Seamus and Brian Molamphy
Portroe, Nenagh, Co. Tipperary
Seamus and Brian Molamphy milk 90 cows on the banks of the River Shannon in Portroe, Nenagh, Co. Tipperary. Having recently completed a degree in Dairy Business from UCD, Brian has come home to farm full time with his father and they are in the process of forming a farm partnership. The milking platform is currently stocked at 3.2LU/Ha; further expansion of the dairy herd is reliant on potentially accessing more land which Brian is interested in pursuing.
In 2015 the farm sold 397kg MS per cow (1270kg MS/ha, 5170ltrs/cow at 4.09% fat, 3.57% protein) and were fed 680kg of meal. This spring Seamus and Brian calved down 73 cows in 6 weeks, giving a six week calving rate of 77%. In the coming years, Brian would like to see more grass grown and utilised on the milking platform and has started grass measuring weekly to achieve this; this is the first year grass has been measured on a routine basis on the farm. Additionally, the aims on the farm are to improve the six week calving rate and breed for more solids in the herd. Expanding cow numbers is something Brian would like to pursue. The current milking platform is stocked as high as both Seamus and Brian feel comfortable working at but Brian is open to looking at any other farming options that may become available.