The voice of Ireland's farming industry online
Farming Features Channel
- 18-05-2013 - my farming week Andrew Dundas, Ardnacrusha, Co Clare - Farm: "Mixed suckler and dairy farm on 210 acres, 50 of which is rented." Family: "Wife, Geraldine, and children Patrick, Jennifer, Andrew and Niamh." Stock: "At the moment I'm milking 48 Holstein Friesian dairy cows...
- 11-05-2013 - My farming week - Farm: "One hundred and twenty acres, milking 52 spring calving dairy cows on the southern shores of Galway Bay." Family: "Wife, Mary and children Cliona, Eanna, Diarmuid, Aoibheann and Caoimhe." Quality Milk: "I...
- 04-05-2013 - My farming week - I Farm: "One hundred acres, 25 of which is leased, running 120 to 140 steers each year." Fodder: "Thankfully, I've had enough silage to see me through this long spring and all cattle will be out on grass by this...
- 27-04-2013 - My farming week - I Farm: "One hundred and fifty acres on a long-term lease. I milk 100 spring calving Friesian and Jersey cross cows in a milk production partnership with my father Tommy." AI station: "The farm was the old Sligo AI...
- 13-04-2013 - my farming week Alfie Byrne, Kildavin, Co Carlow - I Farm: "Two hundred and fifty acres of tillage ground. I own 84 acres and the rest is rented. Each year around 120 acres of winter barley and 130 acres of spring barley is sown. " Family: "My wife Olive and three...
- 06-04-2013 - my farming week Crosby Cleland, Saintfield, Co Down - I farm: "160 acres grassland. I have 750 ewes with 250-300 followers, so a total of a little over 1000 head of sheep." Housing: "I finished a new sheep house at the end of February, and that saved us this year. I have...
- 30-03-2013 - My farming week - I farm: I run 180 acres of LFA land between Castlewellan and Dromara with help from my wife Antoinette and five children. Suckler herd: I run 40 spring calving cows and cattle are finished as 22 month heifers and 16...
- 23-03-2013 - my farming week Colm Grimes, Baldongan, Skerries, Co Dublin - I farm: "200 acres of crops which includes 100 acres of spring barley, 40 acres of leeks, 20 acres of cauliflower, 15 acres of scallions and 25 acres of rhubarb." Sowing: "We have some scallions sown already. We covered...
- 16-03-2013 - my farming week Richard Creith, Bushmills, Co Antrim - I farm: "About 170 cattle on 130 acres. I have 50 to 60 suckler cows and about 30 of them have calved so far. I've been breeding some pedigree Belted Galloways since 1964 and, about four years ago, I bought a few...
- 09-03-2013 - my farming week Jim Culloty, Churchtown, Mallow, Co Cork - I farm: "Two hundred and sixty acres at Mount Corbitt. I bought the land about nine years ago and amalgamated three farms. We gradually fixed up the farm and designed it specifically for the horses with fencing, gallops...
- 02-03-2013 - my farming week Sean O'Donnell, Behybeg, Ballina, Co Mayo - I farm: "55 hectares in Mayo. I milk 90 cows and we contract rear our replacements. At the moment we have about 54 calved. We don't have any stock bull on the farm as I did the DIY A.I. course a few years ago. It makes...
- 23-02-2013 - my farming week Eddie O'Malley, Leenane Road, Westport, Co Mayo - I Farm: "Four Hundred to 450 sows in an integrated unit. We finish half and sell the other half as weaners. All our ration is bought from Kiernan Milling and our growing pigs have access to it all all times. We send one...
- 02-02-2013 - my farming week Thomas Blackburn, Ballyshonakin, Effin, Co Limerick - I farm: "One hundred dairy cows in south Limerick with my wife Marian. We rear our own replacements and 40 beef cattle. We artificially inseminate (AI) about 50 to 65% of our cows and a Hereford bull covers the rest. We...
- 26-01-2013 - my farming week Michael Leane, Coolroe, Beaufort, Co Kerry - I farm: "Commonage on Binn Chaorach, the next highest hill to Carrantuohill. In the late 1980s, I reclaimed over 30 acres under the Farm Improvement Scheme. I stock a few sucklers on this land and I also have 200 ewes...
