bio-herbicide based on the fungus Sclerotina. D, MCPA and dicamba reduce top growth but do not translocate This product has been recently commercialised for lawn weed control. down to the roots. For more persistent control use Thistlex, SOFT RUSH Pastor or Forefront but follow-up sprays will be needed. In comparison, the Spear Thistle only spreads by seed albeit by a This is the most common of the many rush species found, usually on wet and neglected pastures. It has become more prominent in lot of seeds which are designed to fly long distances by wind. wet summers and from reduced farming activity in some fields. It Each plant lives for 2 years

“Docks impact more on second cut silage yields” is recognised by the dense tuft of brown flowers coming from (similar to Ragwort) producing a flattened rosette of leaves in the side of the stems and a continuous white centre (pith) when year one and then the familiar ‘tree-like’ structure in year two. Once controlled in the re-seed it rarely is a problem in grazed the stem is peeled back. Soft rush is mainly spread by seed but can also spread by under– fields except after poaching etc. Topping is not effective to ground stems (rhizomes). Rush control is based on a combination control the growth in year one but can be carried out on the second-year growth before seed is set. However, the plant may re- of fixing soil problems and removal of the initial infestation grow the following year once again requiring topping. Chemical with herbicides. Soft rush can be controlled with MCPA or 2,4D, applied in June or July when growth conditions are good. control options are the same as for Creeping Thistle.

Spear thistle – year 2 plant in background ready to flower, year 1 plant in foreground will not flower and remains below cutting level so needs chemical control.

Creeping thistle from seed on left (note roots) and from root fragment on right. Creeping thistle from root fragment is more difficult to control.

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WEED CONTROL NOTE: MCPA IS INCREASINGLY BEING FOUND IN PUBLIC DRINKING WATER SO USE ADDED CARE WHEN APPLYING IT ON WET LAND, NEAR WATERCOURSES ETC. Cutting and removal of the rush about three weeks before spraying will give the best results. Follow-up drainage/management is essential if long-term control is required.

BUTTERCUPS

Dandelions only spread by seed but have a large root that enables year to year survival.

Buttercups can establish from the seed bank with new grass, and where gaps occur in the sward. Once established, creeping buttercup, the most common species, spreads by creeping and rooting runners. Meadow buttercup and bulbous buttercup are also perennial, but do not spread by runners. Creeping buttercup is relatively prostrate and is a particular problem in less vigorous, heavily grazed or poached, damper and even wet grassland. It is often a severe problem in horse paddocks where grazing tends to open the sward. It is not generally grazed by stock, but some grazing may take place where there is insufficient grass, and it has some nutritive value, but also some toxicity to stock when large quantities are eaten fresh, but it is palatable in hay. The presence of creeping buttercup probably has a direct effect on grass yield and reduces the value of hay. Meadow buttercup is the tallest flowering of the buttercups, and prefers damp meadows of reduced grass vigour. Bulbous buttercup has a swollen stem base and prefers neutral or alkaline drier grassland, again of low grass vigour. As with the other buttercups, they are not preferentially grazed by stock and have some toxicity when fresh but are palatable in hay.These species are usually associated with herb-rich hay meadows where fertility and grass vigour are low.

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CUBICLE DESIGN

CUBICLES – A BUYERS GUIDE Find the cubicle design that best suits your herd, based on animal size, design of shed and yard. By Paul Lyons.

Figure 3 – Flexible Cubicle

he idea of the cubicle bed in animal Table 1 – Cow Cubicle types housing came about to put cows in orderly straight lines and maximise housing space, and after a while as an after– thought, cow comfort. Many years ago the typical setup would have been a tie stall where cows had a halter or chain around their necks to keep them from wandering. While the vegans might be hopping up and down with the idea of this practice, it actually Galway dairy farmer Padraic Cummins for meant that cows became quiet, docile and his own herd. easy to handle. And they are not gone or a thing of the past. I know of several farmers GOOD CUBICLE DESIGN in Connemara and parts of Donegal that PRINCIPLES swear by tying cows in. The particular shed As I mentioned earlier, there are many designs in Donegal is a few steps away from a road to choose from and then it needs to be and the door to the byre is wide open! But I decided what dimensions of that particular am getting distracted, back to cubicles. The design will suit your breed of cow and earliest form of cubicle was the 3 legged housing design. Figure 5 shows the various

key dimensions that need consideration. Figure 6 shows an illustration of a cow rising. Lunging space – This is an area above the brisket board that allows the cow’s head to lunge forward. Body Space – This is the area where the cow will lie in the cubicle. It is important that there is sufficient space for the body of the cow and that bedding or matting covers the entire area. If the space is too short and

“Thorough research is necessary before a decision is made” Newton Rigg. This design was developed in the Newton Rigg Agricultural College in Cumbria, see Figure 1. For some time this was the only option available. Now there is a large variety of options available to maximise cow comfort. There are many variations in design and dimensions as the breeding of both the dairy and suckler cow varies quite a bit. The bed and cubicle size used for a Holstein Friesian will not be the same for an Angus suckler. In this article I aim to briefly describe the options of cubicles available, cover the key design points and describe a cubicle set up that was custom designed by

Figure 1 – Newton Rigg Cubicle

the backside of the cow hangs out over the bed, cows are less likely to use the spaces.Think of your own bed and if your foot was left sticking out of the covers on a cold winter's night! Other considerations include the choice of bedding. Many farms today go for rubber matting of various thicknesses and designs. There is also straw, milled peat and I have even come across a water bed. If I could offer one vital piece of advice, that is to do some thorough research on cubicles before you decide what to buy. There is a wealth of material written on cubicles and research carried out. At the end of this article I have listed some of the sources I used for research.

