John Dunne

Farm Update March/April 2023 | January/February 2023 update

November/December 2022 update |September/October 2022 update| July/August 2022 update

John farms full-time in Tinnacrannagh House, Portarlington, Co.Offaly. He has weekend help from his son James who is a 1st year Ag. student.

He is arming 106 hectare; 41Ha owned and farmed, 12.38Ha is rented and 5.78Ha leased beside the home farm. An additional 46.68Ha is leased on an outfarm, with 24Ha of owned land leased out and due to return in 2022. 50% of the land has soil that is of a light clay nature and 40% is heavy clay in nature. The remaining 10% is low lying land. 

He is stocked at 181Kg N/Ha, exporting slurry to a neighbouring Tillage farmer as per Nitrates Regulations. John runs a Suckling to Beef  system consisting of 88 Spring–calving suckler cows. He aiming to rebuild his Suckler herd to 100. Dairy calf to beef 100 calves purchased per year - (HE/AA) crosses. John trys to buy local and minimise the number of farms he buys from for health reasons. 

John has invested wisely over the years in fencing for a paddock system on his home farm and leased outfarm, he is planning to become efficient in grass measuring. He also has installed a water trough system on both farm units and plans to install a new well to provide water security for his livestock. John has a reseeding stragety in place on farm and will continue to incorporate clover in to the swards, he is also looking at multi species swards as a potential on the outfarm. 

John has invested in new animal housing and storage facilities. Has upgraded his suckler calving pens and retrofitted sheds to handle his dairy calves enterprise. He recently purchased a new TAMS LESS slurry tanker/dribble bar and has repaired channels and has installed new piping and manholes to be compliant in farmyard waste management. 

His Teagasc Advisor is Bernard Doorley.

Breeding Performance

No. of cows: 88
Cow replacement index: 111
Heifer replacement index: 121
Calves per cow per year: 0.86

John’s Plan

His plan is to build cow numbers to 100 and increase the efficiency on farm. Calves per cow per year and liveweight performance at grass are the main focus areas. Animal health including vaccinating will be prioritised by John.