Description
- Grazing management system
- Setting up a new farm for grazing to produce more milk from grass
- Focusing on higher production and lower costs
- Sourcing land and building grazing infrastructure, building soil fertility and managing grass
- Inceased overall milk solids, increasing output, Increasing cow numbers
- Cash flow is an issue when breeding stock from own herd
- Economic results
- Discussion groups
Reason for the innovation
Focusing on increasing production and lowering costs
- Support two family incomes
- Grass measuring (eye-ball)
- Pasturebase Ireland
Farm description
Environment
- Soil type: Clay-loam
- Climate type: temperate oceanic climate
- Agricultural area (ha UAA): 100
- Average stocking rate (agriculture area) (LU/ha UAA): 2.95
- Altitude: Variation across the farm (250m)
- Slope: Variation across the farm (20%)
Grassland management
- Grazing: Yes
- Grazing management type: Rotational
Structure
- Farm type: Specialist milk production
- Annual work units (AWU): 2
- Main animal type: Dairy
- Number of animals (heads): 400
- Total Livestock unit (LU): 306
- Breed type 1: Fr*Je
- Breed type 2: Fr
Animal performance
- Milk production per head (l/year/dairy animal): 4700
Why it is working
- Setting up a new farm for grazing to produce more milk from grass
- Bought and leased land, expanded using own stock. Installation of paddocks, access points, soil fertility water troughs etc.
- Inceased overall milk solids, increasing output, increasing cow numbers
- Increasing milk sales, greater output from farm
- Economic results
- Discussion groups
- PastureBase Ireland