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CUBICLE DESIGN Table 2 – Cubicle Terminology growing herd but it didn't suit to go adding another extension to his shed and Padraic had done a lot of research and thinking prior to construction. Now a few years down the line, he has no regrets. He now selects cows or heifers that are in good condition for the outdoor cubicles. They have access to a shed for feeding and he finds in bad weather and showers, they will congregate inside but other than that, he finds they are happy and thriving outside. In terms of design, Padraic chose a sloped bed, his own shape of cubicle which has a sloped concrete brisket board. The lower end of the cubicle goes into this (the lower ends were welded to a length of box section which was incorporated in the concrete works). On top, the other end of the cubicle is welded directly to the head rail, which is then returned to RSJ uprights. to be improved cow comfort, ease of fitting wanted an all welded design as he Padraic yourself and less chance of damage to animal had found bolted joints to be troublesome or cubicle as a result of rough behaviour.Again in the past (see Fig 10).The cubicles were it would be a case of doing your research and asking the manufacturer to see if you can visit a made into roughly 4.8m (15'9'') sections and job they have done and speak to the farmer then transported to site and welded in place. in question to get feedback on performance. RESOURCES

Figure 2 – Super Loop

There is a wealth of information from Irish, UK, European and US sources available on line As part of the preparation for this article, I in relation to cubicles and I would highly recommend a thorough read of all information visited a local dairy farmer, Padraic Cummins before making a design or product choice. as I knew he had outdoor cubicles and that Teagasc – Cow Cubicles, Dr Tom Ryan, March 2004 he had designed the shape of the cubicle Dairy Housing – a best practice guide, AHDB, himself. Outdoor cubicle setups have come https://dairy.ahdb.org.uk/ in for a lot of criticism in recent snowstorms Journal of animal sciences, 2004, https://www.researchgate.net/publication/8185450_Cubi so I was interested to see what Padraic had cle_housing_systems_for_cattle_Comfort_of_dairy_cows_ to say. His outdoor set up is shown in Figures depends_on_cubicle_adjustment 8, 9, 10. His choice of outdoor cubicle was Paul Lyons is a Design Engineer with Bó Steel based on a number of criteria. At the time of who specialise in cattle, sheep and equine construction, he needed extra space for his solutions. Email: Paul.lyons@built2last.ie

OUTDOOR CUBICLES AND CUSTOMER LED DESIGN

Figure 5 – Cubicle Dimensions

Figure 6 – Cow Rising Illustration

Figure 8 – Welded cubicle and concrete brisket

Figure 7 – Lunging space

STEEL VS PLASTIC One of the biggest innovations in cubicles in recent years is the use of plastic or flexible cubicles. Easyfix were the first to launch this product and while not every manufacturer has followed suit with complete plastic cubicles, many have incorporated some flexible features to steel cubicles. The main advantage seems Figure 9 – Outdoor cubicles

Figure 10 – Improper fitting of cubicle

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COMMERCIAL FEATURE

CLAAS MOWERS, TEDDERS AND RAKES IN PERFECT COMBINATION Whether you are harvesting silage or baling hay or haylage, the CLAAS range of DISCO, VOLTO and LINER Green Harvest machinery is designed to ensure optimum output and reliability, even in the toughest of conditions, with a wide range of working widths to meet all requirements. CLAAS VOLTO TEDDERS Achieving an even spread of material when tedding is critical in order to avoid lumps and achieve improved crop drying.To help achieve this, CLAAS developed the award winning MAX SPREAD crop flow concept, available on all CLAAS VOLTO tedders, from the smallest 5.5m VOLTO 55 up the widest 13m VOLTO 1300T. Instead of straight spreading arms, with MAX SPREAD the spreader arms are angled by 29 degrees to improve crop flow through the tedder. As a result the spreading arms work for 65% longer and the increase in pick-up rate results in higher working speeds. This reduces the load on the driveline, lessens the bending forces on the tines and is more gentle on the crop. Crop flow through the tedding rotors is also straighter, so larger volumes of crop can pass through, helping increase throughput but also provides a wider and more even spread pattern. The standard specification includes a hydraulic headland crop guard and all VOLTO tedders feature the patented CLAAS CKL suspension system.

CLEAN SWEEPING LINER RAKES CLAAS offers one of the widest range of single, twin and four rotor rakes on the market, with a total of 11 models ranging in width from a maximum of 15m down to 3.2m. A feature on virtually all models is the CLAAS PROFIX grooved tine WIDE RANGING CLAAS DISC MOWER RANGE CLAAS offers one of the widest ranges of front, mounted, triple and fixing system which holds the arm firmly in place, but allows it to be trailed disc mowers on the market, with 30 DISCO models ranging from quickly and easily removed if necessary.These models also use a the simplest 2.6m spool controlled mounted mower up to advanced, heavy-duty swathing bell with sealed drives. On all CLAAS rakes, each of the rotor arms runs within a fully sealed, ISOBUS compatible, high capacity triples with cutting widths as wide solid cast and oil-filled cam track that is maintenance free.The rotors as 10.3m. are fitted with a Cardan suspension system that ensures that the tines Virtually all the DISCO range use the CLAAS MAX CUT mower bed manufactured in-house by CLAAS. A unique feature of the MAX CUT stay parallel to the ground for clean swathing.

“CLAAS offers one of the widest range of single, twin and four rotor rakes on the market” mower bed is that the mower bed is made from two pieces of bolted Wider LINER models are also designed so that as it is folded, the pressed steel plate, giving a higher torsional strength with less risk of rotors automatically retract downwards, to both lower the centre of cracking caused by welding heat stresses. gravity and keep transport height below 4.0m without needing to MAX CUT features a waved shape leading edge. Compared to a straight remove any tines. leading-edged bed, the cutting discs can be mounted close to the front For further information visit www.claas.co.uk of the bed. In combination with the new, specially formed discs, this means there is a greater overlap between the blades, creating an enlarged cutting area for optimum cutting quality and flow through the mower. To achieve a clean cut and avoid soil contamination, extra-wide skids are fitted to the underside of the mower bed, which guide dirt and foreign material backwards. Additional wear skids and high cut skids are available as an option. The satellite drive train of the MAX CUT is permanently lubricated and maintenance free, and designed so that in lighter crops it can be run at 850 rpm instead of 1000 rpm, which will help reduce fuel consumption by up to 20%.To fully protect the drive train, each mowing disc is mounted using a CLAAS SAFETY LINK module, which incorporates a pre-determined breaking point that will shear in the event of a collision, and is easy to replace. CONTOUR models also incorporate the hydro-pneumatic ACTIVE FLOAT suspension, which enables the ground pressure on the mower unit to be changed from the driver's seat when mowing and adjusted to the conditions in the field.

