Setting up a new farm for grazing to produce more milk from grass

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

Additional information

Farming system

conventional farming

Domains of innovation

farm system, forage mixture, grazing management system

Main types of animal

dairy cattle

Country

Ireland

Product type

Farmer portrait

Language

English

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