In episode two of Agriland's limited podcast 'The Dairy Trail', which aired earlier this week, Co. Wicklow farmer John Wynne spoke about his winter milking herd.

John is milking 320 black-and-white cows on a 90ha platform alongside his mother Frances in Stratford-on-Slaney just outside Baltinglass.

The farm is in a liquid milk contract with 45% of the herd calving down in autumn to achieve their target, and additional work going in to continue achieving 570-580kg of milk solids per cow.

John is also farming a portion of tillage, planting 35-40ac of his own maize to feed cows over the winter and have a bit left in the yard to buffer feed during summer droughts.

In the podcast, John talks us through the farm operation and the expansion he has being driving over the last few years.

We hear about how the focus was put on breeding and feeding to push production and maximise margins.

John said: "I would be trying to push as much out of forage, instead of driving more and more meal into them."

John reviews the 2025 grazing and silage cutting season, and the challenges of overcoming drought.

John spoke about the calving season just gone by, and talked about how sexed semen 'flattened' their six-week calving, making labour a lot more handy.

We hear about John's vaccination and feeding protocols for the calving season to ensure top calf health is in place.

John also spoke about the dry-off routine and the use of selective dry cow therapy, which allows the farm keep somatic cell count (SCC) in or around the 128-mark.

John also speaks about the resilience and work of the farm when dealing with mortellaro when it made its way onto the farm several years ago.

He now follows a strict foot bathing protocol using blue stone and vinegar, which has solved 98% of the problem.

We also hear about hoof care routines on the farm, especially considering the steep hills in the area.

The Dairy Trail

Finally John talks us through infrastructure and future plans, so make sure to listen to the podcast to hear his full story.

If you have already listened to John's podcast, you can tune in to episode three of The Dairy Trail on Monday (December 1) at 5.00p.m.

Episode two, which will be hosted here on Agriland and across all other platforms, will feature dairy farmer, Dan Somers, who will be speaking about the herd of Montbeliardes he is milking just outside Arklow in Co. Wicklow.