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COMMERCIAL FEATURE

MANAGING THE SAFE DELIVERY OF ANIMAL FEEDS Every livestock producer in Ireland takes deliveries of animal feeds either in bulk dry or liquid, or packed in bags and drums as a regular feature of working life on the farm. V-Mac Silos can extend filler pipes to make it easy for Feed Truck drivers to fill the silos

armers and their feed suppliers have a shared responsibility to ensure that their own staff and the feed supplier’s delivery driver are safe whilst on farm delivering animal feed products.

Key things to consider at the delivery planning stage include: l What time will the delivery arrive and when will you be notified? l Will there be any supervision of the delivery? l Farms must be adequately signed from the road. l Is yard area big enough for the delivery vehicle & adequately lit? l Is storage facility clearly marked and in good condition? l How will the product be unloaded bulk blown / tipped/ forklift discharge? l Are all people aware of the risks of using forklift trucks (FLT)not just those who will be driving the FLT? l Is ground at discharge point sound and level? l Are there overhead wires where the vehicle will park during discharge of the load? l If the delivery is to be made into a building, is the roof high enough to accommodate the delivery vehicle when its body is fully raised? l Are there any additional specific hazards which a delivery driver should be aware of?

BULK BLOWN DELIVERIES Eamon McMeel, V-Mac Silos Technical Sales Manager offers some excellent advice on the safe delivery of bulk feeds.

DELIVERY PLANNING Every delivery to farm needs planning in advance so that all the risks associated with the proposed delivery are considered and precautions are put in place to secure the safety of all involved either directly (e.g. driver, farm worker, contract staff) or indirectly (e.g. children, public) with the delivery whilst it is taking place.

A fixed delivery/filler pipe should be provided to which the driver can connect and make the delivery safely. Delivery pipes should be set between waist and head height and must be easily accessible. Ensure there is sufficient capacity in the feed storage facility to receive the full quantity of feed ordered. Feed Silos must be in a good state of repair, free from damage and excessive corrosion and must be securely fixed to the ground to prevent collapse or overturn.

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COMMERCIAL FEATURE Lofts – access to the loft by the delivery driver must be avoided wherever possible. Lofts should be fitted with fixed delivery pipes both at the connection point and within the loft. Where loft access is unavoidable the following requirements are needed to secure a delivery driver’s safety: l Interiors must be well lit with solid floors l ladders or steps must be in a good state of repair, placed on a firm footing and must be secured at the top l staircases must be fitted with a handrail and must be free of water or other material which may render them slippery. You must ensure feed can be delivered into the loft safely.

FARM TRAILERS l must be parked on level ground, securely hitched to a tractor or

a secured ground point l must be in the lowered position during delivery to ensure that they do not roll away /tip over during filling putting the delivery driver and farmer at risk. The delivery driver must be able to discharge the feed from ground level, ie without having to climb on the trailer to connect the pipes. Industrial containers must be adequately vented to avoid dangerous build up of air pressure during discharge of the product. IBC’s (tote bags) or bins must be filled using suitable equipment

Standard 1 ton tote bin – ideal for storing small quantities of feed

“You must ensure feed can be delivered into the loft safely” or other safe arrangements put in place which avoids the need for the driver or customer to hold the delivery pipe.

Any person operating a forklift truck must have the appropriate training.

Overhead Power Lines (OHPL) – feed delivery lorries should not be raised directly below or adjacent to OHPLs. Where ever possible always locate the feed delivery point well away from OPHL to avoid contact with the cable or flashover as this may result in death or injury.

There must be adequate space for the fork lift truck driver/customer operator to safely manoeuvre the forklift truck around the vehicle whilst unloading.

The area where the vehicle is parked must be as close as is practical to the storage area in order to minimise the distance Of course, the ideal solution is to use an animal feed silo which is travelled by the forklift truck. designed to safely and securely store your feed. Manually unloading Vehicles If the vehicle is to be manually unloaded, then the route from the BAG DELIVERIES vehicle to the feed store must be: l Wherever possible provide a safe area, off the public highway l Minimised to avoid the risk of injury from manual handling where there is sufficient space for the unloading to take place.

l Free from obstructions eg steps, uneven ground which may arrangements are in place to avoid the driver working in the path cause slips, trips or manual handling injuries of other road users.The drivers and operators need to be aware l Adequately lit, particularly when passing from daylight into of other road users and their safety at all times. buildings The curtain sided vehicles used to deliver bagged feed often McAree Engineering design and manufacture the V-Mac range of require more headroom than a bulk vehicle.You should discuss silos and tote bins. All are designed to allow you to handle bulk the height of the vehicle with your supplier to assess that the site feeds in a safe and easy manner. With 50 years experience, V-Mac is not restricted by overhead obstructions such as tree branches Silos have the widest range of storage solutions on the market. or overhead power lines. From single to split silos, either enclosed to the ground, traditionally legged or offset and ranging from 5 to 50 ton there is a solution Unloading a Vehicle using a Vehicle Mounted Forklift to you. Truck The ground surrounding the vehicle to be uploaded should be For further information visit our website: level and firm. Operating a forklift truck on uneven or soft ground www.vmacsilos.ie. can result in an overturn. l Vehicles should only be unloaded at the roadside if safe

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MILKING PARLOUR DESIGN

MILKING PARLOUR DEVELOPMENT – KEY CONSIDERATIONS Much of a farmer’s life is spent in the parlour, hence it is crucially important to get it right. By Donal Flanagan.

ny farmer considering a new milking parlour has a lot to consider. This investment could have a lifespan of 35 years, or more. Modern milking parlours can be complex, and their construction requires a lot of co–ordination between the various suppliers and contractors involved. The first question to answer is if a new parlour is merited. This question is usually answered by considering how long each milking takes and the general condition of existing facilities.

