Thomas & David Fennelly, Glanbia | Donal Kavanagh, Glanbia | Matthew & Declan Mullen, Glanbia | Dermot Heaney, Lakeland
Tom & his son David farm 157 Ha near Portarlington Co. Laois. The land is in two blocks with 10 Ha rented. The potassium is low on about 50% of the farm. In 2022 they milked 265 cows, they have 72 in calf heifers & 123 weanlings. The plan is to milk 265 cows, rear 70 replacement units and have no beef enterprise.
Current farm update:
Litres/Cow – 25.2
Fat % – 4.59
Protein % – 3.65
SCC – 100
Kg MS/Cow – 2.14
Meal Kg – 3
Average Farm Cover – 686
Cover/LU – 174
Pre Grazing Yield– 1500
Growth Rate – 69
Biodiversity Audit – YES
Donal is farming 81 Ha of which 36 Ha is rented. He has a milking platform of 68 Ha. He is milking 256 cows in 2022. He has a winter milk contract & he calves around 70 cows in the Autumn. The plan is to milk 220 cows & keep 60 replacement units. The EBI of the herd is €162 & € 248 for the followers. The calving interval is 384 days & a six week calving rate of 76%. There are two full time labour units on the farm. In 2021 he supplied 489KgMS/cow
Current farm update:
Litres/Cow – 26.7
Fat % – 4.23
Protein % – 3.62
SCC – 170
Kg MS/Cow – 2.16
Meal Kg– 3.5
Average Farm Cover – 766
Cover/LU – 246
Pre Grazing Yield– 1400
Growth Rate – 71
Biodiversity Audit – YES
Matthew farms 158 Ha in partnership with his parents Declan & Gladys and Uncle Gerry near Kells Co Meath. 15 ha of the land is rented. The milking platform is 70 Ha. They are milking an average of 300 cows in 2022. They have a winter milk contract & calve approx. 120 cows to fill this. The plan is to milk 300 cows & have a compact spring & autumn calving. Most of the farm needs to be reseeded. The soil fertility of the outside blocks is low. Matthew is measuring grass since 2019. They grow 16Ha of maize for the winter herd
Current farm update
Average Farm Cover – 593
Growth Rate – 66
Meal – 4kg
Litres / cow – 26.0
Fat – 4.06%
Protein – 3.57%
MS/Cow 2.04
SCC – 109
Cover / LU – 195
Dermot is dairy farming at Kilberry, Navan, Co. Meath with his wife Catherine and 4 children Andrew (24), Laura (23), Matthew (20) and Diurmuid (17). Dairying is his main enterprise, milking 250 cows. He has one full time hired labour unit with additional labour supplied by students in Spring. His son, who is in school, works 20 hours/week on the farm
Current Farm Update
