Low-Input Dairy Production In Ireland

In Ireland, low-input dairy production on pasture with limited labour resources can be viable. On a recent visit to Ireland, Gerhard Uys spoke to farmer Pat Hennessy about how thorough infrastructure planning, good pastures and the correct breed can ensure success.

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Dairy production on pasture with low input levels and limited labour can be profitable. But there are two preconditions: the farmer must carefully plan his infrastructure for future expansion, and milk low-maintenance cows. This is according to Pat Hennessy, a dairy farmer from Kilkenny in Ireland.

Pat started his dairy in 2015. Before the first cow stepped onto his rotary milking parlour, he spent nearly two years planning operations in consultation with Pearson Milking Technology.

Pat produces dairy on 60ha of leased land in partnership with his cousins, Fergo and Mark Rodgeford, who produce milk on another farm. Different grain varieties had originally been produced on 100ha on the farm, but two years before the advent of the dairy, 40ha were sold off and the remainder converted to perennial ryegrass.

JERSEY CROSSBREEDS

“We produce milk strictly on rainfed [dryland] grass. I chose Jersey crossbred cows because they’re low-maintenance, fertile, and have low incidence of foot problems. They also calve easily. My cows average 440kg live weight and I aim to produce their body weight in milk solids in a 280-day to 300- day lactation period,” he says. Because Pat farms on leased land, he receives no direct government assistance, unlike Irish farmers who own their land. He therefore knew that economies of scale would be a factor in determining the dairy’s success. For this reason, he wanted to increase the number of cows in the dairy to 420 over four years, and from the outset invested in infrastructure that would ultimately accommodate this goal.

When he started in 2015, he milked 220 cows. He increased this to 320 in 2016, and this year will milk 420 cows.