‘It could’ve been a disaster’ says farmer after cows fall into slurry pit
A Co. Monaghan farmer has advised others to check their agitation points, after an incident led to two cows falling into a slurry pit.
“This happened at the mixing point,” said Julie Mullarkey, who runs the dairy farm with her father, Seamus McNally. “It has a galvanised lid, which gave way. It happened around 8.30p.m on Halloween according to the data from the cow collars. It wasn’t until the next morning that we discovered the lid was gone.
“It looks like a corner of the lid gave way when an animal stood on it. The lid flipped off into the tank, and two cows fell in.
“The next morning, once we discovered the lid was open, we didn’t know how many cows were in it or if any were alive. I started milking, and because the tank was three-quarters full, my father started pumping the slurry into the far shed.
“Once we got the slurry down enough, we were able to see two cows standing, looking back at us," she added. "It was such a relief to see they were still alive."
Getting the cows out
“Thankfully, my husband, Eamonn, is very handy!” said Julie. “He assembled a 15-foot ramp.
“We removed three gang slats to allow room for the cows to walk up the ramp. We couldn’t lift the cows out because the roof was too low.
“Next, we haltered the cows and attached a rope to the tractor in case they needed assistance coming up the ramp out of the pit.
“They walked out and got a good wash down afterwards! The whole morning was pure teamwork.”
Advice for farmers
“It was very unfortunate because this is a mixing point we’d use a lot,” Julie added. “We actually had it repaired about a year-and-a-half ago.
“If every farmer checked agitation points for rot, they’d be glad they did so.
“In fact, I was made aware that two weeks ago in the North, a very similar incident happened in another dairy farm. If I had known about that incident, I would have given my mixing point another check,” she said.
“Awareness is the main thing.”
While Julie, her father, and husband had a dramatic morning, it could have been much worse. “The cows survived,” Julie said, “but it could’ve been a disaster".
"If the pit was deeper, if it had happened four or five days later, it wouldn’t have been the same outcome," she said.