- 19-01-2013 - My farming week Mark Rochford, Lower Forest, Mountmellick, Co Laois - I farm: "Three hundred and sixty dairy cows on 420 acres with my father, Gerard and uncle, Fergal. We rear about 100 AI bred replacement heifers from our own herd. Five stock bulls run with the heifers and cover any...
- 12-01-2013 - my farming week Liam Conway, Caltra, Ballinasloe, Co Galway - I farm: "Fifty sucklers and a flock of 140 ewes on 100 acres." Family: "My wife and I have three sons and a daughter. My eldest son recently started working for EBLEX breeding specialists in England, I have a son...
- 05-01-2013 - my farming year - Brian Nicholson, Tullyvolty, Johnstown, Co Kilkenny. Brian Nicholson farms 108 hectares of grassland and 16ha of forestry. When we spoke to him last October, one-third of his ewes were mated and he was about to...
- 29-12-2012 - my farming week Martin Flanagan, Castlehill, Crossmolina, Co Mayo - I farm: "Forty cows on 22 hectares supplying around 80,000 gallons to Connacht Gold." Family: "Wife Esther. Daughter Natalie is studying a forensics doctorate in London, my son Shane is milking cows in Australia and...
- 22-12-2012 - my farming week Pat O'Connor, Blarney, Co Cork - I farm: "Two hundred and forty sows and sell around 120 finished pigs per week." Family: "Father Joe and mother Lillian. Sister Eilis and girlfriend Aoife." Pigs: "Are sold at five and a half months of age weighing...
- 15-12-2012 - my farming week Ronan Byrne, Knockbrack, Athenry, Co Galway - I farm: "Thirty-five acres and sell 200 chickens a week all year round. This is a very busy time of year as we also rear 800 bronze turkeys, 100 geese and 100 ducks for the Christmas market." Family: "Wife Maria and...
- 08-12-2012 - My farming week Ger Bennett, Clonmel Road, Cashel, Co Tipperary - I farm: "Eighty spring calving Holstein Friesian cows on a land block of 72 acres. Land away from the milking parlour is rented for silage and heifer rearing." Family: "Wife, Cait, children, Claire (12), Karen (9) and...
- 01-12-2012 - my farming week Michael O'Gorman, Ballyragget, Co Kilkenny - I farm: "Thousands of Christmas trees and 25 suckler cows." Family: "Wife, Anne, and sons, Conor and Liam." Trees: "We began harvesting Christmas trees on 19 November and we will be finished by the end of this week....
- 18-05-2013 - British withdrawal - Ireland's euro\nopportunity? - There is again a serious debate under way in Britain about that country's relationship with the European Union and a real possibility that Britain will have a referendum on continuing membership at some stage over the...
- 11-05-2013 - Gearing up for silage season - This is usually my favourite time of year. The animals are out of the sheds, the intense work is over and the grass is growing. Although a month later than normal this year, it is still very welcome. I have 32 acres...
- 04-05-2013 - Pending crisis in pension provision - Pending crisis in pension provision The Paris-based OECD released a report last week drawing attention to the looming crisis in Ireland (and in several other European countries) surrounding pension provision and...
- 27-04-2013 - Ireland's large deficit continues - In all of the discussions about managing the enormous debts run up by the Government, including whether the bank bail-out costs could have been avoided, it is important not to forget that most Irish Government debt has...
- 20-04-2013 - European states still in distress - The efforts to re-model the European common currency continue at a snail's pace. The system is broken, Europe's economies are simply not recovering and the sticking-plaster solutions for distressed member states are...
- 13-04-2013 - EU political crises signal dangerous challenge - The Eurozone countries are into the fifth year of economic emergency, with zero growth or actual contraction likely in 2013, high unemployment rates and almost half of the members experiencing some degree of financial...
- 06-04-2013 - Europe has fluffed monetary union - The Eurozone crisis is having very negative effects on public support for the core European project. The European Commission conducts a public opinion poll twice a year, the last of which was released in December. It...
- 30-03-2013 - Europe blunders Cyprus situation - It has been a bad couple of weeks for the Eurozone. The failure to agree a viable deal for Cyprus at the finance ministers' meeting on March 16th was followed by the closure of the Cypriot banking system, rejection of...
