The GROdairy programme, launched by Teagasc this week, will provide support to farmers interested in exploring collaborative farming arrangements.

The service will be available to farmers looking to step back from dairying and younger farmers looking for an opportunity to step up.

Nine demonstration farms have been selected as part of the programme to showcase what’s possible in terms of collaborative arrangements.

The nine farms cover a wide geographical area from north Sligo down to west Cork, with the arrangements on each farm slightly different.

Farm walk

As part of Wednesday’s launch, a farm walk was held on the farm of Kieran Kennedy, one of the nine demo farms.

Kieran, who is farming just outside of Nenagh, Co Tipperary, has had quite the journey so far.

He grew up on a small 40-cow dairy farm, but with his father Pat and brother Shane both milking at home part-time, Kieran knew the block wouldn’t be big enough.

After working on local dairy farms for close to 10 years, Kieran found an opportunity to lease his first farm in 2023.

The block was 67ha and Kieran began milking that spring with 160 cows on a 15-year lease.

Three years later, another opportunity came up for Kieran to enter a share-farming arrangement with a second farm comprising of 75ha, neighbouring the first unit.

The opportunity was one he couldn’t let pass him and by the spring of 2026, Kieran was milking 355 cows on two platforms.

While all of this was going on, land had come up around the home farm where Kieran’s brother and father had been farming away part-time.

Kieran and Shane decided to form a partnership and drive on cow numbers. This year, they are milking 100 cows at home, bringing the total number of cows in the business to 455.

Fast growth

The journey has been a rollercoaster one, with little time to stop and draw breath.

The majority of the investment on the farms was financed through cashflow and with the help of the landowners.

This has meant a tough couple of years for Kieran, but now he feels the effort was worth it.

“People are often not patient enough. They want everything now. We had tough years, but we worked through it and the end goal is so rewarding when you get there” Kieran said.

Kieran’s advice on the day was to work hard and “take the opportunities as they come”. The business is now in a good place and despite a tough couple of months in terms of cashflow due to the drought and low milk price, Kieran is confident the business can weather the storm.

Check out the video below in which GROdairy adviser Paul Maher gives a background to the programme and Kerry Desmond, who operates one of the nine demonstration farms, explains his reasoning for getting involved in the project.

A more detailed report of the farm walk will be available online in the coming weeks.