Shane and John P Fitzgerald - Portlaw East, Co. Waterford
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- Shane is farming with his father John and his partner Kate near Portlaw Co. Waterford. They are farming 92 Ha of which 30 Ha is leased.
- They are currently milking 217 cows with an EBI of €215.
- The calving interval for the herd is 363 days with a six week calving rate of 80% for 2023.
Autumn Grass 2024
Teagasc Tirlan Future Farmer Shane Fitzgerald who farms just outside of Portlaw, Co Waterford goes through his plans for Autumn Grass with Coordinator of the Teagasc Tirlan Future Farm Programme, Sandra Hayes. Shane outlines why having grass in the dairy cows diet is important and by having a grass budget done up he can estimate how long this autumn grass will last for his herd. Savings can be made on silage by having this grass and budgeting it out till end of November if the weather plays ball!
Farm Walk October 2023
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Shane outlines the climate actions he has taken on his farm. He gives information on multi species he has sown & explains to farmers where to learn more on climate change - AgNav, to go to Teagasc, go to discussion group meetings to learn what they are doing & can do to combat climate change
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TJ Phelan ASSAP advisor with Tirlan spoke on the importance of leaving sufficient margins when spreading slurry and chemical fertiliser. The margins that Shane has put in place are out 3m around the multi species and are in the Acres programme so he is being paid for this work.
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Cathal Somers ASSAP advisor from the Mullinavat office spoke on the benefits to the soil and to the environment for mutli species. Shane has 20% of his milking platform in multi species. This receives no chemical nitrogen and still grows the same tonnage of dry matter as his grass clover swards do
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Dairy advisor John Maguire chats to Sandra Hayes, Coordinator of the Teagasc Tirlan Signpost programme on the importance of completing a profit monitor. At the farm walk on the 3rd of October it was shown that there are a number of KPI's that are important and are corner stones to this farm
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Seamus Kearney Teagasc Dungarvan outlines to Sandra Hayes Teagasc Kilkenny what and how a farmer does to get an Ag Nav plan completed for their farm
Fodder Budget
Video below gives an insight into Steven's grassland field margins which enhances biodiversity.
Current Farm Update

Shane Fitzgerald Farm 2024
Portlaw, Co. Waterford figures
15th Nov 24'
Milk -15.35
Cover per cow - 265
Pre grazing y - 1200
AFC- 515
Additional info:
- Finishing up grazing on the 17th of Nov at an AFC of 500 with the aim to have it back up to 700 by the 1st of Dec
- 16.5% of cows dried off so far. 12 empty first, second and third lactation cows will be sold out of the parlour next week. All the herd will be dry before Christmas and the remaining empties sold in January
Photos from the farm
These are a series of photos taken on Shane Fitzgerald's farm throughout the year focusing on the biodiversity present on their Farm but also on improvment's made in this area.
Multi species sward
Last year a multi species sward of chicory, plantain, perennial rye grass and white clover was put in A 1.5 metre margin from the old grass sward and was retained at the time of reseeding. This is a biodiversity margin which all Farmers are encouraged to keep while reseeding.
Wildflower cover
A wildflower cover was spread along the clay banks at the side of the new slatted cubicle shed which now provides a haven for bees, insects and small mammals. It is also adjacent to the two new bee hives that were installed on the Farm.
Whooper swans
Lastly we have photos of of the Whooper swans that graze some of the grass paddocks on the Farm. This occurs from mid-October when the birds migrate from Iceland to Ireland. Many swans Winter at this same site on Shanes farm each year.
Shane gives an overview of the farm and the sustainability steps being taken. He also talks about the importance of social sustainability.