Open Day
McCaffrey open day 28/1/2026
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COW-nt down begins
McCaffrey open day
The host farmers are – Seamus and Collette along with Eoin and Aine McCaffrey and family. They milk two hundred Holstein cows outside Omagh in Co Tyrone. The father and son team work full time on the farm themselves with just occasional casual help at busy times of the year.
Eoin explained:
“I came back to farm at home in 2013, it was a grazing herd doing 8000 ltrs, we then kept the highs in as we were restricted around the yard and introduced feed to yield. With these changes the herd increased to 10,500 ltrs. With a growing family I decided to go into robotic milking and started with the Lely Astronauts in early 2023, with the Vector system and a fourth robot added last year. Over this time the herd yield has increased to 13,500 ltrs.
Testimonial
“We split the cows into two groups: the high yielders and the low yielders, which are combined with the calved heifers coming into the milking group for the first time.
“Our highest yielders are currently averaging around 54L of milk per day at the present time. For those in the lower yielding group, that figure comes down to around 32L.”
He continued:
“Our current milk recording figures are confirming a milk solids figure per cow of 971 kg of combined fat and protein per year. That’s up from the 930kg recorded during the previous 12 months
“The target now is to get this figure up to 1,000kg and beyond.”
The availability of the combined robotic milking and feeding systems gives the McCaffreys total flexibility in terms of how they manage their time.
“This is all about family,” Eoin explained.
“For example, my wife Aine and I can take time out to enjoy a day away from the farm with the children when we want to.
“In the meantime, the Lely systems are working away in a wholly dependable manner.”
But there is still that all important management input required of the father and son team.
Eoin further explained:
“The Vector system has been times not to deliver feed between 3.00am and 7.00am.
“This means there is a bit of hunger about them when I arrive in the yard just as the first ration of the day is made available.
“Naturally, a large proportion of the cows will want to feed at this stage. In turn, this allows me to clean the cubicles in a way that ensure the least amount of disturbance across the herd.
“Once the cubicles have been sorted out I can get on with feeding claves and young stock. Cows and heifers can also be inseminated at that time of the day.
“In all, it takes up to an hour and a half to complete this work schedule. All tasks are undertaken in a relaxed manner: I am never under pressure.
“In truth, if I wanted to do everything in an hour, I could do it.”
In the evening time, Eoin and Seamus will quickly re-visit the cubicles removing access dung for the most part. However, it is the time of the day that they focus on the management of the heifers in milk.
Eoin further explained:
“There is a separation area behind one of the robots. So it’s quite easy to group off those heifers that we might want to look at for one reason or another.
“Sometimes we can be held back if a cow is calving. However, most evenings we have sorted everything out within an hour and a half.
“This means that I very rarely miss the children’s bedtimes.
The installation of the Vector feeding systems has freed up a tremendous amount of valuable time on the McCaffrey time.
“Previously we would have been making up three TMRs for the cows each day and a separate feed again for young stock,” Eoin commented.
“With the Vector system now in place, this is no longer required. The robotic feeding system does all of that for us, in a totally reliable manner.
“Previously, I would have spent almost three hours every day feeding. Now I spend three hours a week filling the Vector kitchen.
“I normally fill the kitchen with silage on a Friday, which keeps the system going through until the following Tuesday.
“The Vector is programmed to feed a separate silage to the dry cows.”
He concluded:
“Investing in the Vector has allowed us to future proof the finances of the farm. We can now feed straights, rather than blends. This represents a significant cost saving for the business.”
The open day is on Wednesday 28th January 2026, 10am to 3pm, 26 Routingburn Road, Beragh, Omagh, Co. Tyrone, BT79 0QZ.
The farm is currently operating, 1 x Lely A4 milking robot, 3 x Lely A5 milking robots and a Lely Vector automatic feeding system.
Breeding, nutrition and great management have played a huge role in this success of this farm. There will be a discussion with Eoin (management) on the day plus talks by Cogent Breeding Ltd (breeding), FarmGate Nutrition (nutrition) and Fane Valley Feeds (growing maize) alongside the Lely team (Astronaut & Vector), to share insights into what’s working on the farm and why. It’s a great opportunity to see technology, genetics, nutrition and management working together.