Farmer Profiles
Thomas and David Fennelly, Portarlington, Co.Laois
Tom & his son David farm 157 Ha near Portarlington Co. Laois. The land is in two blocks with 10 Ha rented. A road divides the 10 Ha. The potassium is low on about 50% of the farm. In 2022 they are milking 265 cows, they have 72 in calf heifers & 123 weanlings. The plan is to milk 265 cows, rear 70 replacement units and have no beef enterprise. There are good facilities on the farm & a lot of development has taken place over the last few years. This year a new calf shed was built. In 2021 the cows supplied 519 kgMS per head. The calving interval is 369 days with a six week calving rate of 89%.
Shane and John P. Fitzgerald, Portlaw East, Co. Waterford
Shane is farming with his father near Portlaw Co. Waterford. They are farming 92 Ha of which 30 Ha is leased. All the land is available to cows. The heifers are contract reared. They are currently milking 220 cows with an EBI of €165. The plan is to consolidate numbers to 215 cows and to mature the herd to achieve an increase in milk solids production. The EBI of the younger stock is €230. All infrastructures on the farm have been upgraded. The calving interval for the herd is 366 days with a six week calving rate of 84%. They make their own silage and spread their own fertilizer & slurry
Steven Fitzgerald, Aglish, West Waterford
Steven, his wife Catriona & his parents are farming 132Ha near Aglish in West Waterford. 65 Ha of the land is leased. The milking platform is 75 Ha. They are milking 170 cows in 2022 & 47 replacement units. All beef calves are brought to stores for sale. The plan is to milk 180 cows & decrease the beef enterprise over time. Parlour & accommodation has been upgraded in the last 10 years. Soil fertility is low on the leased land & is very good on the owned land. The EBI of the herd is €195 & the young stock have an EBI of €261. The calving interval is 367 days & a 93% six week calving rate
Donal Kavanagh, Baltinglass, Co. Wicklow
Donal is farming near Baltinglass Co. Wicklow. He is farming 81 Ha of which 36 Ha is rented. He has a milking platform of 68 Ha. He is milking 256 cows in 2022. He has a winter milk contract & he calves around 70 cows in the Autumn. The plan is to milk 220 cows & keep 60 replacement units. The plan was to drop some rented ground and this has occurred in the last few years. The EBI of the herd is €162 & € 248 for the followers. The calving interval is 384 days & a six week calving rate of 76%. There are two full time labour units on the farm. In 2021 he supplied 489KgMS/cow
Jack and Larry Kearney, Rathcormack, Co. Cork
Jack & his parents Larry & Annette are farming 78Ha in Rathcormac, 44 Ha are owned. The milking platform is 47 Ha. In 2022 they are milking 160 cows & have 40 replacement heifers. Overall stocking rate is 2.4lu/Ha with the milking platform at 3.5 Lu/Ha. They plan to milk 160 cows & improve milk solids per cow through maximising genetic gain & best possible grassland management for the farm. Herd EBI is €195 & the heifers are €237. Calving interval is 370 days with a 83% six week calving rate. The cows produced 502 kg MS/cow in 2021. The farm grew 12.51 tons/Ha in 2021 on the milking platform
Cathal Moran, Skeoughvosteen, Co. Kilkenny
Cathal is farming 237ha of which 57 is owned. The milking platform consists of 120 Ha. In 2021 he milked an average of 373 cows with 90 replacement units. The plan is to increase to 420 cows & rear 100 replacement units. In 2021 the herd supplied 446 kgMS/Hd. The EBI of the herd is €195 & the heifer calves is €256. The calving interval is 363 days & the six week calving rate is 85%. Cathal has built an underpass & silage pits in the last 2 few years. He installed solar panels as well. Cathal has 2 labour units employed on the farm
Matthew and Declan Mullen, Kells, Co. Meath
Matthew farms 158 Ha in partnership with his parents Declan & Gladys and Uncle Gerry near Kells Co Meath. 15 ha of the land is rented. The milking platform is 70 Ha. They are milking an avaerage of 300 cows in 2022. They have a winter milk contract & calve approx. 120 cows to fill this. The plan is to milk 300 cows & have a compact spring & autumn calving. Most of the farm needs to be reseeded. The soil fertility of the outside blocks is low. Matthew is measuring grass since 2019. They grew just over 13 tonnes DM/ha on the milking platform in 2021. They grow 16Ha of maize for the winter herd
Kevin Murphy, Gorey, Co. Wexford
Kevin farms 137Ha (55Ha owned) with his wife Ann & farm manager Brian outside Gorey. In 2021 they milked 300 cows with an overall SR of 2.5LU/Ha. The grazing platform of 88ha is heavily stocked at 3.4 cows/ha. Kevin participates in the ‘On farm white clover evaluation’ project which aims to assist farmers establish white clover across the milking platform. In 2021 they supplied 526 KgMS/cow. The EBI of his cross bred herd is €182 & the replacements is €208. Calving interval is 361 days & a six week calving rate of 87%. A new rotary parlour has been completed, more cubicles are being built
Francis Nolan, Muckalee, Co. Kilkenny
Francis, a new entrant to dairying is farming near Coolcullen in North Co Kilkenny. He farms 70 Ha of which 4Ha is rented. All the land is available for cows. In 2021 he milked 151 cows & he had 30 replacement units. The overall stocking rate on the farm is 2.7 Lu/Ha. The farm grew just over 12 ton of grass DM/Ha in 2021. The EBI of the herd is €158 & the younger stock have an EBI of €203-€230. The calving interval is 371 days with 81% calving in 6 weeks. The soil fertility of the farm has increased over the last 3 years with over 90% of the MP now index 3 or 4 for both P and K
John Ryan, Gortnahoe, Co. Tipperary
John & his father Tom farm 81Ha near Gortnahoe in Co. Tipperary. They were new entrants to milk in 2011. The milking platform is 34 Ha. In 2022 they are milking 140 cows & reared 30 replacement units. The overall stocking rate is 2.35 LU/Ha. The milking platform stocking rate is 4 cows/Ha. A zero grazer is used for the first & last rotation to supplement cows. In 2021 the cows supplied 509 KgMS/cow. The plan is to hold cow numbers & increase milk solids per cow to 550 Kg trough better genetics, maturity of the herd and grass. The EBI of the herd is €167 and the replacements are 220 and €196
Shay Ryan, New Ross, Co. Wexford
Shay is farming 97 HA outside New Ross in Co. Wexford. The milking platform is 56Ha. There is also a small beef enterprise on the farm. Shay is currently milking an average of 185 cows & has 48 replacement heifers. The EBI of the herd is €192 & the young stock have an EBI of €252 and €225. In 2021 he supplied 475kg MS/cow & the plan is to raise this to 550Kg. The soil fertility on the milking platform has been improved to Index 3 and 4 for P and K and the farm grew 14.4 tonnes of grass DM/Ha in 2021..
Thomas and David Fennelly, Portarlington, Co.Laois
Tom is farming with his son David near Portarlington Co. Laois.
Land - 200 Ha in three blocks
Soil fertility - overall soil fertility is 32%, the low K status is at 27% but the farm soil pH is 97% for soil pH above 6.3 and the farm has 89% at Index 3 and 4 for Phosphorus.
Cows - milking 330 cows in 2023 and they have 83 in calf heifers.
Milk - 520kgMS per head in 2022
Facilities - good, with new calf shed and silage pit built in 2022.
Calving interval - 370 days and six week calving rate of 92%
Grassland - reseeding programme has focused on multi species reseeds on both the milking platform and the heifer block.
Clover - there is some red clover on the milking platform which is for silage and grazing usually with the heifers.