Husband and wife team, Connie & Deirdre McSweeney are farming in Glenroe, Co Limerick and have 4 children under 10. Having been suckler farmers previously, Connie and Deirdre made the decision before covid that they would transition out of the volatile suckler market and make the move to dairy with the help of a robotic milking system.
“With the sucklers, we only really had one day out, and you were relying on so many other factors to go right for us to make a margin on them before we even counted our own time that it took to get them from birth to the mart. With dairy and the robot, while things aren’t always fantastic it’s better than that.”
The return from suckler farming was not enough to support the family, so with Deirdre and Connie working off farm and time at a premium, the plan to go into dairy was aimed at enabling them both to work and balance family life.
“The Lely A5 is excellent. The transition to dairy wasn’t easy, training heifers wasn’t easy for the first 6 weeks but looking at the benefits, we are both are around in the mornings to get the kids out to school, Connie walks the kids to the bus in the morning and helps make lunches – that wouldn’t be the norm on most dairy farms. Plus, we’re there in the evening when they get home and to take them to activities, or attend their matches, shows etc. So, while it was tough, we got there and had support from the team Lely Center Mitchelstown along the way.”
4 years on, they are milking 70 cows on the Lely Astronaut A5 and have no regrets with opting for a robotic milking system vs. a milking parlour. The freedom and work life balance offered is the main benefit to them, without having to try and source outside labour.
“If we had opted for a parlour, I would have been out feeding calves every morning while Connie would be spending 2 hours milking, whereas now, Connie can feed the calves, while I can work, look after the kids or if needed help on the farm, and if he’s off on a job fencing, he’s not rushing to be back for milking.”
Another benefit they felt from opting for a Lely robotic milking system was the information available to them on cow health, behaviour, and production. “If we had gone for a parlour, the cows would only be milked twice a day for roughly the same cost, however with the robotic system the cows are visiting the robot between 2.2 to 2.9 times a day. When you factor in the additional milk, and the reduction in labour – it’s a no brainer.”
“Getting going at grazing was daunting, particularly as new entrants; however, we had always been strip grazing their suckler herd and felt that not having the mindset of wondering “why aren’t the cows coming in?” helped us, as well as the cows adjust to the system and avoid over managing the cows.
“Spending an hour a day making sure the fences are right, and particularly at the start when we were still learning about allocating grass, we might have spent longer because we were overthinking, but overtime we have grown in confidence with it, especially with farm management support guiding us too.”
With a lot to manage, both on and off the farm, Connie and Deirdre chose to install a Lely Discovery 90 robotic scraper to ensure their cows were always clean while housed, making scraping slats one less thing to worry about. “We’ve had very little cases of mastitis here on the farm, and I think that it is down to automation with the Lely A5 milking robot, in how well the cows are milked and the robotic scraper keeping them cleaner too.”
Looking out for the next generation of their young family is another benefit to automation on the farm for Connie and Deirdre. “Farming can be uncertain, and it gives us peace of mind that if any of our children want to take over the farm, that it is being handed over in a way that they can earn a living without having to sacrifice other aspects of their lives. Additionally, we can farm for a bit longer as we get older with this system being less physically intensive.”
Lely Center Mitchelstown are delighted to host an open day on the farm of Connie & Deirdre McSweeney on April 18th at 11:00am until 1pm where the Lely team will have a Q&A with the McSweeneys and explain how the robotic system works. Project coordination, farm management support and sales will be there on the day to address and answer any queries.
SMART FARMING SERIES 2024
https://www.lely.com/ie/smart-farming-series/