- 23-03-2013 - Cypriot deal breaks new ground - Last Friday, at 5pm, the finance ministers of the 17 Eurozone countries gathered at the Justus Lipsius building in Brussels for a hastily-scheduled meeting to discuss the long-pending bail-out of Cyprus. The measures...
- 16-03-2013 - Europe needs policy change to prosper - The persistence of depressed conditions in the European economy, both inside and outside the Eurozone, is beginning to raise questions about the conduct of overall policy, particularly when contrasted with the...
- 09-03-2013 - Book looks at demise of Irish Nationwide - After four and a half years there has still been no proper inquiry into the collapse of the Irish banking system, but some of the gaps are being filled by journalists. Tom Lyons and Richard Curran have put together a...
- 02-03-2013 - Italian result could trigger new EU crisis - The only good thing about the Italian election outcome is that the Euro exchange rate has stopped rising against sterling, at least for now. For Ireland in particular this is welcome relief. In every other respect this...
- 23-02-2013 - Debt deal could lead to conflict ahead - On Thursday last Jens Weidmann, president of the German central bank, the Bundesbank, gave an extended and wide-ranging interview. He was asked about the deal apparently agreed between the Irish government and the...
- 02-02-2013 - Heading up the polluted creek without a paddle - I had decided to do a quick survey on the septic tank registration scheme. With the 31 January deadline approaching, I was getting a bit nervous. I have a rebellious streak but, nonetheless, I am an uncomfortable law...
- 26-01-2013 - European contingency planning needed - COLM MCCARTHY COMMENT Agriculture has been a principal beneficiary of Ireland's EU membership. Prior to 1973, when Ireland joined the Common Market (as it was then called) Irish agricultural exporters had few options...
- 19-01-2013 - Disappointing progress on budget deficit - The Government and the public service trade unions commenced negotiations about a successor to the Croke Park agreement on Monday. The budget for 2013 already contains yet-to-be-agreed savings on the pay bill and a...
- 12-01-2013 - The beautiful game in need of reform - Munster MEP Sean Kelly is one of the signatories to a recent call from the European Parliament for reforms at FIFA, the governing body of world football. Mr Kelly knows a thing or two about sports administration, having...
- 05-01-2013 - Exploiting gas fields to aid recovery - Conditions in the world's energy markets are changing very quickly. The ability to exploit hitherto unusable reserves of oil and gas has transformed the energy outlook in the United States. There are two new...
- 29-12-2012 - A FARMER WRITES: Innovation needed in agri food - Christmas has come around again and, hopefully, for most people it was a time to celebrate with friends and family. A lot of traditions come into play at this time of year and one of the oldest ones at home is that we...
- 22-12-2012 - 'Celtic Tiger' did Ireland no favours - The investment banker in London who coined the phrase 'Celtic Tiger' back in the late 1990s did this country no favours. After the mismanagement of the 1970s and 1980s, the Irish economy turned the corner in 1993 and...
- 15-12-2012 - Network of ghost Garda stations rationalised - The tax increases and spending cutbacks, unfortunately, are unavoidable. The government, after almost five years of 'austerity', will spend more than €1bn per month in excess of its income next year. This is...
- 08-12-2012 - The end of extraordinary wealth on paper - There is evidence from countries around the world that the distribution of income has become less equal over the last couple of decades. Those at the very top of the income distribution have moved from wealthy to...
- 18-05-2013 - Don't compromise on feed quality - It's the middle of May already and after one week of good growth we're back to the cold wet weather, poorer grazing conditions and no sign of any improvement in the forecast. We have all the silage fertilizer out and...
- 11-05-2013 - Austerity running\nout of road\n - Time heals all wounds' is a comforting piece of folk wisdom but not much of an economic policy, for Europe as a whole or for individual countries. Since the financial crisis struck in 2008, inflicting major wounds on...
- 04-05-2013 - Morale is now at an all-time low - There seems to be no escaping the weather and the impact that it is having on everyone involved in farming at the moment. We have now had practically a full year of difficult weather conditions to contend with and...
- 27-04-2013 - Reseeds prove their value - Grass growth (16kgDM/ha) has improved since the milder weather arrived but my grass demand (30kgDM/ha) is also increasing. My eldest lambs are now approaching eight weeks of age and grass is starting to make up a larger...
