You wouldn’t want to have been at silage or any other tractor work with a beach on your route over the last weekend in these parts.

West Cork is proving to be a popular destination and we’re lucky to live where we do.

I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many cars parked at the beaches in a long time. It was bonkers on Sunday and for a while the gardaí were turning people away on the approach roads to local strands.

Maybe I’m becoming set in my thinking, but I’m not a great fan of the word staycation. It appears to be the word used for what were known in the 1980s as holidays.

I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many cars parked at the beaches in a long time

Back then they were far less exotic and hearing of families boarding a flight to head off on a sun holiday was a rarity.

There’s a plethora of different driving styles to be witnessed as well. White lines on the road, continuous or otherwise, seem to serve little purpose and apparently newer cars, 4x4s included, are unable to go on grass verges.

Any road crossing for the cattle was completed Saturday morning before things got too busy.

AI group

Last week saw the AI group scanned and I was happy with the results. Most held to first service. Afterwards the cows were split into a bull and heifer calf group and each will have their own few paddocks to rotate around until weaning time.

Faecal egg count results for the calves showed up no presence of worms. So far this grazing season there have been two calves and three first-calvers wormed.

I’m not a great fan of the word staycation. It appears to be the word used for what were known in the 1980s as holidays

The two calves treated had dirty behinds and the rest looked in good condition so they were left alone. I feel like a broken record on the topic at this stage.

Most years by the first week of July at the latest, all calves, heifers and first-calving cows would have received their annual worm dose. It was routine, you did it and paid no more heed. A few years into doing annual herd health plans, our vet suggested easing back on the use of wormers. His concern was anthelmintic resistance developing, so with a science-based approach and his backing we gave it a go and so far so good.

They will be tested again ahead of weaning and the weather will also play a role as wetter conditions have seen an increase in worm eggs in the past.

Lockdown

2020 is proving to be a challenging year for making plans. The latest lockdown in the midlands is a case in point.

It must be a nervous time for sheep farmers with lambs coming fit and it doesn’t bear thinking about the pressure that would come on pig and poultry suppliers if any meat plant they supply had to shut down.

COVID-19 has shone a light into the entire food chain more than any other event

COVID-19 has shone a light into the entire food chain more than any other event.

Initially concerns were about supply, with some products, flour being one of the standouts, coming under pressure back in March.

For the second August in a row, the Irish meat sector is in the headlines.

Last year it was an internal squabble if you like, between meat plants and their farmer suppliers.

This time around it’s different.

COVID-19 affects the public in an unprecedented way and has the potential to do huge damage to the reputation of the entire sector.

Recent years have seen a more visible anti-meat narrative in some quarters and the current developments won’t help the cause.