Bandon Mart will hold a full clearance sale next week of the dairy herd of well-known Co. Cork farmer and Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA) Munster regional chairperson Harold Kingston.
The clearance sale will take place next Thursday (March 9), and will begin at 11:00a.m. It will be carried out both in person and online, where it will be hosted by MartEye.
The auction will consist of 143 Holstein Friesian spring-calving dairy stock, 100 of which are calved and the remaining 43 are in-calf to Aberdeen Angus sires.
The herd includes 34 first-time calvers, as well as 44 maiden heifers.
Speaking to Agriland about the clearance sale, Kington said: “It’s a genuine herd. It’s one I’ve spent a long number of years building up and they’re all homebred. They’re all AI [artificial insemination] bred.”
He added: “I would have come from a pedigree base, in that I was registering cows back along when I was originally winter milking as well.”
Having been once-a-day milking for the last four years, Kingston is now back to twice-a-day milking in preparation for the sale “so that people can be confident that the cows yield to their full potential for the year”.
“I’ve been changing my breeding strategy a little bit in terms of having a slightly smaller, more efficient cow,” he said.
The Co. Cork farmer used sexed semen for this year’s calves, saying: “It worked out very well, with remarkable conceptions rates; everything went brilliantly.”
In terms of his future plans, Kingston told Agriland: “I’m looking at rearing young stock, whether it’s contract rearing or a version of that.
“I’m working out an agreement. I’m talking to one person at the moment… I reckon my place is more suited to dairy stock, and my facilities are set up for that, so that’s what I’m aiming at,” he said.
The workload will be easier in this new venture, and the IFA Munster chair said that was a big part of the reason for the decision, especially due to recent health issues.
“Covid-19 has helped me make the decision, because it has taken a lot out of me, especially since calving season started. I was going well up until that happened, and it’s difficult to do a full working day now.
“After that, at my mid-50s, there’s a time in life that you’re either going to jump into something else or you’re not at that stage,” he said.
“My son is doing the Leaving Cert this year. It gives him a chance as well. There’s no pressure on me trying to keep going and there’s no pressure on him as to when he comes back,” Kingston added.
He has received many well-wishes for his new venture and, he said, nobody has contacted him “to give out and say I’m doing the wrong thing”. Some have told him it’s a brave move.
“It’s a thought-out, practical, and financial decision. To clean the slate and give myself a chance to recover and a chance to do something else as well.
“I absolutely love milking cows. I love managing stock. It’s my thing and managing grass is my thing. There’s other ways of managing grass as well, and handling stock,” he said.
Kingston also put paid to a “rumour” that he has heard that he is clearing his stock so he can take a run at the IFA presidential election this year. In fact, he is not standing for election at all.
“Covid-19 ruled that out a couple of months back already, so it’s not an option. I would not be up to running a campaign at all this year,” he said.
“I would have loved the option of running, but it’s not an option at all. But in four years’ time – who knows.”
“I’ll see out my term a Munster chair as much as I can. I’ve been limited for the last couple of months as to how much I can do, but hopefully I might be a bit [more free] now to do the rest of it,” Kingston said.