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Signpost Farmers: Tim Leader & Aidan Maguire

Signpost Farmers: Tim Leader & Aidan Maguire

Meet two of our Signpost Farmers - Tim Leader and Aidan Maguire. Tim Leader farms a Dairy, Dairy Replacements and Calf to Store/Beef enterprise in Kilcorney, Rathcoole, Co Cork while Aidan Maguire farms a calf to beef enterprise in Antylstown, Navan, Co. Meath. Read all about the farmers here

Tim Leader  - Dairy, Dairy Replacements and Calf to Store/Beef

Tim Leader farms a Dairy, Dairy Replacements and Calf to Store/Beef enterprise with his wife Mary and their children Aoife and John in Kilcorney,  Rathcoole, Co Cork.  Patrick Rohan works as a full time farm assistant.  Tim milks 145 dairy cows and runs a calf to store/beef system with the dairy progeny. 

  Challenges: The farm is up to 700ft above sea level and can be challenging to get cows out to grass in early spring

  Farm Advisor: Adrian Curtin, Teagasc, Kanturk

 

Signpost Farm Measures Undertaken

Protected Urea

 This is the 3rd year that Tim has used Protected Urea fertilizer instead of CAN on his farm and finds it   very satisfactory.

Breeding

The EBI of the herd is €152 and the 2021 born heifers have an EBI of €211. The dairy herd calving interval is 366 days with an 83% six week calving rate. In 2020, the cows supplied 501 kg milk solids per head.

Low Emission Slurry Spreading (LESS)

Tim bought a trailing shoe slurry tanker.  He spreads 100% of his slurry using the trailing shoe before the end of May.  The use of the trailing shoe has allowed Tim to get more slurry out across more of the farm early in the year.

Soil Fertility

Soil fertility is good whereby 66% of the whole farm is optimum for pH, P and K and this will be further improved on. This will improve Tim’s use of chemical Nitrogen on the farm.

Extended Grazing

Tim is measuring grass on PastureBase Ireland to improve his grassland management and extend his grazing season each year.

Clover

Tim plans to increase the amount of clover in his grassland swards to reduce chemical Nitrogen spread on farm. Tim included 1.5kg/acre of clover into reseeded paddocks this year.

Other Actions

Tim planted 2ha of a broadleaf/conifer mixed forest on his farm in 2017.  Any trees that failed have been replanted.

Clover

Tim plans to increase the amount of clover in his grassland swards to reduce chemical Nitrogen spread on farm. Tim included 1.5kg/acre of clover into reseeded paddocks this year.

In the clip below, John McCarthy, Advisor on Teagasc/Dairygold Joint Programme discusses the use of protected Urea on the farm of Tim Leader

Aidan Maguire - Calf to Beef Enterprise

 Aidan Maguire farms a calf to beef enterprise alongside his son Luke in Antylstown, Navan, Co. Meath.

Challenges: Consistently maximising profits from a calf to beef system as part of Teagasc Green Acres programme

Farm Advisor: David Argue, local Teagasc Advisor; James Fitzgerald, Teagasc Greenacres & John Douglas, Teagasc Grass10

Signpost Farm Measures Undertaken

Protected Urea

Has reduced proportion of CAN based fertiliser used from 100% in 2018 to 27% in 2020 with no negative impact on grass production. Majority of fertiliser used is now urea and protected urea. 

Animal Health

Implementing a full vaccination plan for all calves purchased in, with all calves covered for pneumonia, IBR and clostridial diseases from an early stage.

Soil Fertility

56% of the farm is at correct soil fertility for pH, P & K, which is very high compared to the national average of <10%. This was achieved through regular soil sampling every couple of years and implementing fertiliser decisions based on soil analysis results.

Extended Grazing

The 2020 grazing season was 294 days, starting in late January with the on-off grazing of yearling stock and ending with the housing of the same stock in mid-November.

Clover

5 acres of a grass/red clover mix sown earlier this year for continuous silage production. This will reduce the chemical N required to grow the silage needed on the farm.

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