UNITS: Assuming the new parlour is going ahead, the first step is to decide on how many units and at what spacings. The number of units dictates how long each future milking will take. Current advice on best practice recommends a milking time of no more than one and a half hours per milking. Assuming an average throughput of ten minutes per row, this equates to nine rows of cows. So, for a ninety–cow herd at ten minutes per row, that works out at nine rows of cows, with ten units on the milking machine. Ideally the time spent washing the machine before and after milking takes place should be included in the one and a half hours milking time. Adding two more units to the machine in this example will reduce milking time to seventy– five minutes, allowing fifteen minutes to complete the necessary work at the beginning and end of the routine.

hours but when it is considered that there are over 600 milkings per farm per year in a spring calving herd, the extra half hour per milking runs into a significant amount of extra time spent in the milking parlour, at the expense of other jobs on the farm.

SPACING: Spacing of units or “centres” is more of a personal choice for farmers. This can range from two–foot two inches per cow to three foot per cow in length, depending on whether a farmer prefers to attach clusters between the back legs or in front of the back leg. Personally, I prefer two–foot two–inch centres milking between the cow’s back legs.

LOCATION: When the above areas have been covered, it is simple to obtain the area for the milking parlour and move on to location within the overall holding/grazing area. Centrally located milking parlour complexes means less walking time for cows. Added to this is the importance of correctly designed roadways with sweeping bends and no sharp corners to slow the herd down as they move.

COLLECTION:

Equally important is the route for the milk truck. Simple, straight– forward access on a clean route where the milk truck and cows are not crossing is the ideal scenario. If they must cross paths, this should be located as far away from the parlour as possible to OPERATORS: reduce the dirty area and reduce the risk of clashing at milking Other considerations include how many operators will be in the time. pit. One operator should be able to handle twenty to twenty–two units with no pre–milking routine. The use of ACRs (Automatic WIND: Cluster Removers) will allow this to increase to about twenty–six Prevailing wind direction and fall on ground are another two units. Using a pre –milking routine will reduce the first figure to very important considerations when orientating the parlour approximately 14 units with no change in the second figure. complex. Farm buildings are generally “backed into” the A lot of people are prepared to accept a milking time of two prevailing wind to avail of shelter and with a milking parlour

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MILKING PARLOUR DESIGN to prevent winds from blowing straight up along the pit in a herringbone parlour. Milking parlours should be located upwind of other farm buildings and preferably downwind from a dwelling. If the topography is too severe or in the wrong direction it will probably be best to build across a slope. Every site is different, but this is usually the best way to offset the cost of excavating and filling with purchased stone.

COLLECTING YARD: Sizing the collecting yard correctly is very important. Cows have an established social order and keeping this intact means the weaker animals are not bullied and therefore are not as stressed as they might otherwise be. Department of Agriculture specs recommend 1.39 m2/cow. This figure can be relaxed to 1.20 m2/cow with smaller crossbred cows that are now quite common on Irish dairy farms. The other major decision in this area is the shape of the collecting yard. Rectangular shaped yards with cows entering at the rear so that they move towards the parlour and straight into the cow stand are probably superior to any other setup, but this arrangement isn’t always possible. There are several variations employed with cows entering from the side etc, but it is very important that cows do not enter the collecting yard facing in the wrong direction. This means the whole herd will have to turn within the collecting yard to enter the milking parlour and will cause a lot of upset and bullying to occur. Ultimately, this type of arrangement will not be sustainable and should be avoided.

overall, they make the system very efficient, with very few mistakes during daily management. Obviously, for larger herds the initial cost is spread over a larger base and the costs are recouped relatively quickly with the associated reduction in man hours required, along with reduction in stress for animal and operator which brings its own benefits. It is important to leave enough room between the parlour and drafting crate for a full row of cows. Sometimes cows can be slow to move through the drafting system, particularly when it’s new and this area allows the full row to exit the parlour to allow milking to continue.

MACHINE: Moving on to the machine itself, the basic components of milk pump, vacuum pump, milk line and so on are always necessary. There is a lot of equipment available that can help to make the operator’s life easier, but it comes at a price. It is far more important to have enough units to milk the herd in a reasonable length of time rather than a very high spec machine. ACRs have been mentioned above and are one of the most obvious choices, along with the swing arms required to operate them. They are not generally considered necessary in smaller parlours, less than 14 units but can help to make the operator’s work easier, with some people placing a large emphasis on the same routine every day for their cows, along with the main reason for using them being to avoid overmilking cows. The general arrangement of the parlour needs to be quite accurate to set up this system properly, with swing arms requiring an arc to work in.

“Best practice recommends a milking time of approx. one and a half hours” The other commonly used system is to have a circular collecting yard whereby stock enter by passing by the side of the milking parlour and enter a circular yard with a backing gate pivoting around a centre point. This system turns the cows as they are entering the milking parlour. This system can cause difficulty with cows on the inside, close to the pivot point of the gate becoming pinched as there is less room available as the backing gate follows them around.

Having cows lined up correctly is also important for the correct functioning of ACRs, and this leads on to automatic bailing systems. Bailing systems allocate specific space to each animal and can also be useful in stopping cows interfering with their companion’s meal in the next stall, along with preventing extra cows entering the row, which can lead to doubling the milking time. Automatic washing systems are also very popular. Food grade air purge systems are necessary when employing these systems, but they make the process more efficient and can help to make the PARLOUR EXIT: risk of residues in milk less likely through accurate measurement The other major consideration around stock movement is exit of cleaning chemicals. from the parlour. Stock are often being returned to the fields along Automatic drafting along with automatic ID are two areas becoming the same route that brought them to the milking parlour and much more prominent, even in smaller herds. They help to reduce adequate separation is necessary to achieve a good flow around labour significantly and with computerised systems have multiple the milking parlour and to make sure that the stock leaving the benefits. parlour do so without loitering and causing a holdup of animals Large amounts of information on each animal can be stored and around the milking parlour area. updated automatically, feed to yield systems are highly automated and only require updating when necessary, drafting animals is a DRAFTING AREA: much easier process with minimal intervention and so on. The A drafting and handling arrangement appropriately sized in area and initial investment with these systems is significant, but the benefits capacity relative to the size of herd and type of system employed is they bring in day to day management and operation of a dairy herd also very important. Labour is quickly becoming the limiting factor are also significant. on Irish dairy farms and so handling facilities that adequately The subject of a new milking parlour and all the decisions that surround it are numerous and require a lot more space than is reflect this are equally as important. available in this article to tease them out fully, never mind talking Electronic drafting crates are becoming accepted as an integral part of a modern handling system, whereby cows to be drafted for about rotary milking parlours or robotic milking, they are a subject A.I. or antibiotic treatment etc. have their tag number entered into for another day. the system prior to next milking and they are automatically drafted Farm Buildings Services Ltd., to a holding pen. Ardscull, This is a very important development which helps greatly to Athy, reduce stress on farmers trying to draft with more traditional Co. Kildare. manual systems only to find the rope or spring breaks and the farmbuildings.ie animal isn’t drafted as desired. These systems aren’t cheap but

