Ambitious future farmers make time for learning and life
Profiles of the six finalists in the 2015 FBD Young Farmer of the Year awards indicate that they hold down 10 jobs between them.
Their hard work helps to keep indebtedness at bay. Only 13% reported debt of €50,000 to €100,000, in the survey of 295 young farmers as part of the FBD Young Farmer of the Year awards, which are run by Macra na Feirme in partnership with the IFA.
Although one of the less than 290 commercial sow herdowners in Ireland, winning Young Farmer of the Year Jonathan Marry is a typical young farmer insofar as he combines pig farming with the Pig Spit and BBQ Company which travels nationwide.
Four years ago, he bought a pig-roasting machine; now six machines are used, and the business turns over four pigs per weekend, on average.
Like many other young farmers, the Co Louth farmer is very active off the farm and away from work, in Macra and other organisations. Hunting and fishing is his favourite past-time; he rears 300 of his own ducks each year. He participates in an annual 80km charity cycle to raise awareness of suicide.
He is a member of the European Pig Producers, which will have their annual congress in Dublin next May.
He also takes part in monthly pig discussion group meetings to share and improve information.
His integrated 540-sow unit, fully compliant with Bord Bia, and EPA licensed, employs three full time, including himself. Plans include home milling and building 800 extra fattening places.
He sees bio-security and keeping up to speed with the best genetics to maintain profit margins as the biggest challenges.
PJ O’Keeffe milks 200 spring-calving cows on 90ha in Co Kilkenny. The milking platform is 51ha. He plans to expand to 300 cows in 2016, and to build a new milking parlour. He sees land and labour availability as big challenges in the next 10 years, but disease in the herd is the number one risk factor he sees.
Profit per cow was €901 in 2014. In 2016, he targets 15 tonnes per ha of grass, 450kg of milk solids, and 85% of cows calved in six weeks.
Milk quality is a passion; PJ has been an NDC milk quality finalist, and wants another shot at this title when his new parlour is in place.
He is putting a lot of effort into his technology skills, he says time management is one of the main issues on farms, and technology will improve time efficiency.
PJ is a member of Callan Macra, IFA (branch dairy representative) and ICMSA, and is a John Lockes GAA club committee member, as well as playing football and hurling.
John Tully from Co Galway is owner and managing director of Dairy Relief Ireland Ltd, which provides a dairy farm management and contract labour service.
In job no 2, he milks 50 cows and keeps young stock on his home farm of 40ha and is in a share-milking agreement milking 130 cows on 50 ha.
His third job is farm manager of Ballyduggan Estate, where 540 Friesian cross cows are calved in a grass-based system of a 145ha milking platform stocked at 2.7 livestock units per ha, plus a 50ha milking block at 2.8LU/ha.
Ballyduggan has 250 open-top cubicles with a slurry lagoon and a 44-unit herringbone milking parlour. After weaning, calves go to a 32ha support block and return as in-calf heifers. Farm performance is reflected in 1,050kg MS/ha, or 380kgs MS/cow, in 2014, when 13.7 tonnes of grass was grown.
John says managing lameness, especially mortarello, is a big challenge at Ballyduggan. Also, the proposed Galway to Dublin cycleway would divide the milking block.
Targets include increasing MS/cow to 410kg, and 85% calving in six weeks. Animal health and the mineral status of the herd will get increased attention, with particular emphasis on lameness and mastitis. Maintaining soil fertility at index 3, and improving phosphorus and potassium levels and soil pH are also main aims.
John Tully plans to expand his Dairy Relief Ireland Ltd business by developing long-term relationships with farm owners.
He has also 54ha leased for rearing young dairy stock and contract heifer rearing.
He chairs Loughrea Macra and is an active member of the Galway Grazers Dairy Discussion Group.
He graduated with a first- class honours degree in Civil Engineering at Coventry University and worked as a civil engineer and site agent before returning to farming in Ireland. He recently completed a part-time accounting technician course, and got his Green Cert a few years ago.
He is very interested in farm business structures, and says he is fortunate to have experienced work as an employee, sole trader, and limited company.
Thomas O’Connor has a beef enterprise on 240 acres in Co Kildare. In the fourth year of a partnership with his parents, he plans to get out of tillage and pigs and increase his suckler herd.
For him, nitrates are the biggest challenge.
A co-founder and chairman of the new South Kildare Macra club, he is also a Charolais Society member, and regularly attends Teagasc and Macra farm walks and discussion group meetings.
Garry Kinsella farms 600 acres of mainly tillage and some grass in Wicklow, growing wheat, barley, oats and beet. He also runs an contracting company carrying out a further 1,200 acres of tillage work, including 17,000 big square bales, plus 2,500 acres of silage.
Market volatility, rising costs, and the scarcity of trained operators are his main challenges.
At home, he plans to increase yields through good agronomy; he plans to increase contracting acreage through technology; and would build an anaerobic digester if the market allows.
Garry has sponsored local GAA and Macra clubs, and tries to take part in all charity events to do with the business. He works with Beet Ireland to restore the sugar industry.
Graham Grothier, farming full time on his own for three years, keeps 200 ewes and 30 ewe lambs on 120 acres in Co Carlow. Along with a pedigree Texel flock, he has 20 heifers, and 20 acres of spring barley.
He sees marketing his farm produce and building new infrastructure as the main challenges in the next 10 years. He plans to build a grain and feed store, to show his Texel lambs, and start a farm-to-fork business. He is involved in Macra and the South East Texel club.
