The Hearne family farm is located on the Waterford side of Carrick-on-Suir, not far from the border with Tipperary. Kieran’s father and mother purchased the farm and lived in Ballinacurra in the early 1950s. At the time they had 53ac, mostly covered with ferns and scrub.
In 1992 when Kieran inherited the farm and his mother retired, there were 72ac and 27 milking cows.
Since then, Kieran and Ann have developed the farm by leasing land and quota when available and breeding better cows.
All through the 1990s the Hearnes had plenty of land but not enough quota, so were effectively capped on what milk they could sell.
That left them to focus on breeding a good cow that had milk solids and fertility so they could keep costs to a minimum. A number of bulls have been sold into AI under the Curra prefix, with Curra Fionn one of the top EBI AI sires available at the moment.
The long rectangular collecting yard on the Hearne farm with a backing gate scraper leading into the 18-unit herringbone parlour.
When the leasing of quota became an option the Hearnes went for it, and by 2005 the herd had grown to 55 cows. Further leasing and purchasing of quota in the 2000s allowed an increase to 158 cows in 2013 and up to 190 cows supplying milk to Glanbia in 2019. Since 2005, farm development has taken on a greater role as the cubicles, slurry storage, and milking parlour all had to be upgraded.
The 18 unit herringbone installed in 2007 is still milking the 190 cows today. The most recent investment came in 2017, when an extra 100 cubicles and a slurry storage unit were built.
The entrance yard in front of the dairy and main cubicle shed on the Hearne farm.
The paddocks and farm roads have also been developed through the years to a very high standard. The investment priority has been cows, buildings, and grazing. The land is good quality but is gently undulating and has lots of mature trees on the boundary ditches. The Hearnes now farm 82ha in total and have 52ha for grazing with the cows. Herd EBI is among the top in the country at €184, but the focus remains on EBI with replacement stock averaging €227 for the heifer calves (see Key Stats). Milk supply is seasonal, with no milk supplied in January and a small volume in December. In 2018, 186 cows were milked, up slightly at 190 for 2019.
The Hearne herd lying out in the sunshine and good-quality grass.
A total of 93,600kg of milk solids were delivered in 2018, with about 1,000kg of meal fed per cow. See key stats.
Labour efficiency and management is very important for Kieran, who is adamant that more cows should not mean more work. He believes the right set up and good help can achieve this. Compact calving in spring with adequate planned help can make this possible, so that life is not consumed by cows. Recently, the Hearnes have installed automatic calf feeders to help with workload at the busy time of the year in spring. Whole milk is pumped to a reception tank in the calf shed to minimise waste and workload.
Read more
Pioneering partnership working in the Ballinamult hills
Breaking new ground in West Tipperary
Quality Milk Awards: rotary with a difference in Roscommon
Family affair in Monaghan for Lakeland Co-op
The Hearne family farm is located on the Waterford side of Carrick-on-Suir, not far from the border with Tipperary. Kieran’s father and mother purchased the farm and lived in Ballinacurra in the early 1950s. At the time they had 53ac, mostly covered with ferns and scrub.
In 1992 when Kieran inherited the farm and his mother retired, there were 72ac and 27 milking cows.
Since then, Kieran and Ann have developed the farm by leasing land and quota when available and breeding better cows.
All through the 1990s the Hearnes had plenty of land but not enough quota, so were effectively capped on what milk they could sell.
That left them to focus on breeding a good cow that had milk solids and fertility so they could keep costs to a minimum. A number of bulls have been sold into AI under the Curra prefix, with Curra Fionn one of the top EBI AI sires available at the moment.
The long rectangular collecting yard on the Hearne farm with a backing gate scraper leading into the 18-unit herringbone parlour.
When the leasing of quota became an option the Hearnes went for it, and by 2005 the herd had grown to 55 cows. Further leasing and purchasing of quota in the 2000s allowed an increase to 158 cows in 2013 and up to 190 cows supplying milk to Glanbia in 2019. Since 2005, farm development has taken on a greater role as the cubicles, slurry storage, and milking parlour all had to be upgraded.
The 18 unit herringbone installed in 2007 is still milking the 190 cows today. The most recent investment came in 2017, when an extra 100 cubicles and a slurry storage unit were built.
The entrance yard in front of the dairy and main cubicle shed on the Hearne farm.
The paddocks and farm roads have also been developed through the years to a very high standard. The investment priority has been cows, buildings, and grazing. The land is good quality but is gently undulating and has lots of mature trees on the boundary ditches. The Hearnes now farm 82ha in total and have 52ha for grazing with the cows. Herd EBI is among the top in the country at €184, but the focus remains on EBI with replacement stock averaging €227 for the heifer calves (see Key Stats). Milk supply is seasonal, with no milk supplied in January and a small volume in December. In 2018, 186 cows were milked, up slightly at 190 for 2019.
The Hearne herd lying out in the sunshine and good-quality grass.
A total of 93,600kg of milk solids were delivered in 2018, with about 1,000kg of meal fed per cow. See key stats.
Labour efficiency and management is very important for Kieran, who is adamant that more cows should not mean more work. He believes the right set up and good help can achieve this. Compact calving in spring with adequate planned help can make this possible, so that life is not consumed by cows. Recently, the Hearnes have installed automatic calf feeders to help with workload at the busy time of the year in spring. Whole milk is pumped to a reception tank in the calf shed to minimise waste and workload.
Read more
Pioneering partnership working in the Ballinamult hills
Breaking new ground in West Tipperary
Quality Milk Awards: rotary with a difference in Roscommon
Family affair in Monaghan for Lakeland Co-op
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