Open door day with farmers of the year

THE Zurich/Farming Independent Farmer of the Year Peter and Paula Hynes are opening their farm gates to the public on Tuesday next, August 22, to raise money for two of their favourite charities.

Visitors will be able to see what won Peter and Paula the title of Farmer of the Year and an array of experts will be on hand to talk about farm planning and finances, farm safety, breeding and genetic gain, among other topics. Teagasc, Agri Kids, AIB Bank, Biocell Ltd, Clippers Ireland, Cork Farm Machinery, Dairygold Co-op, Dairymaster, Goldcrop Ltd, ICMSA, IHFA, Munster AI, National Cattle Breeding Centre, Volac, and Zurich Insurance are all providing speakers on the day.

There will be lots for children to do, with the three Hynes children on hand to show off their farming skills.

Neither of the Hynes couple were born into farms, however they inherited a farm from Peter’s stepfather Geofrey Good. Their 105ha farm just outside Aherla is full of mature trees and charming stone buildings. However, much of the land needed to be reclaimed and there was also huge scope to lift the annual herd average from 240kg milk solids.

Now the Hynes want to let other people see how they reached the top of their game.

A new hi tech 20-unit Dairymaster Swiftflow parlour with Moo monitor + herd health and fertility system installed in April 2017 has transformed their lives.

“We don’t spend more than 2.5 hours per day milking now... but that was the way we wanted it because we’re not going to be able to rely on labour in the future so we are really investing in comfort for ourselves and our three daughters Georgina, Becky, and Chloe,” said Peter.

Despite the big capital spending programme that is ongoing, it is the €1,200 that Hynes invested in a Grasshopper grass measuring device that Peter ranks as key to his profitability.

The Rathard pedigree herd of Holstein Friesians has trebled in size since 2010 to 150 cows today, and the aim is to increase this figure to 200 by 2018.

The difficulty of maintaining herd performance during expansion is widely acknowledged. Despite this, production per cow on the Hynes’ farm has gone from 240kg milk solids to 420kg, while the breeding season has reduced from 31 weeks to 12, putting the herd in the top five per cent of Dairygold suppliers.

The parlour is chlorine-free, and the farm reduces costs doing trials for companies selling detergents and grass seed.

Pig slurry is also used to maximum effect to cut fertiliser costs, while maintaining dry matter production at an impressive 14.5t/ha.

The day starts at 11am and the two charities visitors on the day are asked to support with donations are Breast Cancer Ireland and Aware. Check out their video at goo.gl/rDwkvL