Thomas Fennelly - Portarlington, Co. Laois
Teagasc Glanbia Future Farm Focus
Go To: Current Farm Update
- Tom is farming with his son David near Portarlington Co. Laois. They are farming 200 Ha.
- In 2023 they are milking 330 cows and they have 83 in calf heifers. The plan is to milk 330 cows.
- The calving interval is 370 days with a six week calving rate of 92%.
This video gives an overview of the farm & changes made over the years. They are currently milking 180 cows & stocking rate is 2.45 LU/Ha. They joined the Programme, as they want to improve farm sustainability - both economically & environmentally. Water usage & energy usage will also be monitored.
Farm Update
Thomas and David Fennelly
Update 10th November 2023
Milk Kg/Day - 11.9
Fat % - 5.24
Protein % - 3.93
SCC - 162
Milk Solids/Day Kg - 1.12
Meal Kg/cow/day - 3
Average Farm Cover - 668
Cover/LU - 255
Pre-Grazing Yield - 2600
Demand/Ha - 13
Growth kg DM ha - 21
GHG emissions per Ha. farmer (IPCC) - 9.7
Updates from Previous Years
View 2021, 2020 and 2019 updates
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.