Listen Breeding Cows for High Grass Intake Capacity Depth
Mike Clohessy featured on 'The Dairy Trail' podcast during the week and talked about how he is milking 75 black and white cows in Fedamore, Co. Limerick, where one Lely A4 robot and a strict breeding routine is paving the way for high solids and good work/life balance.
Mike's enthusiasm for genetics and breeding, as well as his passion for dairy farming was evident when he spoke on the latest episode of 'The Dairy Trail' podcast. Click here to listen the podcast.
Mike also has a full-time job off farm as the director of the genetic company, Bullwise CRV, and is able to manage dairy farming with the requirements of his job with the help of the robot.
Mike's cows coming in and out of the robot for milking
On the episode, Mike talks about his breeding programme and how he wants to breed a cow with good capacity, and an ability to intake large quantities of grass and convert it to 600kg of milk solids a year.
The Limerick man discusses the grassland management on the farm through an ABC robotic grazing system, time-off, plans for the future and a potential increase in cow numbers and robots.
Mike was a new entrant into dairy in 2018 and bought in heifers from three herds, coming from a high base of Economic Breeding Index (EBI), and his herd was in the top 10% of the country at that stage in terms of EBI.
From this solid foundation of stock, Mike started to breed more functionality into the herd and wanted to produce higher volumes of milk with more solids.
Mike started his breeding season on April 15 this year to allow the cows to get out to grass earlier in the year, as they want to produce the majority of their milk off grass.
Mike takes pride in breeding quality, capacious heifers, which was very evident
The bulls used this year were selected based on good functionality and cow type with increased volumes of milk.
Mike went for more daughter-proven bulls this year, "looking for cows with more capacity, more chest width, strength and good body depth".
"We are looking for a bigger cow, a stronger cow. We are never going to be a massive herd here, so we are trying to maximise what we can from grass and from the ground we have."
The current cow size on the farm is around the 570kg mark and they are producing around 530kg of milk solids/ cow/year.
Mike wants to breed in a slightly bigger cow, at about 600kg live weight that can produce 600kg of milk solids.
Mike used sexed semen for 15 days this year and was very selective when using it. He chose a panel of bulls with over 250kg of milk, north of 30kg of milk solids and as high fat and protein percentages he could get.
Cow selection for sexed semen or conventional artificial insemination (AI) is based on milk recording data and choosing the cows "that are delivering", he said.
"Some of the older cows are the best cows with deep bodies and we wanted to breed off them so sexed semen was used on them".
Mike will then continue using conventional dairy AI for six weeks before switching to beef straws after that, using Aberdeen Angus, Hereford and a few Speckle Park straws, with a focus on maximising carcass weight without stretching the calving ease.
The heifers are put on CIDR synchronisation programme and are all put to sexed semen, which is followed with scratch cards and another round of conventional AI. Of the 24 heifers, 18 held to first service and the six remaining were picked up the following round.
The in-calf heifers on Mike's farm
Cows are currently producing 24L/day on 3kg of meal. Mike said that his solids have improved this year with percentages currently holding at 3.74% protein and 4.2% fat.
The target for this year is to hit 6,400L/cow with an average of 3.65% protein and accumulating 530kg of milk solids/cow.
Speaking about using the CRV Dutch bulls, Mike believes it is breeding him a cow with more capacity, chest width deep in the body with an average size, as he highlighted that he does not want tall cows.
All of the in-calf heifers and heifer calves on the ground are Dutch-bred, as he believes cows with capacity and strength are going to deliver for his system.
He said: "They are aggressive grazers and can convert it to solids."
Speaking about the outlook for himself and his business, he said: "If you can get what you're doing right first, then you can drive on".
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Irish Times
04-08-2025
- Irish Times
‘A slow-moving car crash': Novo Nordisk's troubles keep mounting
Things just keep getting worse for Novo Nordisk . Shares were already battered before the recent profit warning, as US competition in the weight loss market intensified. The warning wiped another quarter off its rapidly falling market value. Novo, which reports earnings on Wednesday, has now lost two-thirds of its value in little over a year. Talk of Europe's first stock market trillionaire is long gone, with Novo's market capitalisation collapsing to $170 billion (€149 billion). Novo's latest troubles stem from copycat compounded versions of its flagship Wegovy drug and stronger rivals from US-based Eli Lilly. READ MORE Lilly's Mounjaro and Zepbound have gained market share, delivering greater weight loss with reportedly fewer side effects. As a Barclays analyst put it, it's been a 'slow-moving car crash'. Early supply shortages pushed patients to competitors, while Novo's cautious marketing lagged behind Lilly's aggressive, consumer-focused approach. Despite this, new CEO Maziar Mike Doustdar says the market opportunity and pipeline remain huge. The stock certainly looks cheap, trading at under 14 times trailing earnings and about 12 times projected earnings. In contrast, Lilly trades at 62 times trailing earnings and 34 times forward earnings. Still, Novo has looked cheap for a while, but investors who caught the proverbial falling knife have learned an expensive lesson: cheap stocks can stay cheap for a good reason.
