Joanne Buckley returned home in 2006 having done some travelling after leaving college with a degree in business and marketing from University Limerick.

She began working in a partnership with her father Billy on the family dairy farm in Banteer in the Duhallow region of north Cork. She is milking 140 pedigree Holstein Friesian cows, producing 8,000 litres of liquid milk on two tonnes of meal and supplying North Cork Co-op all year round. They currently have a split calving system: 50% autumn and 50% spring.

After spending some time at home, Joanne recognised the need to make the farming system more economical and to try and get the work/life balance right. Recognising that costs are continually rising and milk price is volatile, Joanne believes that efficiency will keep her producing a high-quality product.

She decided that technology was the way forward. In 2010 they installed a new milking parlour in order to feed the cows according to their yields, to milk faster and in a more hygienic environment. This has reduced feed costs, electricity bills and veterinary bills and enabled better time management while still producing high-quality milk.

They introduced automatic feeders for the dry cows and calves, which have also resulted in substantial savings.

Joanne now has cows calving down in the right condition and ready to start a trouble-free lactation. A heat detection system was introduced at that time. It allows the monitoring of the cows 24/7 via mobile phone or the internet. This has undoubtedly contributed to the reduction of empty cows on the farm.

Joanne does not intend to increase cow numbers. She plans to maximise output with the current resources. Joanne recognises the valuable mentoring that her father has given her and his constant support as she changes the system. Farm labour is one of the major stumbling blocks for Joanne.

“It is difficult to get reliable people,” she says. When local labour is not available she has used students from Austria. This is one area she wishes to develop in her farming career because work/life balance is important to her.

Joanne likes to travel to new places. She is an avid sports woman. She likes adventure racing and plays badminton.