Year in review and planning for 2025

As 2024 comes to a close, it’s a good time to reflect on the year that has passed and look ahead to the plans we have for the farm in 2025.

This was our first year feeding a second forage through the feeder wagon and the results were fantastic.

Daily intakes exceeded what we had achieved with just silage and meal and as a result, cows produced higher milk yields than in previous years.

We believe this also had a positive impact on fertility, with our highest-ever conception rate for the autumn calving batch.

However, our first challenge came at the end of January when we had to dump a tank full of milk.

After a second tank failed antibiotic testing, we discovered that the cause was a high level of penicillium mycotoxins in our grass silage.

The mycotoxins were spread throughout the silage pit, so it couldn’t be fed.

Fortunately, a neighbour sold us some silage, which carried us through to the start of the grazing season.

Grazing

Despite this setback, I was eager for the grazing season to begin. Unfortunately, it seemed like it didn’t stop raining for the first eight months of the year.

The persistent rain led to reduced milk and grass yields and I eventually gave up on grass measuring.

Normally, we have excess silage to remove from the grazing area, but this year, due to the wet conditions, we couldn’t do that. We simply grazed the areas where ground conditions allowed.

Thankfully, the new cow lanes installed over the past few years helped us navigate the challenging weather and continue to keep the cows out during adverse conditions.

Eventually, the weather improved and delivered a fantastic end to the grazing season.

Our spring-calving cows and heifers were able to graze well into November, which helped offset some of the reduced silage stocks and eased the pressure on slurry storage.

However, the 2024 spring-born calves did face some issues, particularly with lungworm in October.

Although I lost one, the remaining heifers have all recovered and are on track to meet their breeding weight by the end of April.

Upgrades

Despite the weather challenges, we managed to drain and reseed six acres. The reseed appears successful so far, but we’ll know more in the upcoming grazing year.

Additionally, we upgraded the parlour, part of which has been in use since 1977.

Although the parlour has been renovated and extended over the years, this time we covered it with plastic sheeting and installed new kerbing, making it much easier to keep clean and a nicer working environment.

Events

This autumn also marked the first time I hosted a farm walk. Although it took a bit of work, especially during a busy calving month, it went well and there was a fantastic turnout.

However, in October, the entire farming community received a significant blow when Labour announced plans to reform agricultural property relief.

While I was anxious about the farm walk, my nerves really kicked in when I spoke at the Ulster Farmers’ Union rally on the inheritance tax changes at the Eikon Centre.

With all political parties in attendance and such a large crowd, hopefully I was able to get across how the change could impact our farm – it looks like the fight will continue into 2025.

Goals

Looking ahead to the new year, our goals include finishing the laneway we started at the end of 2024 and completing the drainage and reseeding of a grazing field in the spring so we can bring it back into the grazing rotation.

We also plan to replace the floor in one of our silage pits.

Another priority is to resume weekly grass measurements and maintain this throughout the year. Hopefully, there will be a surplus to remove from the grazing platform.

Finally, my dad has started keeping a detailed diary of everything that happens on the farm and I plan to do the same.

It’s a great way to keep track of events and I think it will be interesting to look back in the years to come and see how things have changed.

Happy New Year to all – here’s to a fantastic 2025 with better weather and even better milk prices!