Aurivo hosted a group of farmers who are in the process of commencing dairy farming in the future, on the farm of Dara Killeen, Co Galway. Dara is currently preparing his farm to commence milking in spring 2019. In partnership with his father, the farm has been in a sheep and beef enterprise. With eyes on the future, Dara made the decision to enter dairying – improving the farm income being the main driver behind his conversion decision. The aim of this farm walk was to give new entrants an idea of the costs, preparation and decisions required when entering dairy. Dara has 100 heifers calving this spring, with a further 40 weanling heifers bought for calving down in 2020.
Autumn Management: Preparing for first milking in Feb
Frank Kelly (Teagasc) accompanied Dara in taking us through how and why he is currently managing his grazing platform, of which almost 50% has already been reseeded. There are currently no cubicle facilities on the farm. It is therefore vital for Dara to set his farm up for calving directly to grass come February. To allow for this, since the 1st October 15-20% of the farm area will be closed off weekly for the winter period. The area already closed off is the area that Dara has allocated for where he intends to graze first next spring. Any possible poaching which may arise will have a low impact on the remainder of the grazing season as these are the paddocks that have been earmarked for reseeding.
Farm Infrastructure
Frank Kelly then brought us through the farm infrastructure that has been invested in to allow for the conversion to dairy farming. A farm map was critical in making all these decisions. It enabled a route for roadways, paddocks and water system to be planned.
Roadways: Stone for the roadways was sourced on the farm. All work in digging, crushing stone and laying of the roadways was outsourced. The overall cost for these came in at €10 per metre – significantly below average roadway cost due to the use of on farm stone.
Water: A well was drilled on the farm to feed the water requirements. A loop system was then implemented to give adequate water to the paddock system.
Paddock system: It was noted that no permanent fencing had been erected other than perimeter fencing and along the roadways. This is due to Dara planning on progressing his stocking rate (SR) depending on how much grass his farm is capable growing over the next few years. Once he reaches his optimum SR he does intend to create a system that will allow for 36-hour grazing blocks. Until then, a reel and strip wirer system will be used to allocate grass to the herds requirements.
Animals & Breeding
Mike Donoghue (Local Teagasc dairy advisor) then spoke about selecting the correct animal for dairying. He emphasised the importance of fertility and having cows calving in a block period in February/March. When purchasing animals, Dara chose a crossbred heifer with high EBI – he went on local advice and emphasised to the group never to be afraid to ask questions on any decision they are going to make throughout their entry to dairy. He sourced through trusted sellers and bought in large groups to minimise the risk of bringing in disease.
Parlour & Dairy
Building is well underway on the parlour on Dara’s farm. He has purchased a new 20-unit parlour which will be installed in the next number of weeks once building work has ceased. Paul Cullinan (Aurivo Farm Services) highlighted when making any plan for the parlour and dairy – the milk tanker must have ease of access to lift the milk. Paul continued to outline that once all the building work is complete, Dara must prioritise milk quality, membership of the Bord Bia Sustainable Dairy Assurance Scheme (SDAS) and obtaining a herd health cert in order for his milk to be collected.
– Dara Killeen is a participant in the Aurivo/Teagasc Focus Farm programme