- 20-04-2013 - Meal adds 3c/l to cost base - There's still no sign of "Magic Day" in Kilkenny so if anyone is going to a Keith Barry show, maybe they could ask him if he knows anything about it. We're into the second half of April now and the "Great Grass Famine...
- 13-04-2013 - Cool spring could still be a winner - Happy sowing' said Michael to me as he left the field grinning from ear to ear. He had every reason to be cheerful - his mother had trained the 50/1 winner of the Grand National and now the sun was shining. The going...
- 06-04-2013 - Tired of east wind - April has arrived at last and we can wave goodbye and good riddance to the coldest March on record. It's had a devastating effect on farm finances right across the country. On the back of a terrible autumn, the last...
- 30-03-2013 - Just eight fields sown so far\n - It transpired that my old laptop was ridden with every virus that was going from Ebola to the coronavirus. When John tried to install the software for the Gatekeeper crop records package it was terminal. It was like...
- 23-03-2013 - Silage pits are empty and things are serious - Hopefully by the time this goes to print, the temperature will have reached double figures for a few days and some growth will have arrived. Things are beginning to look serious on most farms with a lot of empty silage...
- 16-03-2013 - Harvest prospects fall while input costs rise - My office is no longer a haven of calm and tranquillity. Firstly, my computer is on a go slow and a steam-powered one would be quicker. Secondly, every invoice I open tells me input costs are rising daily, harvest...
- 09-03-2013 - Weather helps get stock out - The last couple of weeks have been fairly hectic but nobody is complaining just yet. It's been a fantastic spell weather wise, although temperatures have been a little on the cool side especially at night and as a...
- 02-03-2013 - Wheat, barley and Uncle Arthur - While sitting in traffic recently on the Liffey's north quay, my eye was drawn across to St James' Gate where the brewery was a hive of activity. There were six ready-mix trucks lined up on the south quays waiting to...
- 23-02-2013 - Farm mood changes \nas spring arrives - Grazing conditions are improving daily on the farm with this cold, dry spell. Cows are at grass full-time for the last few days and we've removed silage from the diet for the moment. We're feeding 4kg of concentrate and...
- 02-02-2013 - Property tax - stable revenue for the future - The sad passing of Kevin Heffernan will remind all Gaelic football fans of the great 'Dubs versus the Culchies' rivalry from the 1970s and 1980s, great fun at the time and a big boost to the GAA at the turnstiles. A...
- 26-01-2013 - Disheartening to see farmers' \nefforts severely damaged - Yet again, Irish farming and the consumer has been hung out to dry by the selfish greed of others. To be honest, it's disheartening to think that all the effort and bureaucracy that we as farmers have to endure to...
- 19-01-2013 - Stay up to date with the facts and figures - Recently, I took advantage of the quiet time to have a look at a few figures. Our field input records are not computerised but they are none the worse for that. With a calculator and a little time, it is a simple fiscal...
- 12-01-2013 - Health service in action - I have seen the health service in action! Last week, a continuous nose bleed, annoying, but not life-threatening, had me in Cork hospitals and later in the Blackrock Clinic, Dublin. There the problem was resolved. I was...
- 05-01-2013 - A happy new year - paddy o'keeffe comment They have their faults. Yet, our economic collapse was as much a fault of inadequate State supervision as of poor banking. The top layer of supervision in Government, Central Bank and Department...
- 29-12-2012 - Justified merit in farming - This week I attended the well merited John Mooney Awards given to Michael Berkery and Brian Wickham. The awards are made periodically for major contributions to the profit and practice of Irish farming. They are given...
- 22-12-2012 - Direct marketing of branded Irish dairy products - Melinainen - Last week, I sat at a most interesting meeting on our dairying future. The main speaker was an international consultant Veijo Merilainen. He specialises in dairy marketing. Originally from Finland, Veijo is now part of...
- 15-12-2012 - Lessons from New Zealand on milk - Last autumn, a group of active young dairy farmers visited New Zealand. The itinerary and personnel were organised by Michael Murphy, Cork dairy farmer. Pat Dillon of Moorepark also participated. Last week, the group...
- 08-12-2012 - Moorepark pays for itself - In the past week, we had celebration and recognition highlighting the success of Moorepark. Irish dairying has certainly benefitted from research at the centre. Thanks should be expressed to management and to staff. We...
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