Young new entrant goes against the grain milking Montbeliardes (2025)

Young new entrant, Eoghan Delaney is farming in partnership with his father PJ where they are now in their third year of milking Montbeliardes and Holstein Friesian cows.

Eoghan’s father PJ was milking Montbeliarde cows until 2006 before giving it up and with Eoghans interest in the industry and cows, the two decided to get back milking in partnership.

When you hear of new entrants into the industry, you would presume that they sourced high economic breeding index (EBI) heifers and cows to get them started and to build their foundation herd but this was not the case with the Delaneys.

PJ had been milking Montbeliarde cows prior to giving up milking and knew what they were all about and Eoghan said that he wanted a “good square cow that could produce a quality, saleable calf all while producing milk as good as anything else”.

Eoghan admitted that in order to get into milking cows, he’d have to enjoy doing it and enjoy the cows that he worked with and that’s why he leaned towards the Montbeliardes.

Eoghan and his father PJ invested in a new 80 cubicle shed where a new 16-unit DeLeval parlour is under the same roof.

The Delaneys started this investment on the back of the Covid 19 pandemic when costs sky-rocketed and admitted that it hasn’t all been easy but they intend to keep adding to the place bit by bit and this mindset applies to the herd and their genetics as well.

Montbeliarde

The Montbeliarde heifers were hard sourced for the Delaneys and so they are now milking 75 cows in which half of them are Montbeliarde and the other half, Holstein Friesians.

Eoghan admitted that the Holstein Friesians are also proving their worth in the herd with some of the best performers being Holstein Friesian.

However, Eoghan aims to have a full herd of Montbeliardes in the coming years as he is constantly breeding his best cows to high yielding Montbeliarde bulls with percentages to back it off Bó Sires and Coopex.

Eoghan and PJ are farming on 36ha and aim to maximise their milk output with an appropriate stocking rate and they feel that this feet is only achievable with the type of cow they are breeding.

The longevity and incredible health and robustness of the Montbeliarde means that the Delaney’s only need 10-15 replacement heifers each year, which lowers the farms stocking rate.

Any surplus heifers or bull calves born on the farm are sold by three weeks of age in which Eoghan said he gets on average €300/calf.

Eoghan mentioned that he uses Limousin, Belgian Blue, Charolais and Blonde d’Aquitaine on cows that he is not breeding his replacements off, has no issues with calving and is offered a superior price for calves.

However, he is not too fussed about using sexed semen as through using conventional, he is able to get his number of replacements with ease and even if a bull is born, he is able to sell with ease at a good price.

Production

Breeding on the farm starts in the first week of April, in which the Delaneys will AI for eight weeks and let stock bulls out to mop up for about three weeks.

The aim of the breeding season is to breed a cow with a bit of size, a good square cow , with good health and hoof health that is well able to milk and produce solids as milk recording data plays a big part in selecting cows for Montbeliarde straws.

A few of the Montbeliarde bulls used this year to breed the herd’s replacements are as follows:

• Ringostar (MO9884), with 1,239kg of milk and 0.29% protein and 0.26% fat with a big body capacity;
• Telido (MO1626), a fertility improver with 973kg of milk with 0.16% protein and 0.28% fat;
• Trevillers (MO2530), a bull with big chest width and 1,594kg of milk, 0.14% fat, 0.14% protein.

The cows are out by day since February 10 and out day and night since March 1 and the herd seem to be thriving off the lush grass diet as they are currently producing over 28L/cow/day with protein of 3.61% and a fat of 4.03%.

The herd is currently in band two which is up to 6,500kg of milk kg/cow sold and Eoghan’s cows are currently producing 5,800kg/cow and he aims to maximise his milk kgs without going into band three.

The young herd of cows produced over 400kg of milk solids/cow last year with 4.44% fat and 3.61% protein all while achieving a great average milk price for the year of 52.6c/L which is impressive with the majority of the herd only in their second lactation.

The herd’s calving interval for 2024 was 356 days which demonstrates the herd’s fertility, robustness and ability to bounce-back after calving and go back in calf.

What impresses Eoghan the most with the Montbeliardes is their ability to bounce back after hard calvings, illness or knocks as he said “they’re a strong cow, and a hard calving doesn’t tend to affect them, they just get back up, they’re so resilient”.

Eoghan is eager to keep on developing his herd’s genetics to really drive performance and production but fears what he will lose if the nitrates derogation doesn’t get extended.

Eoghan said that the Montbeliarde bulls he selects are not only offering production, health and fertility traits but are also bringing great type into his herd of cows and a cow that is suitable for grazing, long walks, with a great beef value.

Cow type from body capacity, feet and legs, udder and teat placement are all clearly outlined in the Bó Sires spring catalogue, providing the farmer with an opportunity to breed for production, health, longevity, functional traits and cow type.

For more information contact Neil Lahart,087 095 3744or Martin Flanagan,087 1661575