On dairy farms – and drystock farms for that matter – Christmas Day unfortunately does not mean that the work stops.
Livestock still need to be fed and watered and in some cases, milking will have to take place not once, but twice on Christmas Day.
Although the work still has to be done, Christmas Day and week is a time to spend with family, if possible.
In order to get this quality time, there are a number of measures that can be used to reduce the amount of time required to spend in the yard, leaving more time to can spend with the family.
Christmas
The aim for Christmas Day and week should be to only complete the jobs that are essential, such as feeding, milking, herding and liming of cubicles.
Other tasks that can be done at a later date should be avoided, if possible.
On winter milk farms, the feeding and milking of cows will need to place.
However, on farms where cows are dry, cows can be fed every second day. This can be achieved by placing more feed in front of the cows and simply pushing it in when required.
On farms where cows are fed blocks of silage you can cut out a couple of extra blocks that can then be simply pushed in when needed.
The liming of cubicles will still need to take place everyday, along with the herding of animals to identify any that are sick of have issues.
Where possible, ask someone in the family to give you a hand to get the jobs that need to be done completed.
Always remember that farms are dangerous places and rushing to complete jobs will only increase the level of danger.
Once-over
You should complete a number of checks on the equipment that will be required at Christmas time over the coming week.
Ensure that oil levels are adequate and that machines are full of diesel.
It would be typical if there was going to be an issue with a piece of machinery that it would happen during Christmas week.
So, give all your machinery a once over and grease anything that may require it.
If you notice any hoses or fittings that are damaged or frayed you should repair them if you have the part, or order the part as soon as possible if not.