Grassland Farmer of the Year to host Open Day
Livestock farmers will have an opportunity to visit the farm of the overall winner of the Grassland Farmer of the Year awards on Wednesday, 24th April at 11am.
Livestock farmers will have an opportunity to visit the farm of the overall winner of the Grassland Farmer of the Year awards on Wednesday, 24th April at 11am.
Livestock farmers will have an opportunity to visit the farm of the overall winner of the Grassland Farmer of the Year awards on Wednesday, 24th April at 11am.
John and Olivia Macnamara, Hospital, Co Limerick were the 2018 Grassland Farmer of the Year winners, and this spring they are opening up their farm for beef, dairy and sheep producers to visit for a day and see how they manage their grass. This is a farm while heavy in nature grew 15 tonnes of grass Dry Matter per hectare consistently from 2012 to 2017. There is huge focus on the farm on grassland management and those who visit the farm will see how a grassland farm is set up to achieve 280-290 days at grass.
Speaking in advance of the open day on the 24th April, John Macnamara said: “A consistent approach to grassland management has always been and will continue to be part of our business strategy, we try hard to utilise as much grass as possible.”
Head of the Teagasc Grassland Research Department, Michael O Donovan said: “Our grassland work shows that the livestock producers, be they dairy, beef or sheep farmers, that optimise the amount of grass they grow and utilise, have the most profitable businesses. I would encourage all farmers to see how John grows, measures and manages his grass using the technologies available.”
The Grassland Farmer of the Year awards are part of the Teagasc Grass10 campaign which is supported by Teagasc, the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, AIB, FBD Insurance, Grassland Agro and the Irish Farmers Journal. The awards recognise and reward those farmers who are achieving high levels of grass utilisation in a sustainable manner.