Paula Hynes: A-maizing maize and genetics insights

Irish Examiner

06-08-2025

The August bank holiday weekend was quiet for us as we had no show and a nice chance to catch our breath as the farm had been busy during the week. CCS contracting were in picking up silage in perfect weather conditions.
The crew always give a really efficient service and gave us a hand covering the pit before they left. It is reassuring to have all that work completed and our silage pit seems considerably bigger than last year with just enough room to fit the maize silage on the slab.
Maize is really progressing well, the crop is around 9ft tall, cobs are a good length and should fill well with the warm weather at the moment.
We aim to harvest the crop sometime around mid-September so we will walk the crop with Niall Canty at the beginning of September and make a better plan then. Niall has vast experience with growing maize and always offers sound realistic advice which we trust.
It would also be nice to have maize in the diet for the show cows prior to the National Dairy Show in October which would also help drive milk production on them as well as the fresh autumn calvers who will soon be moving to a transition diet.
We had a visitor in the yard recently and when they saw the show cows they asked 'are these the pets', a comment which really annoys me. Just because we can lead them on halters, doesn't make them pets, we have pet dogs that don't earn any money, but show cows work harder than commercial cows and essentially are top of the range commercial cows.
Our second-lactation jersey cow will produce over 600kg of milk solids in 300 days this year, went in-calf first service and has stood champion jersey every day she went out this year along with having both her daughters winning at National Finals.
Her sister Kali will hit 500kg of solids in her first lactation and is unbeaten as a heifer in milk and also went in-calf first service. Acclaim has produced over 11,340L in 260 days in her second-lactation and also went in-calf first service.
I only wish my pet dogs could earn us as much as my so-called pet cows.
A farm walk with a purpose
We had a really interesting visit on the farm this week; our Dairygold water quality advisor and farm sustainability advisor Jeremiah Herlihy. When Jeremiah visited previously, we walked the entire farm together. Farmers are making huge efforts to improve water quality, and it is always handy to have a fresh pair of eyes to see where we can improve in other areas.
On this visit, we were discussing the EIP water quality improvement funding. There are so many different options farmers can apply for funding, so there is something for every farm.
After a good look at the options and a walk of the farm we decided we would apply for funding to increase the boundary for bovine exclusion near the main waterway which will be extended to 3m which essentially means this 3m boundary will return to wilderness allowing native species to take control and hopefully in time also allow more natural strength to the river bank.
It will also help with biodiversity and allow space for wildlife near a water source.
It is a big project, so hopefully we will get approval so we can crack on with the work before winter sets in. We have also applied for two areas of willow beds for water filtration.
All our roadways are naturally cambered away from drains, so when it rains, the rain goes into a field from the roadway rather than into a drain. By placing willow beds in a couple of strategic areas, we will be able to filter any rainwater run-off in fields, and again, they will also have a positive benefit for wildlife.
We are also looking at a number of other measures, such as slurry testing, which will most likely take place once a full tank has been agitated twice next spring so as to get the most accurate reading and we will know the exact nutrient reading of what we are spreading on fields.
We already soil sample the entire farm every two years so by knowing the soil fertility and also knowing exactly what we spread, we can make more calculated decisions rather than working from averages. When it rains in Ireland now, it really seems to rain heavily due to the way weather patterns are changing.
We simply cannot gather huge volumes of rain but with a bucket and brush system for the loader, we can ensure yards are tidier and rainwater will remain cleaner. We are also looking at installing a sediment settling tank which rainwater will be diverted towards and any silt will settle in it before the water leaves the tank.
It was probably one of the most worthwhile farm visits we have had from an advisor in quite some time. Every farm is different, but it is great to see so many measures available to farms. We are looking forward to working further with Jeremiah and seeing how all this work progresses.
International genetics conference
Genetics is the roadmap to profitability on every farm. Of course, management and nutrition are the key to unlocking those genetics.
In early September, the who's who of the global genetics industry will be visiting Cork for the Association of Embryo Technology in Europe for their 41st conference. From bovines to equines and small ruminants, the conference offers a dynamic program of scientific sessions, workshops and networking opportunities.
Do you know who cloned the first horse, or who revolutionised the global dairy breeding industry through sexed semen? Who is working towards the de-extinction of the White Rhino through breeding? Or even who the most knowledgeable Irish people are when it comes to genetics, embryos and breeding nutrition?
Well, if you do and you would like to hear more from them, or you don't and you would like to find out, have a look at AETE Conference 2025.
It is fantastic that Ireland and indeed Cork attract conferences and leading experts to share knowledge, and reaffirms that Ireland too has a wealth of knowledge to share. It is certainly a conference we are looking forward to attending as the show season begins to wind down.