In 1968 John Joe O’Connor, his parents Ellen and Tommy and family moved from Currow with their Ranaleen herd of 16 cows to a new farm at Caherbreagh near Tralee in Co. Kerry. The farm was run down and needed a lot of investment. John Joe was working as a sales representative for Power Seeds at the time his weekly wage was £14.
He borrowed from the bank to fund investment on farm and in 1963 they began their pedigree Ranaleen herd with the purchase of a heifer for £175 – a lot of money at the time as land in the area was costing around £60 per acre. The cost of commercial heifers they purchased at that time was £85.
John Joe used the best AI bulls and built up a valuable business selling breeding stock mainly to large farmers in Cork and Kerry. They have also sold stock to dairy farmers in Northern Ireland -this year they exported some heifers to Malta. His philosophy is to “breed the best and feed well.”
The family now has a high yielding Holstein herd of around 220 cows and supply Lee Strand Coop. John Joe is a board member and a former Secretary of the Coop. Incidentally Lee Strand is the only liquid milk processor in the State to hold the coveted EMAS II Environment Award. He is also a former President and Secretary of the Kerry Holstein Friesian Breeders club.
His son Leo now runs the farm in partnership with his parents. He is married to Fiona who works off farm and they have two children –Thomas aged seven and Orla who is five.
Leo was educated in Rockwell Ag College in 1992/3 and went to Reaseheath College in Cheshire, England in 1993/4 to do a specialised dairy management course. Average yield is now 8,000 litres (around 1,750 gals) and the herd is 50/50 autumn/spring calving.
All heifer calves are reared and the bulls are sold for the export trade. Leo has no plans to increase yields as the current system suits their grass based system. Further expansion is limited by the available milk quota.
His mother Maureen feeds the calves –“she does a great job” says Leo. Leo and his father milk the cows together and his brother Sean is also a great help around the farm. They also have a Polish worker on farm eight months of the year.
Cows are buffer fed during the grazing season using a Keenan 360 Mech-fiber mixer wagon. They purchased their first Keenan in 1993, it takes ½ hour/day to feed the TMR diet. This consists of 12 Kgs per /cow /day made up from 2Kgs of ration, 1/2 Kgs of straw, 1/2 Kg of molasses plus baled silage.
Working in conjunction with a neighbouring contractor they make three cuts of pit silage (450 acres in total) using a Pottinger silage wagon. They commenced silage making on April 25 and will take the third cut in Mid August. This is their 9th season using a silage wagon and they are very pleased with silage quality. From August onwards cows are zero grazed on after grass using the silage wagon.
Investment in Hi Tech Parlour
However the old parlour was no longer fit for purpose so with the aid of local DeLaval Dealer, Eddie Slattery and DeLaval specialist, Tim Hussey they investigated the various options available. Because of the good local service and excellent track record over 42 years the choice of brand was an easy decision.
So two years ago they commissioned a DeLaval 20 x 40 Midiline parlour with automatic cluster removal and DeLaval MM25 electronic milk meters. Milk flow is measured accurately using infrared light technology and there are no moving parts to restrict flow
With no moving parts, the risk for breakdowns is minimal. The four red digits on the display screen can be read from a distance to give a clear and accurate yield. DeLaval milk meter MM25 is internationally approved for milk yield recording and sampling by ICAR.
In their new hi-tech herringbone parlour one person could milk the cows on his own if necessary. Depending on the stage of lactation the parlour throughput is up to 140 cows per hour. However as John Joe points out what is really important is the milk throughput per hour as higher yielding cows and cows in early lactation obviously take longer to milk.
Individual cow rations are easier to set using accurate information from the milk meters linked in with the Alpro feed to yield system. With accurate records the family are aware of each cows yield and can respond quickly if any problems arise. The DeLaval Alpro system also enhances the selection of cows for breeding and herd management. Potential customers for breeding stock are also impressed with the data available.
Eco Friendly Cleaning System
The plant is washed in minutes with the DeLaval Hygenius C200 auto plant washer. Automatic detergent input and descaling are par for the course.
Cow health and milk quality is excellent as shown by the low cell counts and TBC’s. According to Leo “it’s a lovely parlour to work in, very quiet, really efficient and the equipment is inexpensive to operate, maintain and service.” The DeLaval heat exchange unit is brilliant says Leo as we have lots of hot water.
For further information on this hi tech milking parlour please contact Eddie Slattery, DeLaval dealer, Tralee, Tel: office 066 7118800 or Tim Hussey, DeLaval Territory Manager Tel: 087 2542933
