Teagasc/Signpost Arrabawn Dairy Farm Walk - Conor O'Brien

Join us for a Teagasc Signpost Dairy Farm Walk with Arrabawn on the farm of Signpost Farmer Conor O'Brien in Loughrea, Co. Galway on Tuesday, 18 October.

About Conor

Conor is farming in Tynagh in Galway in partnership with his parents Vincent and Mary, and wife Orla. They are currently farming 100Ha, of which 20 is rented. The milking platform is 42Ha and is stocked at 3.2 cows/Ha. In 2021 they milked 128 cows. The EBI of the herd is €174 and the heifers are €253. The 6 week calving rate is 82%. The cows produced 430kg MS/cow in 2020. The farm grew 13t DM/Ha in 2020. Facilities on the farm are good with a new 24 unit parlour installed this year, 130 cubicle spaces available and good grazing infrastructure throughout the farm.

Father and son duo Vincent and Conor O’Brien farm together with the help of Ivor Glennon. Also present on the farm is Vincent’s wife, Mary, and Conor’s wife and kids, Orla, Frank, Alex and Kate. The O’Brien team are keen to ensure their farm is as sustainable as possible and recently invested in a state-of-the-art milking parlour and cow drafting system to provide a more efficient and safe working environment. A relatively new addition to the dairy world, Conor joined his father on the farm three years ago. Vincent had just acquired an adjacent farm and they decided to begin increasing the herd numbers together. Although their passion clearly lies in dairy farming, the duo are conscious that maintaining a healthy work life balance is of the utmost importance.

There has been a major focus on clover on the O’Brien family farm in recent years. On the day of the farm walk there will be a discussion on the establishment and management of grass clover swards. Clover content in some of the paddocks will be assessed and scored on the day.

Munster Bovine will be discussing the importance of the final milk recording and selective dry cow therapy. The average somatic cell count on the O’Brien farm is 36,000 cells/ml in 2022 which is excellent. This has been achieved through a major focus on hygiene at milking time as well as excellent milking facilities. 

Topics to be discussed will include

• How to reduce carbon footprint
• Clover management & establishment
• Water quality
• Importance of final milk recording and drying off cows
• Autumn grass management & fodder options

Hear from the following speakers

• Thomas Murphy, Teagasc
• Shane O’Hanlon, Teagasc Signpost Advisor
• Ivan Kelly, Teagasc ASSAP Advisor
• Caitlin Looney, Teagasc
• Munster Bovine Representative