Watch: Quality Milk Awards finalists Nicky and Philip Thornton

Nicky would have supplied milk to Cashel Creamery in years gone by. For the last number of years Philip has been doing some agri contracting but with cow numbers increasing now that quotas are no longer limiting, he plans to reduce the time spent at the contracting and instead focus more on the cows. A new eight-year lease on 26ha from 2016 will help facilitate some expansion in the next number of years.

In 2015, Thorntons milked 102 cows and this year they are milking 118 cows. In total, 82ha are farmed, with 37ha (110 acres) available for grazing around the parlour. Cows are usually out grazing by mid-February but part of the grazing block is heavy-type land so spring grazing must be closely monitored.

The Thorntons don’t get many clinical cases of mastitis and they now firmly believe milk recording is the tool that helps them keep a lid on cell count. They had six cases last year – three cases when cows were indoors milking and three when cows were outside. The normal procedure on this farm is to treat with three or four Synulox tubes depending on the severity of the problem.

Nicky outlined the milking routine in the morning: “Cows come up the parlour; the gate is closed. If meal is fed they get meal, teats are wiped off with paper towel and then teats are stripped to check for clots. Clusters are put on and then cluster removers take the cluster off. In the evening we don’t need to draw out teats unless we spot a problem.”

Philip is keen on using the CMT paddle when cows calve down in the spring before allowing them into the bulk tank. Like milk recording, he finds it a great tool which he thinks all farmers should be using continuously as freshly calved cows are brought into the milking herd.

The 20-unit parlour was spotless with white panelling on the walls which ensures little or no dirt builds up near the cows. There are water droppers and teat spray droppers but yet there is great room in the pit and great visibility of the cows.

The Thorntons have a plate cooler and they also have an ice bank cooler that makes ice at night using night rate electricity. All water from the shed roof is collected and re-used and LED bulb conversion is ongoing around the farm.

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