Kilkenny dairy duo / father and son, Martin and Edward Delahunty from Freshford, milk a herd of Friesian cows on a large grazing platform.
Their dairy enterprise is run in conjunction with a well-managed dairy beef system. The herd predominately uses Hereford stock bulls to breed with their cows.
Four Hereford bulls, as well as one Friesian bull, were used in the 2023 breeding season, and calving this year had very positive results yet again.
Farming on over 300ac, Martin has lived on this farm all his life and began at an early age. He left school at the age of 14 to stay and work the farm after the sudden passing of his father.
Martin loves the buzz of farming and said that “it can give great independence and can also be very satisfactory too”.
Why Hereford?
Martin does not follow stars or indexes to the letter of the law. However, he does believe that they are a great advancement in science, and when used correctly can be extremely helpful, however, like most farmers Martin still goes by the appearance of the animal when making his final decision.
He recognises that generating quality stock is heavily reliant on genetics. To maximise the profits on his farm, he aims to produce good calves from his dairy cows.
He prefers Friesians, as they tend to be the tall animal, which are then crossed with the long and well-shaped Hereford to produce quality beef stock.
When finishing his animals, he aims to match his farming system with a young age-at-slaughter. He aims to finish his heifers at 20 to 22 months, while the steers are finished at 24 to 26 months.
Among the four Hereford stock bulls used within his herd, each have different traits, which he targets at his cows and heifers.
Martin’s love for the Hereford breed is down to many factors, their ability to hold a good shape and length, while maintaining the docile temperament.
Safety is key in many herds now, especially as Martin would commonly be accompanied by his grandchildren, as they too show great interest in the agricultural industry.
Calf-to-beef system
Still working a winter milking system, with this decision being made over 40 years ago due to the greater profits at the time and good bonuses involved.
Martin has remained milking this system as he seen many benefits. One of which is his calves, Martin keeps all calves born on the farm and fattens them to slaughter.
As his calving season is well spread out, he has a constant supply of fresh milk for the calves readily available.
There is no milk replacer used and he feels this benefits the calved immensely.
Martin believes that winter milking also means that when the weather improves in spring, his calves can go straight out to grass, maximising the utilisation of the grass as the lighter stock can work on the softer ground.
Social life
From a young age, Martin had a great commitment with Macra na Feirme, competing in many debating events in the south-east with Freshford Macra club.
Winning the 1968/69 debating against Kilkenny city still lives on well in Martins mind. He believes that the events and guest speakers greatly benefited his knowledge in which he may have missed out on.
This encouraged Martin to attend Teagasc events to gain alternative perspectives on agriculture.
The independence he has now has allowed Martin to travel. His local Teagasc group have toured the world, visiting countries such as China, Brazil, Australia and many more.
Animal nutrition
To coincide with genetics used on his farm, Martin says that nutrition is a key attribute to the animal’s performance.
With all the calves obtaining quality milk from an early age, Martin ensures that targets are continued to be met with quality feed.
The finishing animals obtain a feed consisting of silage, maize and beet.
Beet is costly; however, Martin feels the Herefords produce a lean cover of meat with this addition.
Irish Hereford Prime Membership
Martin has been a member of Irish Hereford Prime for many years. He believes they have significantly enhanced the status of the breed.
Their varied marketing strategies aim to appeal to a wide range of individuals, from farmers who purchase the calves to consumers of the meat.
Farmers can evaluate their alternatives for the future when they purchase calves.
Furthermore, the Irish Hereford Prime bonus encourages more farmers to keep their stock through to slaughter and reap the full rewards available.
He said that Hereford calves are extremely sought after and are now easier to sell due to their consistent performance over their lifetime and the significant carcass weights and bonuses that are achievable.
Upcoming Hereford society sales
The next Hereford bull sale is in Nenagh on Thursday, May 16. The entries close for this sale on Thursday, May 2.
Irish Hereford Prime will sponsor €200 towards any bull sold for €3,200 and above during the sale.
