Niall Callanan

Niall plans to milk 240 cows on his 72ha milking platform this year outside Craughwell, Co. Galway.

His farm is mixed soil types and Niall’s focus is to run a labour efficient.

Growing and utilising grass helps reduce this workload as well as outsourcing machinery work. Soil fertility is excellent on Niall’s farm with most in index 3 or 4 for P and K and on target for pH.

Niall is surrounded by rivers so is very aware of buffer zones when applying fertiliser and slurry with all fences being 2m back from the river bank.

In 2020 Niall’s cows produced 420 Kg MS per cow from 430 kg meal, 19% of the cows were in first lactation.

In 2020 his farm grew 13 T DM/ha back a ton on 2019, as new ground was introduced which requires investment in grazing to increase its production.