Undoubtedly, 2024 has been a mentally tolling time for farmers across the country, which means taking time off should be a priority.
The previous winter has resulted in a prolonged housing period for cattle, which subsequently saw farmers run tight on fodder supplies.
This was followed by a tough grazing period. Many paddocks were poached, which hindered the quality of grass that cows were consuming.
Grass growth did not improve during breeding season, which made it difficult for cows to reach their peak milk supply.
All of this contributed to a very difficult and mentally tolling first half of the year for farmers, which saw cash flow on most farms being negatively affected.
As we are now in between your typical first-cut and second-cut silage period, taking a bit of time off at this time of the year before you take into harvesting more silage should be a priority.
Taking time off
Getting away from the farm for a few days for many, almost feels like more stress than it is worth, but it is important for mental well-being to take a break and get away from the farm.
Even if the farmer does not want to go away for a few days, finding something that will take you away from the farm a couple of evening during the week is healthy.
A farmer should try and meet up with friends, get involved in football/hurling training or matches, playing golf or even organising to go to Croke Park to watch a game as the championship closes in.
One option that helps dairy farmers free up short amounts of time is to take a step away from a milking.
Teagasc put together a table illustrating the amount of time a farmer can save by investing money into a relief milker.
This is not to say you should be contracting out this much milking but should be considered for taking time off.
The table is as follows:
Example of time saved by money invested in relief milking for average scale herd. Relief labour budget* 5-6k 10-12K 15-18K 20-24K Approximate number of milkings 100 200 300 400 % of milkings per year 15 30 45 62 Hours saved 250 500 750 1,000 Milking per 46 weeks 2.2 4.3 6.5 8.7 Time freed up to take time off or do other work One day/week 2.2 days/week Three days/week 4.5
days/week
It can free up more time to spend with family and friends or to get other jobs done, which in turn can free up more time elsewhere.
There are 14 milkings/week on most dairy farms, and outsourcing just two to three of these milkings can create a lot of free time.
The first step is to begin to look at someone doing a relief milking for you, not just as a cost per hour or per milking, but as an investment in your own time.