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MILKING PARLOUR DESIGN Parlour Plan - Circular collecting yard

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MILKING PARLOUR DESIGN Parlour Plan - Rectangular collecting yard

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COMMERCIAL FEATURE

its most advanced heavy-duty diesel engine oil to date

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IRISH FARM BUSINESS – DAIRYING

PRODUCT NEWS BIOCEL LTD LEADS THE CHARGE IN THE B

REDUCTION OF CHLORINE / CHLORATE RESIDUES iocel Ltd the leading Irish supplier of Hygiene & Teat Care products for over 50 years, are continuing to lead the charge in the reduction of chlorine associated residues with a range of new and improved Chlorine free products. These new products, in combination with existing proven products, offer the industry an option to clean dairy equipment Chlorine free. The production of residue free dairy products is key to growing international markets with Biocel Ltd working very closely with the industry both at farm and processing level since the challenge of TCMs & more recently Chlorates arose in the industry enabling the company to have a deep understanding of the challenge from “farm to fork”. Circodine P & Multisan / Aquasan the Biocel Ltd trusted & proven chlorinated products are now available in chlorine free formulations under the brand names Circodine CF & Multisan CF.These new

products, in conjunction with the Biocel unique Peracetic Acid products Serpent /Hydrox 5 combined with the new formulation BLAST offer a totally Chlorine free system for the cleaning and disinfection of milking plant & bulk tanks. The products & cleaning programs have been tested and proven in a combination of Moorepark and farm trials ensuring they deliver quality results comparable to systems using chlorine based cleaners, while also eliminating and reducing TCM & Chlorates residues.The Biocel Chlorine free system also offers added saving in both water heating and usage costs. The key to maintaining quality results when using a Chlorine free wash routine are: 1 Attain an adequate wash temperature in the hot wash with target dump temperature of 60degC. 2 Follow a rigid program of using Serpent as a disinfectant/ scale preventative or descale weekly as part of the program. 3 If the wash struggles to reach an adequate temperature or the plant is difficult to clean due to a large number of units combined with the presence of milk meters, a hot wash with Circodine CF, Multisan CF, Blast, Serpent, Hydrox 5 should be carried out weekly as part of the routine or alternatively carry out a chlorinated wash with Circodine P, Multisan or Aquasan combined with an extra final rinse with Serpent added to remove any potential chlorine residues. For more information on the Biocel Ltd, chlorine free products & wash programs visit www.biocel.ie or call 021 4353516 for a free consultation with our Dairy Hygiene Technical team.

CARLOW CONCRETE TANKS A FAMILY RUN BUSINESS SITUATED ON THE CARLOW/WEXFORD BORDER W

e are a well–known established company in the manufacturing of precast concrete tanks. We provide various products to the domestic, environmental, commercial and agricultural markets in Ireland and the UK, with providing a service of Design, Manufacture, Delivery & Installation. With many years’ experience in the industry our reputation is built on innovative engineering and design.

We aim to meet the high demand of our customers through quality and customer service. We are in a great location in the south east of Ireland and easy access to the M9 Motorway in Ireland and Rosslare Port is only 45 minutes’ drive. All of this combined with our reliable and committed staff make us the Number 1 choice when choosing precast concrete tanks. In the agricultural markets we provide solutions for slatted tanks, effluent storage tanks, and underground tanks for clean and dirty water, rainwater harvesting systems, water troughs, feed barriers, slurry channels, waste water treatment solutions and septic tanks. Our tanks range in sizes from 80 to 8000 gallons. With many years of experience manufacturing precast concrete tanks to the highest of standards, we have a solution to protect your fuel from being stolen. At Carlow Concrete Tanks we have designed and manufactured a secure way of protecting your fuel. A plastic tank is placed inside a Precast Concrete Outer Shell which has a Steel Door complete with 3 Point Locking System. The concrete tank forms a bund which can hold any spillages that could occur. There are two size options available – 2500 Litre or 5000 Litre Storage. The system comes complete with a filter, pump, meter, dispensing hose and fuel level gauge. We can offer full design service for bespoke solutions where necessary. Please contact our office on Tel: 059 91 59100 or Email: sales@carlowtanks.com

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COMMERCIAL FEATURE

FLOWMAG & FLOWTRACE M The Complete Liquid Magnesium and Trace Element Solution.

odern Irish dairy cows are bred to be efficient converters of forage to milk. Efficiency, by definition means getting more from less, and with current milk process, that means maximising forage intakes and optimising the use of the relatively expensive inputs. This leads to tough decisions when it comes to choices and levels of feed and fertiliser purchased. In the face of such uncertainties, there is need for an option that allows flexibility and control when it comes to the performance of your livestock. Farmers are being pushed more and more to maximise the productivity of their land, to grow as much grass as possible and to utilise as much of this grass as possible in order to maintain increased stocking rates and produce as much output (kgs of production per hectare) as possible. Improving soil fertility is a key factor in increasing the total yield of grass grown per hectare; however increased soil fertility does not necessarily mean that the grass itself will have higher trace element content. Mineral imbalances and deficiencies are quite common in Irish grazing scenarios, while supplementation at grass can prove difficult, especially where little or no concentrates are fed. Grazing as much grass as possible is a noble aspiration and undoubtedly will lead to improvement in performance at a farm level. However increased stocking rates, faster growing grass varieties, improved grassland management and reduced “imported feed” and concentrates results in an increased demand for trace element

