In a way it is a form of cow quota because the dairy farmer not only has to farm now within the hectares available but also stay within the band rate.

I fall within Band 2 and am lucky to have some scope to remain there. Careful planning is needed on farms close to the upper end of the banding to make sure they stay within the band.

Yield figures are readily available on ICBF, and it is important to sit down and study them carefully. Ignoring them could have serious consequences; for example a farm moving into the high band results in a 16pc increase in N, which could bring them over the 170kg/ha or 250kg/ha N (derogation) limit.

Meanwhile, the calving season is slowing down a bit after a busy period in which we had 80 cows and heifers calve down in the space of five weeks.

We were lucky as we had very few night calvings, and calving problems were manageable. The calving jack has been used only once to date, on a calf that was twisted.

There were a few calf deaths, but you just have to shake it off and move on to the next one. Every year throws up something new that never happened before.

Every farmer has had one or two calvings on the slats. On arrival to the cow house one morning I was met with a new-born calf sitting on the slats with a broken leg. The vet came out promptly and did what he could but unfortunately was not successful.

The first milk recording of the year has been done. The results came back within two days and the new-style reports indicate the performance and profitability of the herd clearly. This will help make quick and more informed management decisions.

The new lifetime view of the cow will assist the breeding, culling and herd health decision-making.

For the first time, the milk recorded lifetime information for the cow is available after each test. Cows are now ranked within a herd based on milk recorded lifetime margin per day.

We examined the all-important SCC report to see how effectively the dry cow treatments worked. SCC is presently at 110, which is where it should be after calving.

Valentine’s Day was celebrated in style as the milking cows got their first taste of grass for 2023.

February was remarkably dry and mild, with ground conditions at their best for many years. The cows haven’t got out every day since then but we are taking advantage of every good day that comes.

This time of year you have to be flexible in the paddocks you graze and always be on-call to bring cows in if they become unsettled.

The first round of fertiliser was spread on the milking platform when the season opened for us in mid-February — 25 units of urea.

Farm cover is at 869. The spring rotation planner on PastureBase is set up to help with weekly grass allocations.

Slurry has gone out on all the silage ground, taking advantage of the good conditions — 3,000gal/ac using the dribble bar on an umbilical system.

For the first time I sent away two slurry samples to a lab to be analysed for NPK and DM. It should give some indication of the ‘power’ of the slurry.

​The latest soil analysis results came back and I was very happy with them. All of the soil indexes on the milking platform are at 3& 4 for P&K. The average pH for the MP is 6.4, ranging from 6.1-6.8.

The silage block results had index 3&4 for P and 2&3 for K. This would be expected in 2-3 cut systems. I may have to look at spreading a compound such as 0-7-30 in the autumn.

Finally we were all saddened to hear about the sudden death of Padraig Walshe. I started in Macra back in 1987 when he was president.

I had the great pleasure of visiting his fabulous farm on two occasions, the latter one in 2010 with the discussion group. He was a hard-working agricultural leader who possessed so many leadership qualities. May he rest in peace.

Gerard Sherlock farms at Tydavnet, Co Monaghan