Michael has always focused on farming efficiently and was recognised for this in 2012, when he won Bord Bia’s national award for sustainable farming. More recently, he was crowned beef farmer of the year for 2015. “As a result of analysing my business in line with Origin Green principles, my gross margin per hectare increased from €500 per hectare up to €1,200.”

THE DRIVING FORCE

“For me, the main focus of Origin Green is getting the cattle out earlier to grass, using slurry more efficiently and weighing the cattle more often.” According to Michael, looking at these efficiencies helps drive the farm forward. “The output of the farm has increased significantly since joining the initiative. I’m also looking after the environment without causing any harm. It has been good to me.”

For Michael, looking after the environment while making it profitable is an important part of Origin Green. “It is a known fact that anyone who has a low carbon footprint is farming very efficiently. Whether you are beef or dairy, the result tends to be the same.”

Michael feels that achieving a low carbon footprint takes focus, it doesn’t just happen. “You have to stand back and ask yourself: what am I doing? What can I do better? You are constantly looking and observing the farm, checking your results.”

HIGH PERFORMANCE

“With Origin Green you have performance targets you set to work towards. For example, I expect the calves to put on a kilo per day while they are on milk. It’s the same for all animals on the farm.

Whether they are indoors or outdoors, you expect a certain weight gain and if you don’t get it, well then there is something not working properly and needs to be altered.”

As the Quality Assurance Scheme moved to include more sustainable practices under Origin Green, Michael admits that the transition was surprisingly simple. “It allowed me to become more focused on doing what I was already doing and I just tried to perfect it even more at no great cost financially. Both the output and profit of the farm grew substantially as a result.”

A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE

Michael believes that to be sustainable, you need to look to the future, “As a farmer you are always planning ahead and dealing with what’s in front of you. To be sustainable, you have to look forward all the time and plan ahead and Origin Green is part of that. It’s all about increasing gross output and gross margin per hectare. “Participating in Origin Green makes perfect sense. From a farmer’s point of view, if you have to spend money on something, then you won’t be interested. It costs nothing to incorporate Origin Green, it increases your efficiency, allowing you to increase your output, ultimately allowing you to increase profitability. It’s nothing that any good farmer won’t want to be doing anyway.”

COMMUNITY & GROWTH

“We are all in it together. Whether it’s the processor or the producer, we’ve all got to pull together to sell our produce abroad as we are dependent very much on exporting all our dairy and beef products. It’s a must as far as farming is concerned.

“I wouldn’t choose any other profession. I love my job, I always wanted to be a farmer. My parents handed down the farm to me so I hope to do likewise in the future. I’m a fourth generation family farmer, and I’d like to think that someone will follow in my footsteps. I have to set the example to the next generation. “My grandfather and great grandfather started off with 23 acres. Over those generations we have built up the land base from 23 to 180 acres.”

A SENSE OF PRIDE

Michael believes that if you are good at something, you take pride in what you do. “I rear 260 calves every year. It is not a hardship to me. It means that I don’t have to go to the mart to buy weanlings and there’s a great sense of pride and satisfaction in bringing them all on to that stage and the whole cycle will start again next spring – 260 more. “I had no fear in taking part in Origin Green because there’s nothing elaborate or sophisticated about it at all. It’s just common sense and good farming practice, which I had been doing anyway before this.”

QUALITY ASSURANCE AND ORIGIN GREEN

Since 2011, Bord Bia’s Quality Assurance Schemes have measured greenhouse gas emissions at farm level. Initially beginning with the beef industry, this has been followed by dairy and is currently rolling out for lamb, poultry, pigmeat and grain.

The farm audits form the foundation of Bord Bia’s Origin Green programme, a national sustainability plan for the Irish farming and agri-food industry. Today, Bord Bia is carbon footprinting over 700 farms per week.

Farmer Profile: Michael Murphy

Location: Nenagh, Co Tipperary.

System: Calf-to-beef system, rearing over 300 calves.