Landing in Chile, I was a shade sceptical as to what the next few months would entail. Located in South America to the east of the Andes mountain range, Chile is a 4,270km-long string of land ranging from the arid Atacama desert in the northern regions of the country to Patagonian ice fields in the deep south.

At 500,000 cows, there are a similar amount of dairy cows in the counties of Cork and Kerry combined as in the entirety of this country. Chile is a net importer of dairy products and milk output has steadily declined over the past five years to 2.2bn litres.

Holstein is the dominant breed here, with the average yield per cow approximately 5,800l. However per cow yield on larger, more intensive farms can be upward of 8,000l, with year-round calving.

Traces of Clavel Aleman, a form of Rotbunt, or ‘Chilean Red Friesian’ are also common in many herds.

Cows on the farm Dáire Brady is on in Chile.

Pasture growth is excellent and the volcanic soils are naturally fertile and free-draining. The majority of the pastures are well-capable of growing upward of 16t DM/ha per year. The farms I am on consist of three milking platforms and a leased runoff block encompassing a 1,200ha spread over two regions in southern Chile – Los Ríos (XIV) and Los Lagos (X).

Two of the farms are entirely spring calving and the remaining farm runs a 60:40 split spring and autumn calving herd; approximately 3,000 cows are milked at peak milk and are outside 365 days of the year. The herd is predominately kiwi-cross, and continues to be bred to kiwi-cross bulls. Cows are synchronised in groups of 200 to 300, with the cost of a breeding programme amounting to €13/ cow. Over 14m litres are delivered to the processor each year, with cows currently averaging 5,300l (420kg/MS/head). Milk price is relatively similar to Ireland with the average price paid to farmers in 2018 at $240 CLP/l (30c/l). The average cost of production tends to be around $120 CLP/l (15c/l).

I arrived mid-July to find the end of the autumn herd being bred as well as the beginning of the calving season for the spring herd. Generally, my role depends on which of the four farms tend to be busiest at any specific time. Over the past month, growth has surpassed demand, meaning surplus paddocks are being taken for bales.

It felt strange taking out silage at the beginning of October, but with growth currently upward of 80kg/DM per day, grass is flying out of the ground. Fortunately, I have had the opportunity to work at various levels within the organisation and gain an insight into the mechanics of corporate farming and how to successfully manage an operation of such scale in a totally different culture. From calving, to weighing heifers, to attending a meeting concerning corruption in commerce, each day is unique and presents a new challenge.

Social Life

Downtime is spent barbecuing or playing football. Football is the religion here and Alexis Sánchez is god. Get-togethers with other local farmers from the UK, New Zealand and even from one from Cork are a regular occurrence. The weekly inter-farm football derby is a must attend, and as I quickly learned, has little to no rules.