supplementation. If left unmet, this demand for trace elements can manifest itself as a mineral imbalance which could seriously undermine the efforts being made to maximise farm performance. Increased incidence of illness and ill thrift are direct results of mineral deficiencies and imbalances and will ultimately impact the productivity of the farm. The FlowMag & FlowTrace range from Nutribio, part of the Co– Operative Animal Health Group, is an ideal partner in this context. They deliver a consistent supply of minerals and trace elements through the drinking water. To reduce the risk of grass tetany and/ or trace element deficiencies, concentrate supplementation and mineralised or un–mineralised rations can be supported by the variable application rate. Mineral imbalances may be noticed in isolation or in combination. Imbalances or deficiencies of trace elements may cause ill thrift, abortion/placental retention, calf death at or around birth, reduced immunity in calves and cattle. Susceptibility to bacteria and parasites, infertility in cows, reduced fertility in bulls, lowered milk yield, lameness, slow healing of wounds and poor skin/hair quality are also key issues. The FlowMag range supplies magnesium to aid in the prevention of Grass Tetany with optional Trace elements added and is ideal for periods of tetany risk (Early Spring, Autumn) while the FlowTrace range is an ideal partner where specific deficiencies have been identified or high levels of performance are expected. Please contact your local stockist for more information.

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IRISH FARM BUSINESS – DAIRYING

PRODUCT NEWS LINK UP WITH KINGSWOOD APPS F

armers using the Kingswood EID App can now link with a variety of farm equipment including electronic weighing scales and drafting units. Kingswood clients will be able to stand at a cattle crush with the Phone App in their pocket and simply point an EID reader at an animal's ear. The animal's number and weight will be transferred via Bluetooth to the App and sent directly to the Kingswood server or the farmer’s PC. Weighing reports ranking cattle by their daily weight gain and sire analysis based on progeny weighing can be run off at the farmer's leisure. Dairy farmers can record cow scanning results quickly and efficiently using the same EID reading technology. This has always been a difficult event to capture electronically due to the fast throughput of cows in the crush. But Kingswood now feel they have the problem cracked – at least for the increasing number of farmers, whose cows are EID tagged. Of course the other breeding

events such as heats, services and calf registrations can also take advantage of this EID/Bluetooth technology. These developments are in line with Kingwood’s long-standing aim to be the primary IT Hub on their customers’ dairy and beef farms. The equipment farmers use nowadays is almost always capable of generating information electronically. But, to be useful, it needs to be integrated with external sources of data from the ICBF, AIM, Vets, Pregnancy Scanners, Marts and Factories. Kingswood's combination of phone apps and sophisticated PC software allow this to happen seamlessly. Farmers can then analyse the data, generate useful reports and use it to control other equipment around the farmyard. A good example of where this data integration saves time and leads to better decision making is in the area of electronically controlled animal drafting. Rather than tediously keying in a list of cows to be served or treated – with all the possibilities of getting numbers wrong – the Kingswood user can call on results transmitted electronically from his pregnancy scanner and on the powerful reporting, filtering and grouping mechanisms within Kingswood Herd or Kingswood Mobile, to do the selecting of the appropriate cows. Other Kingswood developments in the pipeline are the intensification of existing links with the ICBF National Database, which transmit data between Kingswood and the ICBF, and the streamlining of Animal Remedies recording, using phone-scanning of QR codes and reading of animal EID tags. Visit www.kingswood.ie for further information.

DAIRY DIRECT:TEAT SPRAYS – THE HOW AND THE WHY W

e can really impact on milking routine by making careful choices with teat disinfection. Things like the type of mastitis, stage in lactation – freshly calved or nearer dry off, the time of year, whether cows are housed or not, and harshness of weather conditions are big influences. That is why in any mastitis investigation it is important to pay careful attention to teat condition. Looking for clues of teat damage and looking at ways to alleviate or repair or maintain healthy teat skin. Teat Dips can be put into 3 categories based on viscosity or in simple terms the thickness of the layer of disinfectant we apply. Pre & Post fast acting foams or sprays are the thinnest layer of dip available. Film forming Post Sprays create a thicker layer on the teat skin. And lastly Barrier Dips for Post teat dipping. The thickest layer available, you should almost be able to see at the next milking.

SO WHEN CHOOSING A TEAT DIP WHAT DO WE WANT IT TO DO? We want it to be very effective at killing bacteria that can cause and spread mastitis in our herds, while also protecting and

nourishing the skin on the teat. By using emollients by their very nature soothe, soften and moisturise the skin. If we look at the science of hand hygiene we can apply this technology to teat dipping. It is that careful balance of disinfection with care to maintain healthy skin. This might seem like wording in relation to an antiaging cream, but this is an important science to understand. It is “the important balance between Kill and being Kind to skin”. OR in other words, the chemical challenge is killing the surface bacteria effectively while being kind to the skin.

SO WHEN THINKING ABOUT APPLYING TEAT DIPS THERE IS A SIMPLE FORMULA THE 3 V’S: VOLUME – the correct amount of dip is being used per cow by spraying or dipping. Unfortunately this is an area where often too little is being used. VISUAL – is the spray or dip covering all the teat skin. VISCOSITY – as per above there are different levels that suit different mastitis issues or maybe different times of the year. So when reacting to mastitis problems or being proactive in control programs and looking at milking routine there is a real science to picking the right teat dip for your herd. Remember teat dip on its own won’t solve a mastitis problem but is a huge aid in reducing risk. So important Dairy Direct’s aim is to “try and match the teat dip to the challenge”. Visit www.dairydirect.ie for further information.

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IRISH FARM BUSINESS – DAIRYING

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PRODUCT NEWS FLOGAS’ LPG SYSTEM NOW MEANS INSTANT HOT WATER FOR litre milk tank and washing down the milking parlour as well ISLAND FARM IN CO.WEXFORD as6,000 having enough hot water left over for other necessary cleaning duties.

