Co. Limerick dairy farmer Marian Collins has been involved in the rearing of “award-winning” Jersey cows on her family farm for almost 50 years now.
The family farm, based in Newcastle west, first introduced Jersey cows in 1974, and has been working with the same family of cows since.
According to Marian, one of their cows won the National Livestock Show in Tullamore three years in a row.
Another from the same family of cows won best dairy Jersey cow at the World Dairy Expo, along with many more awards throughout the years.
“I don’t want to brag, but they truly are award-winning,” Marian said.
Jersey rearing
Marian explained that the family first introduced Jerseys to their farm, as her mother found “they are smaller and easier to manage”.
The family all help out on the farm, including her brother John, and sisters Joan and Noreen.
They all grew to love the breed and “appreciate their personality”.
“They’re such a lovely, lovely breed, you’d love to just put your arms around them.
“They’re so intelligent too. If you wear a different colour to the farm one day, they’ll nearly go so far as telling you with the strange looks,” Marian said.
The family sadly lost one of their oldest cows recently, at 16-and-a-half years old.
The cow had 13 heifer calves in her lifetime and died because of pelvic issues.
“It was sad. She was an absolute dote,” Marian said.
She told one story of a particular cow, which they simply could not sell.
The cow, named Damsel, would only “let down milk” when she’d hear Paddy Reilly singing the fields of Athenry.
“Paddy Reilly doesn’t realise the kind of an audience he had, that went far beyond the human taste,” Marian said.
Marian said she wanted to emphasise that Jerseys are “very sensitive” and would only recommend them to farmers that are prepared to “treat them very well”.
“If you treat them badly, they will not perform for you,” she said.
She added that those performance levels are represented in most cows.
“You can tell the breed of an animal a particular farmer has by the personality of the farmer, and by the temperament of those animals,” she said.
She spoke about the recent insight into calf welfare shown on the RTÉ Investigates programme.
“That level of abuse televised was the worst thing I seen in my entire life,” she said.
Marian attended a mart years ago and saw sticks being used on cows. She said she wasn’t happy with how it was being operated, so has avoided marts ever since.
She described the mart as “egos going mad on a Monday morning”.
Challenges
Carrying years of farming experience, Marian said she recognises the growing challenge of global warming.
She said her family are making conscious efforts to adapt as the climate changes.
She said “reducing the herd is necessary”, but overall feels positive about reaching 2030 climate targets.
The emissions ceiling for agriculture has been set at a level by government, requiring a 25% reduction by 2030.
“In the interest of human welfare, changes are needed, and we do have time to do it,” she said.
She advised “setting targets for sustainable goals” over the next few years.
Marian believes most farmers are conscious of global warming and “look after nature, just like they look after animals”.
The family of Jerseys store artificial insemination (AI) straws at Eurogene for use.