Hazell Mullins: The Christmas reset — the farm is nothing without you
Of And Guilty Vets Both Farmers Ends Candle Burning Are The At Both
Christmas is a double celebration in my house, it’s also my birthday on Christmas Day so I try my very best to make a little bit about me, but as you can imagine I have tough competition in the celebration stakes.
My Mum always makes such an effort to distinguish the days, making sure to use birthday paper for wrapping and always buying me the biggest birthday badge in the shop. It all helped form so many traditions in my house that probably differ to the majority of people's day. The Christmas cake is always covered in birthday candles and birthday balloons take over the Christmas table before the main event.
Christmas week is full of traditions both in my home and on the farm. We always aim to dry off the last of the cows by Christmas Day, not only to give the cows a break but also ourselves. My childhood was spent milking cows morning and evening on Christmas Day before we swapped over to winter milk. Saying that it is nice to get out on the farm after the mammoth dinner to make room for dessert.
Christmas is a time on the farm to take a step back perhaps, spend time with friends and family to take both a mental and physical rest before the busy spring cycle begins again. The cows certainly deserve much-needed rest during this dry period to make sure the next lactation is a success and this should also apply to farmers too.
Last week, I attended the Precision Microbes “Calf Health Road Show” in the Salesian Agricultural College, hosted by Vet, Tommy Heffernan. He spoke so much sense about going back to basics with calf health and trying to get better at them year after year. There was a great crowd in attendance which shows the appetite that is there for good calf health in Ireland and it was fantastic to see so many of the next generation of farmers in attendance also.
A speech on the day that really struck a chord with me was from the wonder Ursula from Cormac Tagging, She spoke so elegantly about how doing all the best practices with calves is wonderful, however, they are pointless unless you look after yourself also.
In general, both vets and farmers are guilty of burning the candle at both ends and as I am both my candle is more like a tea light sometimes. She correctly pointed out that “having the perfect calf shed, the perfect calf but without you it’s nothing”. She pleaded with the farmers in attendance to slow down, to be careful and mindful on the farm when it comes to farm safety.
The ”Make the Moove” campaign in partnership with the Macra na Feirme had a post on their Instagram this week that simply said: “Hey! It’s okay to take a break and prioritise your mental health". An important message to convey at this time of year, especially. It is a wonderful resource for rural communities to utilise during tough times.
For those like myself that get a little restless around Christmas, I like to tick a few admin jobs off my ever-expanding list. Ear tags is a job on top of the list and this year we are also genotyping the calves so that is something a little different to think about this year. Ursula gave us a gentle reminder to pre-order tags before the New Year/Christmas to have them in time for the first calf hitting the ground as our seasonal calving can make things a little hectic.
Don’t forget to order a new applicator also if you feel it’s not up to scratch, it is an entry point for bacteria to the calf system and should be done as hygienically as possible. No rusty pin heads in sight.
It's a good week also to call your vet and place any vaccine orders for the New Year. I must order our scour vaccines for the cows and heifers which is due on the second week of January which is approximately three weeks prior to calving begins.
I must order IBR Live vaccines for the whole herd also which is due just after Christmas. Ideally, vaccines should be given two weeks apart to allow the immune system to launch a suitable response to the vaccine without interference.
Other than that, I think most things can wait until after the Christmas break, I am looking forward to enjoying the build-up to Christmas this week, such as the annual St. Angela girls Christmas outing, which used to be the 12 pubs but sadly age and sense has reduced this number drastically. I am very lucky to have our family around on Christmas Day, the second year celebrating in our beautiful new home.
I would like to thank you all for reading my articles week on week and for your continued support. Happy Christmas to you and yours including all your four-legged friends, of course.