Agriland
02-08-2025
- Agriland
Listen Breeding Cows for High Grass Intake Capacity Depth
Breeding functional cows that can eat a lot of grass and convert it to solids is the aim in Co. Limerick. Mike Clohessy featured on 'The Dairy Trail' podcast during the week and talked about how he is milking 75 black and white cows in Fedamore, Co. Limerick, where one Lely A4 robot and a strict breeding routine is paving the way for high solids and good work/life balance. Mike's enthusiasm for genetics and breeding, as well as his passion for dairy farming was evident when he spoke on the latest episode of 'The Dairy Trail' podcast. Click here to listen the podcast. Mike also has a full-time job off farm as the director of the genetic company, Bullwise CRV, and is able to manage dairy farming with the requirements of his job with the help of the robot. Mike's cows coming in and out of the robot for milking On the episode, Mike talks about his breeding programme and how he wants to breed a cow with good capacity, and an ability to intake large quantities of grass and convert it to 600kg of milk solids a year. The Limerick man discusses the grassland management on the farm through an ABC robotic grazing system, time-off, plans for the future and a potential increase in cow numbers and robots. Mike was a new entrant into dairy in 2018 and bought in heifers from three herds, coming from a high base of Economic Breeding Index (EBI), and his herd was in the top 10% of the country at that stage in terms of EBI. From this solid foundation of stock, Mike started to breed more functionality into the herd and wanted to produce higher volumes of milk with more solids. Mike started his breeding season on April 15 this year to allow the cows to get out to grass earlier in the year, as they want to produce the majority of their milk off grass. Mike takes pride in breeding quality, capacious heifers, which was very evident The bulls used this year were selected based on good functionality and cow type with increased volumes of milk. Mike went for more daughter-proven bulls this year, "looking for cows with more capacity, more chest width, strength and good body depth". "We are looking for a bigger cow, a stronger cow. We are never going to be a massive herd here, so we are trying to maximise what we can from grass and from the ground we have." The current cow size on the farm is around the 570kg mark and they are producing around 530kg of milk solids/ cow/year. Mike wants to breed in a slightly bigger cow, at about 600kg live weight that can produce 600kg of milk solids. Mike used sexed semen for 15 days this year and was very selective when using it. He chose a panel of bulls with over 250kg of milk, north of 30kg of milk solids and as high fat and protein percentages he could get. Cow selection for sexed semen or conventional artificial insemination (AI) is based on milk recording data and choosing the cows "that are delivering", he said. "Some of the older cows are the best cows with deep bodies and we wanted to breed off them so sexed semen was used on them". Mike will then continue using conventional dairy AI for six weeks before switching to beef straws after that, using Aberdeen Angus, Hereford and a few Speckle Park straws, with a focus on maximising carcass weight without stretching the calving ease. The heifers are put on CIDR synchronisation programme and are all put to sexed semen, which is followed with scratch cards and another round of conventional AI. Of the 24 heifers, 18 held to first service and the six remaining were picked up the following round. The in-calf heifers on Mike's farm Cows are currently producing 24L/day on 3kg of meal. Mike said that his solids have improved this year with percentages currently holding at 3.74% protein and 4.2% fat. The target for this year is to hit 6,400L/cow with an average of 3.65% protein and accumulating 530kg of milk solids/cow. Speaking about using the CRV Dutch bulls, Mike believes it is breeding him a cow with more capacity, chest width deep in the body with an average size, as he highlighted that he does not want tall cows. All of the in-calf heifers and heifer calves on the ground are Dutch-bred, as he believes cows with capacity and strength are going to deliver for his system. He said: "They are aggressive grazers and can convert it to solids." Speaking about the outlook for himself and his business, he said: "If you can get what you're doing right first, then you can drive on".
