We’ve had some fantastic features over the last 12 months in the buildings pages.

Overall, 2025 has been a good year for farmers, especially beef farmers, who have reaped the reward of higher cattle prices after many lean years.

While milk price has taken a tumble of late, weather suited when it mattered and the securing of the derogation until 2028 will give good hope to farmers seeking to invest.

See below some of our readers favourite features of 2025.

1. UCD Lyon’s calf shed

UCD Lyon’s new calf research shed, which was created with the assistance of partners ABP, Dairy Research Ireland, FBD Trust, MSD, JFC and Ornua.

A new state-of-the-art calf research facility was completed in late 2023/early 2024 on UCD’s research farm in Co Kildare.

Spanning over 1,000m², the shed is capable of bringing 180 calves from days old through to six months of age.

Monitoring equipment installed includes a JFC Evolution S4 calf feeder alongside monitoring of solid feed intake and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, the first facility worldwide that is monitoring early life GHG emissions from bovines.

2. Calving shed in Co Mayo

Eight individual calving pens allow for a large number of synchronised heifers calving down with embryos to be handled in this shed.

With a good deal of embryo work happening on the farm, the pedigree Charolais breeder who built this shed needed space to safely handle cows with young calves and complete caesarean sections on them.

They ticked all the boxes with this one, with bespoke barriers made to suit.

3. O’Sullivan double underpass

One of the culverts sits under a busy L road along the Wild Atlantic Way, while the other sits under a right of way used by two farmers on the O'Sullivan farm. \ Donal O'Leary

An underpass is a brave task to take on, but Cork men don’t back from a challenge.

The father-son team of Kieran and Cathal O’Sullivan completed their two underpasses in the first half of 2025.

One underpass is through a busy road along the Wild Atlantic Way, which had become a headache to cross cows over, while the second and smaller one is under a smaller public road. Completing a lot of the digger work themselves was of great help in reducing costs.

4. Ardboy Dairies rotary parlour

A 60-point DeLaval E100 60H parlour was commissioned in August 2023 housed in a portal frame building designed by O'Dwyer Steel for Ardboy Dairies.

The Tynan family from Kilkenny have done super work over the last few years upgrading on farm facilities, with an underpass, cubicle house and now a new 60-unit rotary parlour installed for the farm's 360-plus high-yielding black and white herd.

O’Dwyer Steel was heavily involved in the project, using its 10’’ X 10’’ UC pillars.

5. Top class finish to Phelan cubicle shed

The Phelan's cubicle shed was finished to an exceptional standard.

A top class cubicle shed fitted out with mattresses and three generations of Tommy and Tom Phelans; what’s not to love?

Tom Phelan tasked Micheal Bergin of Bergin Buildings for help with the project and the results speak for themselves.