THE FLOGAS SOLUTION James then met with Flogas sales executive David Conroy and registered gas installer Mark Murphy to find out the advantages of the Flogas Dairy water heating system. David and Mark then concluded that the installation of a 56kW Andrews Fastflo heater had the potential to produce up to 12 litres of hot water a minute (depending on water pressure at the farm), powered by a Flogas LPG bulk tank sited nearby. Plus, an easy to use temperature controller allowed the water to be heated from anywhere between 37°C to 80°C. The youngest Walsh, Andrew making the most of the instant hot water The instant hot water would then be piped directly into the robotic now available on the family-run farm system, towards the milk storage tank and to a hose for any additional ust outside the village of Kilmuckridge in Co. Wexford lies one of the cleaning duties. In addition, the heater’s auto-ignition system would most innovative and progressive dairy farms in Ireland. At Island enable James to completely eliminate the hot water storage and re-heating farm, James, Allyson and son Andrew manage a herd of 80 Holsteincosts that were such an issue with his previous system. Friesians and seek to push the boundaries of what can be achieved in the industry. The farm has come a long way since James’ great-grandfather, SEAMLESS CONVERSION The farm’s robotic system marked new territory for Flogas, so Mark George Walsh, bought the farm in 1870, and the Walsh family are Murphy specified the installation of a single Andrews FastFlo heater with constantly seeking new and innovative ways to manage the business, the Flogas bulk tank for an initial trial period that could produce 12L per most recently with their new robotic milking system. While the robotic system had automated many aspects of the milking minute (due to water pressure). It proved so successful that a second heater was installed shortly afterwards, and now the Flogas Dairy heating process, the farm desperately lacked an efficient and convenient system can produce 24 litres of controllable hot water per minute. system to meet the demand for a consistent supply of hot water. James Walsh said,“The move to Flogas has definitely benefited the The Walsh family had been using the electricity night rate tariff to heat its immersion tank but it was now taking up to seven hours to health of our livestock, particularly the calves. It’s great peace of mind to be able to use as much hot water as we need at any time of day”. do so. It was an increasingly impractical method of cleaning the

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IRISH FARM BUSINESS – DAIRYING

PRODUCT NEWS FOREFRONT T – IDEAL PRODUCT FOR WEED CONTROL IN PADDOCKS Docks can have a serious impact on grass yields

orefront T adds a powerful extra dimension to weed control in grazing swards. Containing the most advanced chemistry in weed control technology, it is the perfect all-purpose product for grazing swards. “In addition to being powerful on docks, it is also highly effective against nettles, thistles, dandelions, buttercups and chickweed. It has a particular application where nettles are among the more prominent weeds in a field. It should be applied at 2 litres/ha as a single application. Use 200-300 litres of water/ha and keep stock off the grazing pastures for seven days after spraying,” advised Chris Maughan, technical manager with Whelehan Crop Protection. “It is especially powerful against ragwort. Make sure the ragwort is at the rosette stage when spraying and remove livestock off the treated area until the plant has fully died and disappeared,” he added.“This may take a minimum of 3 weeks where the rosettes are small but longer if they are larger or gone stemmy. You should avoid spraying ragwort when it has gone stemmy” advises Chris.

Chris stressed that for best results with Forefront T, weeds should be actively growing. Docks and thistles should be at the rosette stage and 15 to 25cm (6-10ins) across or high.Thistles about 8-10” high. Nettles should be sprayed before flowering.

Ragwort at the rosette stage – the ideal timing for spraying

Nettles under electric wire. Spot spraying with GrazonPro kills nettles and other weeds on fences.

GRAZONPRO THE IDEAL SPOT SPRAY GrazonPro is the perfect product for controlling a wide range of weeds around fences, ditches and walls and for clearing out low infestations of weeds across a field. Docks, nettles, thistles, briars, gorse, buttercups and brushwood/scrub are among the troublesome weeds it controls. It contains two powerful root killing ingredients – triclopyr and clopyralid. Triclopyr is very effective on brushwood/scrub and nettles. No other product on the market for knapsack application has as high a concentration of this powerful chemical.Apply it at a rate of 60 ml in 10 litres of water using a conventional knapsack sprayer, a quadbike sprayer or a suitable lance on a tractor mounted sprayer. For further information visit www.dowagro.ie. How Dipetane Works: Dipetane uniquely addresses and solves the fundamental problem existing in standard combustion, which is that some of the valuable carbon remains unburnt. Irish scientists are the first and only scientists worldwide who have discovered how to enable the existing fixed oxygen to gain proper access to burn the valuable carbon much more completely compared to standard combustion. Injector Protection: Dipetane protects costly injectors and valve stems from the EC 90% cut in sulphur, the sulphur had been acting as a lubricant for Injectors and valve stems. Dipetane’s full burning of the carbon leaves no hard unburnt carbon grating in the system and combined with its built in lubricant greatly increases lubrication thereby protecting injectors and valve stems. DPF’s-Diesel Particle Filters: Minimising regeneration, minimising fuel usage and protecting DPF’s is very efficient. As mentioned above protecting DPF’s through the use of Dipetane is critical and very costeffective. Dipetane treated fuel’s unique ability to burn the carbon more completely, compared to all standard fuels means that much less un-burnt carbon enters the DPF and therefore the regeneration occurs less often. In some 6.8 Litre engines Dipetane’s use has extended the regeneration from 70 hours out to over 200 hours. This is a substantial fuel saving and protects the DPF from the very high revs involved in the regeneration process. Up to 10% fuel savings: Dipetane’s independent Scientific Chassis Dynamometer and Boiler Tests under controlled conditions show up to 10% fuel savings. Mix rate for Dipetane is always 1:200. 1 Litre treats 200 Litre’s Diesel, Petrol, Kerosene, Heavy Oil. It does not change the spec of the fuel. It is not an ‘additive’, being 100% hydro-carbon.

