A daffodil-lined avenue provides the first welcome to the Troy family farm at Corrough, Newtownshandrum, a sweep of colour before the scale of the enterprise comes into view. The figures that follow are formidable: 425 cows, a herd in the top 1% nationally for EBI, 11 home-bred bulls accepted into AI, clover across 100% of the grazing platform and a carbon footprint of 0.77kg CO2 equivalent per kg of fat and protein-corrected milk. Yet numbers tell only half of the story. The real achievement is the way Robert and Mary have combined science, stockmanship and scale, while raising five children who are already part of the farm’s work, sport and future.
Robert is the fifth generation of Troys to farm in Newtownshandrum and the fifth of 12 children himself. He studied mechanical engineering, but a three-month placement in New Zealand in 1993 opened his eyes to what grass-based dairying could achieve.
He returned home, grew the herd from 140 to 200 cows over the following 12 years and married Mary in 2002. A UCD food science graduate who worked in quality assurance with Dairygold, Mary brought a complementary understanding of food production and the disciplines that protect quality.
Robert is a disciple of Teagasc geneticist Donagh Berry, and his breeding policy rests on 25 years of HerdPlus and ICBF records. The herd is fully genotyped. Robert carries out his own AI from a panel of about 35 bulls, working from a dedicated platform beside the 44-unit rotary, so breeding does not interrupt milking. Twenty years ago, the Troys experimented with Jersey genetics, but found that carefully selected Holstein-Friesians could deliver the fertility and solids they required. Maintenance, fertility and constituents now drive selection, with the long-term target of a functional cow approaching 5% fat and 4% protein.
Milk quality shows that attention to detail has survived expansion. In 2025, an average of 407 cows delivered 202,617kg of milk solids. The milk quality figures were approximately 89,000 cells/ml for SCC and below 8,000 cfu/ml for TBC, with butterfat at 4.49% and protein at 3.73%.
The production system is deliberately simple: calving runs from 1 February to mid-April; breeding begins in early May and runs to the end of July, and the herd is dry in December and January. Cows are at grass within days of calving and the farm records a 285-day grazing season. In 2025, the platform grew about 15t DM/ha.
The farm’s carbon footprint has fallen from 0.92 in 2017 to 0.77kg CO2 equivalent per kg of fat and protein-corrected milk in 2026 through a fertile, low-maintenance cow, compact calving, grass utilisation and lower dependence on purchased feed. Clover is established across the entire grazing platform, protected urea accounts for all chemical nitrogen and slurry is targeted by soil need. Through Kinisla’s Evolve programme and two EIP projects, the family has planted trees each winter, fenced watercourses and created buffer zones, two ponds and a reed-bed system. Corrough also serves as a working classroom. Agricultural science students from Charleville CBS are welcomed onto the farm and shown how breeding, grass, welfare, water quality and labour management fit together.
Perhaps the most telling measure of the farm is that all five children have found a place within it, without being made to fit the same mould. Rory is studying agriculture, while Robert Junior has followed his father’s engineering route. On the farm, they share responsibility for grassland management, milking, calf feeding, animal husbandry, vaccinations, machinery, building maintenance and electronic repairs. On the field, both line out in senior hurling for Newtownshandrum, and Rory has also been part of the Cork under-20 hurling panel.
Fiona, Orla, and Eimear are every bit as practical. They milk cows, feed calves, herd stock and take responsibility for the order that keeps a large farm functioning properly. Orla has carried the family colours beyond the parish: selected for the Cork minor camogie team in 2026, she contributed scores during Cork’s All-Ireland semi-final against Kilkenny. Mary is secretary and a selector with the local camogie club, making the connection between yard and playing field a family commitment.
The lasting memory of the Troy farm is of a family in which knowledge is shared; responsibility is real, and achievement is measured in more than litres or indexes. At Corrough, the data tells the truth, but the family completes the story.