Jason Heylin is the man behind one of Ireland’s finest Holstein dairy herds, farming alongside his wife Laura and parents Robert and Sylvia.
Helen’s family runs the award-winning Eedy herd at Lisroe, Clonakilty, Co. Cork.
Helen’s family milks 100 Holstein breeds, supplying their milk to the Carbery Group’s Lisavaird Co-op.
They are on the winter milk diet, born from August to the end of May, with half of them born before Christmas.
In 2025, the Eddy herd delivered 690kg of milk solids (MS) of 4.34% fat and 3.55% protein to the cooperative, from an average mature weight of 725kg.
However, Helen’s family does not feed any milk replacer on the farm, and uses all whole milk instead, which ultimately skews the herd’s actual production.
Based on milk recording reports, the herd has already produced 10,101 liters at 4.34% fat and 3.49% protein, equivalent to 791kg MS during an average lactation period of 345 days in 2025, Jason said.
The herd averages 57 days dry, and cows are individually dried from September to March.
According to Jason, two or three cows can be dried each week depending on calving dates.
However, the Helens were still able to maintain an average cell count of 102,000 cells/ml, according to the collaborative report.
The herd grazes day and night, but is also fed temporarily with 10kg of maize fodder year-round along with 2.5kg of concentrates.
breeding
When running such an elite herd, breeding plays a pivotal role in the success of the farm.
One thing is for sure, Helen’s family got the breeding right in 2018, as Eedy Doorman Fame was born in August 2019, leaving behind a trail of accomplishments since then.
Eedy Doorman Fame has been named Supreme Champion at the Millstreet National Dairy Show twice.
Recently, she became the first Irish cow ever to achieve an exceptional rating score of EX97 maximum, making her the highest rated cow in Ireland, which you can read about here.
Helen’s family uses 100% artificial insemination when it comes to breeding, with the CowManager heat and health monitoring system placed on every animal over 12 months old.
All of Helen’s virgin heifers are offered sexed semen, along with 30% from the milking herd, while the remainder receive traditional Holstein semen.
No beef cows are used in any of the herd, as all cows and heifers are fed Holstein semen.
Jason notes how he uses all the North American genetics on the herd, using the likes of Blakely; Dropbox; Ambrose. oats; Hello praise. shepherd; Junboy. And the ruling family.
Jason himself works part-time with World Wide Sires while his father Robert works with the National Cattle Breeding Center (NCBC), which gives them a good idea of what bulls are on the market and what is working well.
Jason also noted how he spays about four of his cows each year for embryos, in addition to purchasing another five or six.
The Helens maintain a 20% replacement rate.
Jason said he had 52 calves born this year, 20 of which will be kept with the rest sold at the annual calf auction in August.
Infrastructure
Jason has shifted focus a bit towards infrastructure improvement in the last few years as well.
A new calf shed has recently been installed, given priority over the new parlor as Helen’s family calves for 10 months of the year.
Jason said a big emphasis was placed on comfort, ensuring airflow and ventilation were as good as possible, with both lengths of the shed matching the Yorkshire panels.
Jason also wanted to make sure there was enough room to fit the calves comfortably.
The herd is currently milked out of an old eight-unit double parlor, but Jason plans to install a new unit in the near future to reduce milking time, improve cow comfort, and increase work-life balance.
The Helens currently have enough slurry storage space, but with new regulations set to kick in from 2028, more storage space is set to be available as soon as possible too.
