While the country watched An Taoiseach Leo Varadkar’s speech on Friday night, everybody wanted to know the likely impact on them as individuals - how does it affect jobs, workers, supplies?
As the the coronavirus crisis has unfolded, Tullamore Farm staff have been trying their best to minimise the potential spread of the virus and ensure the safety of those working on the farm. Hand washing, correct coughing and sneezing etiquette, and keeping a physical distance between each other have become the norm on the farm.
When doing some jobs it is very difficult to keep your distance, but everybody is trying their very best. Nobody is eating together, with everybody dining in their own cars during the day. Gates are being kept locked and any supplies are being ordered over the phone and delivered.
Losing 66% of your help in one evening has presented a challenge for the farm
The health and safety of farm manager Shaun Diver and his staff are at the core of everything we do. They are also central to a successful lambing and calving period for the farm.
Student placement suspended
Over the past three years the farm has availed of student help at calving and lambing time. It is important for the farm to give something back to the industry and it’s great for the farm to form a role in the training of the next generation of farmers and agriculture professionals.
We’ve been really blessed with great students every year and this year was no different, with Seán Flynn from Teagasc, Gurteen, and Emma Dooley from UCD. Unfortunately, under advice both have had to cut their placement short as of Friday night’s announcement.
Student help suits the farm really well as we have a very busy few weeks in the spring with lambing, calving and breeding, with lots to see, do and learn.
Losing 66% of your help in one evening has presented a challenge for the farm. The students were not working weekends so we have 24 hours to sort out the problem. Lambing is about halfway through so it’s still a very busy yard, though calving is nearly over with eight cows left to calve. The one positive is that the weather is with us. Great weather all week has meant all cows that have calved have been turned out. This has greatly reduced the workload.
We are moving anything we can to larger pens
Ewes and lambs have also been turned out as soon as possible after lambing to reduce workload. For the ewes that are left inside, Shaun is trying to minimise the amount of time a ewe spends in individual pens.
“That’s what increases the work, when you’re carrying silage, meal and water to individual pens it takes time. It’s the same with the cows.
“We are moving anything we can to larger pens with piped water, easy feed silage and that means we just have to manually feed the meal twice daily. The farm was feeding pets but may look to sell off some of these if help can’t be found next week. In the short term we will try and look to some of the casual labour we were getting over the next two weeks. In two more weeks, a lot of the yard work will be eased back so the pressure will be off,” he said.
Fertiliser will be spread again this week by the contractor. It’s important that during this time that our best stock people are checking animals and looking after stock. While not devaluing fertiliser spreading as a specialist job, Shaun is more important at the moment in the lambing shed.
All student placement has been suspended on Tullamore Farm.This means the farm is down two staff next week.Currently letting out as much stock as possible to reduce workload.Stock indoors are being moved to larger pens to reduce feeding, water carrying etc.Contractor is being brought in to spread fertiliser.All close contact being eliminated for staff left on farm, eg dehorning will be put off until later date.Handwashing, sanitising and good hygiene is being maintained on farm.Letters being drafted for remaining farm staff in case stopped on way to work.No visitors are being allowed into farm. Read more
Live updates: essential lockdown information for farmers
Coronavirus: what does cocooning for over 70s mean?
Teagasc student work placements suspended
While the country watched An Taoiseach Leo Varadkar’s speech on Friday night, everybody wanted to know the likely impact on them as individuals - how does it affect jobs, workers, supplies?
As the the coronavirus crisis has unfolded, Tullamore Farm staff have been trying their best to minimise the potential spread of the virus and ensure the safety of those working on the farm. Hand washing, correct coughing and sneezing etiquette, and keeping a physical distance between each other have become the norm on the farm.
When doing some jobs it is very difficult to keep your distance, but everybody is trying their very best. Nobody is eating together, with everybody dining in their own cars during the day. Gates are being kept locked and any supplies are being ordered over the phone and delivered.
Losing 66% of your help in one evening has presented a challenge for the farm
The health and safety of farm manager Shaun Diver and his staff are at the core of everything we do. They are also central to a successful lambing and calving period for the farm.
Student placement suspended
Over the past three years the farm has availed of student help at calving and lambing time. It is important for the farm to give something back to the industry and it’s great for the farm to form a role in the training of the next generation of farmers and agriculture professionals.
We’ve been really blessed with great students every year and this year was no different, with Seán Flynn from Teagasc, Gurteen, and Emma Dooley from UCD. Unfortunately, under advice both have had to cut their placement short as of Friday night’s announcement.
Student help suits the farm really well as we have a very busy few weeks in the spring with lambing, calving and breeding, with lots to see, do and learn.
Losing 66% of your help in one evening has presented a challenge for the farm. The students were not working weekends so we have 24 hours to sort out the problem. Lambing is about halfway through so it’s still a very busy yard, though calving is nearly over with eight cows left to calve. The one positive is that the weather is with us. Great weather all week has meant all cows that have calved have been turned out. This has greatly reduced the workload.
We are moving anything we can to larger pens
Ewes and lambs have also been turned out as soon as possible after lambing to reduce workload. For the ewes that are left inside, Shaun is trying to minimise the amount of time a ewe spends in individual pens.
“That’s what increases the work, when you’re carrying silage, meal and water to individual pens it takes time. It’s the same with the cows.
“We are moving anything we can to larger pens with piped water, easy feed silage and that means we just have to manually feed the meal twice daily. The farm was feeding pets but may look to sell off some of these if help can’t be found next week. In the short term we will try and look to some of the casual labour we were getting over the next two weeks. In two more weeks, a lot of the yard work will be eased back so the pressure will be off,” he said.
Fertiliser will be spread again this week by the contractor. It’s important that during this time that our best stock people are checking animals and looking after stock. While not devaluing fertiliser spreading as a specialist job, Shaun is more important at the moment in the lambing shed.
All student placement has been suspended on Tullamore Farm.This means the farm is down two staff next week.Currently letting out as much stock as possible to reduce workload.Stock indoors are being moved to larger pens to reduce feeding, water carrying etc.Contractor is being brought in to spread fertiliser.All close contact being eliminated for staff left on farm, eg dehorning will be put off until later date.Handwashing, sanitising and good hygiene is being maintained on farm.Letters being drafted for remaining farm staff in case stopped on way to work.No visitors are being allowed into farm. Read more
Live updates: essential lockdown information for farmers
Coronavirus: what does cocooning for over 70s mean?
Teagasc student work placements suspended
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