Grey grey skies!
Stand in the Gap
Kathleen Duffy
The song ‘Green Green Grass’ the chorus of which includes the refrain Blue Blue Skies definitely doesn’t refer to Ireland this year. Grey grey skies would be much more appropriate and they would get anyone down by just looking out at the sky.
The Met Eireann app still shows heavy rain coming again, yet the ground is hard and the lake and rivers never were as low considering the amount of rain we had since last July. The cold weather has taken its toll on the land, and on farmers.
It was impossible to get fertilizer out in proper conditions up to now as the cold nights stopped growth. It is so unusual to put on heating every evening and have people wearing jumpers in early July. The dull skies also mean switching on the lights much earlier.
Usually with the long summer days, and a spell of good weather we see lots of silage and bales of hay being made, a convenience for farmers when there is a sick calf or just to tide them over on a busy winter’s evening. Having endured almost 12 months of bad weather, the fodder crises is looming. What little fodder was left over from last year and the new bales made this year had to buffer feed the cows during the cold spell for the last few weeks. Hopefully the soft rain and a good heat coming in the next week or two will allow an extension of the grazing season, which will lessen the dependence on winter feed.
This week we had a grass cover of 826 with a rotation of 24 days, stocked at 3.6 LU/Ha, the growth had slowed up to 39/ha with a demand of 49/Ha. In some paddocks the covers got too high and this affected the milk protein percentage. We are topping a few paddocks before the cows go out and more after they come off the paddocks to get rid of weeds. We spread protected urea on the grazing platform and will have to put out some P and K to get the ground back in balance. We are reseeding as well in the hope of including more clover.
The cows are milking well enough at 25 litres per day. The scanning went very well, despite a few disappointments. It is great to chat with Padraig from FRS, as he has been coming here for 30 years, football, community, farming and shows are all discussed.
New student
This year we once again have a French student, Lyse staying with us for a month. She is a delight to have, willing to participate in whatever is happening. She got a baptism of fire as she landed on a very busy weekend at the Show Centre, when we had Virginia Triathlon club hosting David O’Connell’s memorial Couch to 60K. She also spent last weekend helping out with the catering at the Under 18 International Basketball games between Ukraine and Ireland, hosted by Cavan Eagles Basketball club. Huge numbers attended and we had arts and crafts exhibitions by our Ukrainian community.
However Lyse will have returned home before our Virginia Show on August 21, but she did get to enjoy Oldcastle Show. Next Sunday is Arva Show and flicking through the prize lists or schedule of classes, it makes one aware of the diversity of skills that are alive and well in rural Ireland.
Many, who work with animals and poultry love to show them, while others have interest in garden produce, fruit and flowers. Then of course there’s the home industries such as baking, jam making, wine making, honey, needlework or craftwork. Others are more skilled in the arts, painting, photography, handwriting, short story, with special sections for social inclusion of all age groups and levels. Children’s’ classes remain very popular, as are the dog and pet classes.
Blessing of graves
This time every year we get together as families for Cemetery Sunday in Maghera and Mullagh, while Moynalty is always around August 15. These offer opportunities to catch up with extended family. As family members branch out and the next generation take over, we appreciate their taking time out to acknowledge their grandparents and forefathers. Every year more families are bereaved leaving a vacant spot and memories to fill for many years to come.
Have a great summer and be safe on the farm.