#31 Irish Moiled Mystery Cache

About this series:

This series of caches is based upon the life and work of dairy farmers Mark & Pen DeLogg on the Lincolnshire Fens. As well clues to solving the puzzle on each cache page will be a fact about cows and their behaviour, as well as information about particular breeds of cattle around the British Isles and the world.

• The cache is not hidden at the published coordinates.
• Steep drops and water may be encounted at some GZs, keep the little ones safe.
• No animals were encountered when the caches were placed.
• The cache size was made as large as possible according to the hiding place, varying from magnetic nanos to regular size boxes
• You may need to provide your own TOTT i.e tweezers
• Please park sensibly, safely, and considerably.
• The D/T ratings concern the difficulty to both the puzzle and hides.

Other caches in this series:

Cow Fact:

A 1,000 pound cow produces an average of 10 tons of manure a year.
Ladies – if you marry a dairy farmer, be prepared to hear at the dinner table on a regular basis a discussion of manure.

About Irish Moiled Cattle:
The Irish Moiled is a rare cattle breed from Ireland. It is a dual-purpose breed, reared for both beef and milk. It originated in County Leitrim, County Sligo, and County Donegal, but the breed is now found throughout Ireland. The Irish Moiled Cow is one of the most distinctive breeds in Ireland. They are polled cows (which means that they do not grow horns) and are generally red with a white line on the back and stomach. They are usually known to have a flecked face and are dual producers. Dual producing cows are used for beef but also dairies which is not common with most cows. Irish Moiled meat is remarked to be of great quality and has a very recognisable flavour. This cow is known to produce a good beef in poor conditions but needs care to protect it from becoming overweight and making the beef too fatty.

Now for the puzzle:

Mark DeLogg’s cows have to be indentified by law with their numbers printed onto tags in their ears. Mark knows all his cows individually but sometimes, especially when relief milker Nora Dolomite is milking she may need to identify a particular cow. This could be to segregate it from the others for AI or if the cow was needed to see the vet.

Reading the ear numbers whilst milking was difficult, so Mark’s cows are also freeze branded on the rump with the same number that is on the ear tag. This number developed into a large white number that could be seen from quite a distance.

The procedure is done by a specialist called Monty Scott. He ran a company called Enterprise Agricultural Services, and charged £5 /Cow for a three-digit number plus Vat. With a minimum of 20 cows /visit.

Unfortunately, Mark had to collect his accounts from his accountant on the day Monty came so wasn’t present when he branded the cows. He’d left Nora in charge. A move he was to regret, as he couldn’t read the numbers Monty put on the cows.

Check your Solution: