For most dairy farmers, the August Bank Holiday is just another weekend, but after the hectic start to the year, farmers should also be considering taking some essential time off.

Farming has no shortage of stereotypes and stigmas, with many still fearing that time off will be perceived as slacking off.

In reality, the workload on the majority of dairy farms across the country has risen significantly, and not getting away can lead to burnout, and even mental health issues.

Teagasc studies have shown farmers work between 50-60 hours a week on average.

But those hours can increase dramatically during hectic times of the year such as calving, breeding, and silage season, which all occur consecutively.

When you think about it, employees can only work a maximum of 48 hours a week under EU law, yet many farms routinely double that in a week, because cows do not recognise weekends or bank holidays.

A lot of dairy operations have successfully increased labour units or adapted to technology, which gives them a greater work-life balance.

But there is just as many farms who work seven days a week, 365 days a year.

Relief milking

Relief is one of the biggest barriers to taking holidays, especially considering the majority of farmers are working under tight financial margins this year.

To take a long weekend, you could be looking at costs in excess of €500 on labour alone.

And that's only one part of the problem, as finding once-off good, reliable staff can be near impossible.

Therefore farms really should consider hiring a relief milker at least once a week for the milking season.

Hiring a relief milker may cost you between €5,000-€6,000 in the year, but guarantees someone who knows your systems and allows you to step away comfortably.

It also frees up time to spend with family and friends, or to get other jobs done, which in turn can actually increase profits as you can improve the finer details on the farm.

By looking at a relief milker as an investment in your own time, rather than a cost per hour, you will be one step closer to a healthier work-life balance.

It must be said that some rural areas may struggle to get experienced relief milkers, but most areas will have students home for the summer that will happily do a couple of arranged milkings, and may even work weekends throughout the spring.

At the end of the day, it is worth asking yourself, is your time not worth the price of four or five cull cows?