Development and progress overlooking Bandon

The Crowleys are farming overlooking the dairy heartland around Bandon as you head into west Cork.

The drive and passion for milking cows in this region clearly keeps the Crowley family partnership on their toes.

They have developed their farm recently to bring more land under grass and completely revamp the farmyard to include a new 24-unit Gascoigne milking parlour with cubicles and slurry storage.

The investment in 2017 sets this farm up for efficient production, as the Crowleys are refining the grazing model, given the asset they have and their location to drive good grass growth. In total, 82ha are farmed, with 60ha available for grazing.

While Tim now takes the lead on grass and management, this is very much a team effort and all hands have been needed over the last two years, as the new slatted shed and parlour were constructed.

Land is dry and free-draining in the main, although there is some heavier land down towards the end of the farm as it goes downhill.

In 2016, the farm grew 12.36t DM/ha, and, in 2017, which was a very good year for grass, the farm grew 15.1t DM/ha. This year, it is likely grass grown will be back, as the dry weather was affecting growth rates badly when we called to the farm.

The diet, when we called, was 10kg of grass, 6kg of concentrate and 2kg of bale silage. The farm has a number of grass monocultures growing and grass is measured weekly. Tim says the target is to produce 500kg of milk solids per cow from less than 500kg of meal and the best of grazed grass. In 2017, the farm sold 442kg of milk solids per cow stocked at 2.5 cows/ha, with 535kg of meal fed per cow and total area available for grazing was 60ha.

Cow numbers have increased, but producing product to a very high standard has continued. Both Tim and Dan have strong interests off the farm, with Tim very active in Bandon Rugby Club. As they continue to develop the farm and maintain quality, the Crowley duo are a force to be reckoned with.