The Irish Sun
25-07-2025
- The Irish Sun
Heartache for Bayesian yacht victim Mike Lynch's family – estate faces bankruptcy after court demands it hand over £700M
IT was a tragedy that claimed the lives of a billionaire father and his daughter, drowned in a storm at sea. British tech entrepreneur Advertisement 6 Mike Lynch and daughter Hannah drowned at sea while out on his £38million yacht Bayesian Credit: PA 6 Mike's wife Angela Bacares was pulled to safety by a crew member 6 The Bayesian disaster claimed the lives of seven people last August Credit: PA As the boat sank rapidly, his wife Now, as the one-year anniversary approaches next month, 58-year-old businesswoman There is the The case was brought six years ago by HP after they acquired his company Autonomy in 2011. Advertisement read more on mike lynch The firm claimed Lynch and the former chief financial officer had fraudulently inflated its value. While Lynch was facing court action in America, HP was already chasing him through the civil courts in Britain — leading to this week's damages ruling. The High Court ruled that HP had paid a lot more than it would have done 'had Autonomy's true financial position been correctly presented' during the sale. If his estate — which goes to Angela and her remaining daughter Esme, 22 — ends up having to pay, it will almost certainly be bankrupted, leaving no inheritance for the family. Advertisement Most read in The Sun It is believed Lynch shielded his wife's personal fortune from the messy court cases. She owned millions of pounds worth of shares held in her name in other family firms. I found doomed Bayesian I saw still haunts me And she made more than £15million from the sale of her shares when Autonomy was taken over. One pal told us: 'Mike wasn't perfect but he wasn't a criminal in any way, shape or form. Advertisement He had asked various Cabinet ministers and Prime Ministers, including and Boris Johnson, to help him. 'Rishi and Johnson were more interested in making post-Brexit trade deals than making any trouble on Mike's behalf. 'Rishi and Johnson were more interested in making post-Brexit trade deals than making any trouble on Mike's behalf. 'These cases hung over him for years and he ended up under house arrest in San Francisco unable to leave for months, facing charges that he was ultimately cleared of. Advertisement 'He helped a lot of people make a lot of money but they assumed he was guilty as charged and then ran a million miles. 'He was abandoned by his peer group and by his government then, when he won his US case, everyone wanted to be his friend again. 'The irony is he had gone out on the "It's been one tragedy after another for his family.' Advertisement The latest damages ruling had been delayed until this week because of the circumstances surrounding the yachting disaster on August 19 last year. The judge expressed his 'sorrow at the devastating turn of events' at sea and offered 'sympathy and deepest condolences'. 'STILL GRIEVING' He even said that he 'admired' Lynch, despite ruling against him. Insiders have told The Sun that the family want to appeal the High Court decision. Advertisement Our source said: 'It's not just about money, it's about restoring Mike's reputation. "The family are considering their next move but we all know that appealing these sorts of decisions is lengthy and costly. "They are also still grieving their loss.' Lynch created software company Autonomy, which processed people's information and data, in 1996. Advertisement He sold it to Hewlett-Packard for £8.6billion in 2011. The businessman reportedly netted around £500million from the deal before going on to set up tech investment firm Invoke Capital. Just a year after the mega-bucks deal, HP wrote down Autonomy's value by £6.5billion and brought a £4billion lawsuit against Lynch and ex-finance officer Sushovan Hussain. The allegations that they inflated the value of the company were investigated by the UK Serious Fraud Office too, who found 'insufficient evidence' of wrongdoing — but some aspects of the case were then handed over to US authorities. Advertisement In 2018, Lynch and Autonomy's former vice-president of finance But both were acquitted following a If Lynch had been found guilty, he would have faced up to 25 years in prison. 6 Hannah was just 18 when she tragically died on the Bayesian Credit: Darren Fletcher Advertisement He told reporters last year that given his poor health, he would have almost certainly died in jail. The pair were still celebrating their win when Chamberlain, 52, Two days later, the Bayesian sank off the coast of Sicily, claiming the lives of Lynch, Hannah, As part of a criminal investigation by Italian authorities, Advertisement That inquiry may not conclude until 2027, bringing more heartache for the Lynch family. James Healy-Pratt, a US lawyer representing the family of chef Recaldo, said they would push for compensation from Angela, the crew and yacht management company Camper & Nicholsons. As one of the country's most successful entrepreneurs, Lynch had a life of luxury, enjoying exotic holidays and a £6milliion country mansion in Suffolk, which boasts 2,500 acres. The close family are said to have loved spending time at home, breeding rare livestock, including Suffolk sheep and Gloucestershire Old Spot pigs, which roamed free in the estate's woodland. Advertisement But the businessman came from humble beginnings. Born to Irish parents — a firefighter father and nurse mother — Lynch won a scholarship to a private school in Essex. Mike worked hard but was very much a family man and wanted to make life as normal for his children as it could be, given the extreme wealth Andrew Kanter He went on to gain a PhD in mathematical computing from Cambridge University. A friend said: 'He really was a genius. Advertisement "He was just a brilliant mathematician and his life transformed as he built companies. 'He was a very early advocate of artificial intelligence — the very field in which we need expertise in this country.' Long-time friend Andrew Kanter, who was a pallbearer at Lynch's funeral, said: 'He was never happier than when someone asked to see the pigs on his estate. 'Mike worked hard but was very much a family man and wanted to make life as normal for his children as it could be, given the extreme wealth. Advertisement 'He never let his legal issues get in the way and did everything to make sure his kids grew up untroubled by whatever the world lay at his feet.' 'I truly believe that Mike would have looked at the UK ruling as a good day. "Although the numbers are crazy, even the judge has found that Hewlett-Packard had overstated its claim. 'Mike would have continued to fight this. Advertisement "He always argued that a law that allows America to extradite British citizens and not have a return agreement was really flawed. 'It's been the case for 15 years and he was going to have that fight too. 'The legal issues weighed heavily on him but he never let it affect his family. 'I never saw him sitting around self-pitying. He wanted to clear his name. Advertisement 'The loss of Mike is an incalculable loss for technology. 'He was utterly devoted to its growth in Britain.' 6 Divers at the wreck of the yacht Credit: ugpix 6 The interior of the Bayesian Advertisement Unlock even more award-winning articles as The Sun launches brand new membership programme - Sun Club.
