Now that the sheep have all lambed and grass has finally made an appearance, the workload has died off for a while around the farm. Removing such pressure from a man’s shoulders gives him time to think, or as the Spanish say, contemplar el alba: to consider the dawn.Having this type of head space can be a very dangerous thing, especially on days when the sky is a light blue, the sun is shining and warm on your arms and you see nothing but thriving lambs and a bountiful supply of leafy green grass. On these days, a man might even consider expansion and new enterprises.
Now that the sheep have all lambed and grass has finally made an appearance, the workload has died off for a while around the farm. Removing such pressure from a man’s shoulders gives him time to think, or as the Spanish say, contemplar el alba: to consider the dawn.
Having this type of head space can be a very dangerous thing, especially on days when the sky is a light blue, the sun is shining and warm on your arms and you see nothing but thriving lambs and a bountiful supply of leafy green grass. On these days, a man might even consider expansion and new enterprises.
Back in the real world, however, you remember the cold weather and the colder reality that margins are extremely tight, cash for investment is like hen’s teeth, and labour is the part-timer’s biggest scarcity.
So, a balance is required. We have to up our stocking rate to have any chance of making a few euro, but this means cashflow will be an issue. We have some land leased out on conacre so have access to this when required, but it needs fencing and reseeding.
Small steps
The key I guess is to take small steps. Concentrate on what we have first, and getting that right, be it the animals themselves or the soil that grows their grass.
What to do with the rest of the farm is a more nagging thought that’s been bothering me over the past while. We have a decent parcel of land and thanks to our years as dairy farmers, it’s well laid out with roadways, paddocks and water troughs available everywhere. The land itself is flat and dry overall. Based on the stocking rates and possible margins advocated by Teagasc, there’s just enough acreage for a man to make a living wage and raise his family.
So what’s that man to do? And if he was so inclined to move into the gig full-time, how might he go about it? What was it some Greek or Roman philosopher type of lad said about learning to walk before you run? Lots to contemplate indeed.
Thankfully, the lambs will soon need to be checked for internal worms, weaned, drafted for sale, silage cut and sold, rams collected and the new breeding season considered. Any spare time I have to consider the dawn or any other time of day will be taken up with these more immediate matters. For now, at least…
Kieran Sullivan and his brother farm part-time in Co Waterford. You can follow him on Twitter: @kieran_sullivan
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In pictures: ewes and lambs sell to 278 in Mountbellew
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