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IRISH FARM BUSINESS – DAIRYING

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IRISH FARM BUSINESS – DAIRYING

MEATH FARM MACHINERY & KRAMER

enowned John Deere main dealer Meath Farm Machinery have secured the agency for Kramer loaders and telescopic handlers, covering North East, North West, Midlands and Dublin regions from their depots at Kilberry, County Meath and Poles, County Cavan. Established by Peter Timmons in Kilberry on the outskirts of Navan in 1979, Meath Farm Machinery continue to go from strength to strength. The announcement that they have been appointed as main dealer for Kramer agricultural and industrial loaders and handlers is another major step forward for this renowned, customerfocused family business that has delivered outstanding John Deere tractor and machinery sales and service to generations of farmers. Kramer is a long-established German manufacturer of high quality, 4-wheel drive and 4–wheel steer centre boom and side boom telescopic handlers. The range of products includes compact wheel loaders (nine models), telescopic wheel loaders (four models), and compact and large telehandlers (nine models) up to 5.5 ton / 9 metres, produced and developed by Kramer at Pfullendorf in Germany. Combined with automatic bucket return, variable speed regulation and all round visibility, it is a market leader and a reliable machine for any task. General manager Ian Timmons said: “The Kramer franchise represents an exciting opportunity for Meath Farm Machinery Ltd. The broad product range enables us to satisfy our customers’ various requirements and to offer an appropriate machine for every area of application. We are very much looking forward to representing this high-quality German brand in Ireland.” From its prime locations in Kilberry, Meath and Poles, Cavan, the business has access to a wide customer base and prides itself on providing market-leading new and second-hand equipment backed up by unbeatable customer service, including parts, repairs and excellent finance packages. The service department has developed a great reputation for supply and aftersales service, while both workshops are fully equipped with the latest tools and technology – manned by experienced and factory–trained technicians – to carry out fast and efficient repairs and servicing. Meanwhile, up to 1.5 million spare parts are stocked at any given time to guarantee total customer care, with direct employment generated for a friendly and highly-motivated team of over 30 staff. Add in the new Kramer partnership and it’s clear to see why Meath Farm Machinery are in such a strong position heading towards their 40th anniversary. MEATH FARM MACHINERY LTD Kilberry, Navan, Co Meath, Tel 046 9023946/9028244 Sales: Ian 086 2555065, Pierce 087 6792587, Niall 087 6985159, John 087 7584356 Dublin Road, Poles, Co Cavan, Tel 049 4323033/4 Sales Pat 087 2897351

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HEALTH AND SAFETY AUTHORITY

VEHICLE SAFETY Tractor, Quads, farm vehicles and farm machinery are involved in over 50% of farm deaths in Ireland (HSA 2008-2017). Martina Gormley (HSA) reports. l

Most fatalities over the last 10 years that involve tractors/ quads/ vehicles and machines are due to being crushed, struck, or trapping by the vehicle. l Most farm accidents occur in or around the farm yard. l Many accidents occur when there is more than 1 person in the yard at that time. l Accidents involving machinery during access and egress to and from fields, at the gate entrances, are also becoming more prevalent. l A particular high risk activity is carrying out emergency machinery repairs during busy periods.These are often carried out during times of high stress, in suboptimal conditions and sometimes without appropriate owever, it was reported recently that, ‘A great decision was equipment and planning. achieved?’ as a result of intense lobbying and negotiations The Health & Safety Authority are undertaking three targeted by Farmer Representative Bodies, among others, that no Agriculture Inspection Campaigns during 2018. The second of tractor used for farming will require an NCT. The question has to which had a focus on Vehicle Safety which took place during be asked of those that proclaim to protect and defend the interests May. The first campaign was held last February and focussed on of Irish farmers. Why do they lobby so hard to save a few euro on livestock safety, the third campaign which will take place in such tests, and not try in fact to promote such developments to October will focus on Working at Heights and Falling Objects. protect and defend the life of our farmers? Farmers are frequently For the focus on vehicle safety, the main areas addressed dying because of defects on farm vehicles, it needs to be addressed included: and what needs to be done is not rocket science: l Are handbrakes/parking brakes working on all l Vehicles and machinery need to be safe and maintained to a tractors/machinery? particular standard. For example, an NCT on machinery. l Are cabs and doors maintained in working order l Training skills for driving and machinery use needs to be l Are tractor mirrors set and maintained correctly (not cracked/twisted)? established and done. l Has the driver ever received formal driver training for Tractor and Quad use?

Sadly, 24 deaths occurred last year on our farms, the vast majority of them again involving the use of Tractors, Quads and farm machinery. Already in 2018 there are 7 fatalities. Targets around sustainability, quality assurance, expansion, safeguarding farmer prosperity and growth in exports are important, but surely not at the expense of farmer safety, health and welfare? The various quality assurance schemes require farmers to demonstrate sustainable continuous

It is very important to select the right machine for the job. Advance Planning, machine maintenance and well trained operators are crucial in saving time during the busy season. Awareness of crush zones and positioning of other people on the farm should be managed as part of a farm traffic management plan. PTO guards require ongoing maintenance to ensure they are fit for purpose and all other moving machinery parts must be guarded.

“Vehicles and machinery need to be safe and maintained to a particular standard” improvement such as measuring electricity usage, waste reduction, We need to open the curtains and let in some light.We need leaders reduction in the use of plastic. These are important, but are they as who are willing to make dramatic change and make challenging important an indicator of success in Irish Agriculture as avoiding, decisions for the long term improvement in how Irish farmers controlling and eliminating risky behaviour which leads to death think and act regarding their safety. Ni neart go cur le cheile. and injury? United we stand, divided we fall. As someone who has investigated farm deaths and spoken to heart broken families, I urge all farm representative bodies to lead farmers to a safer future. The profile of farm accidents and fatalities can be viewed as follows: l Last year, 66% of farm deaths occurred to farmers aged over 60 years of age. l Counties with the highest number of farm fatalities over the last 10 years are Cork, Tipperary and Wexford. Much of these areas are commonly known as the ‘Golden Vale’ of Ireland: The most fertile land, the leading edge of dairying and agriculture, and the areas where it’s most likely to achieve a prosperous living from farming. But sadly also the place where our farmers far too frequently suffer death or injury. l The level of accidents and fatalities involving Quad bikes is alarming, yet the real need for training and the use of helmets is ignored. l Quad bikes were involved in 4 fatalities in 2017 and 12 fatalities over the last 10 years.

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