John and Martina Molyneaux farm in west Limerick. They run a Jersey-cross herd of a 100 cows that are all spring calving. Their farm consists of a 35ha home block, which is the main milking platform for the dairy herd, on free draining clay soils with another 14.5ha further away from the yard.

The farm had a stocking rate of 2.6LU/ha in 2019 and the dairy herd achieved 472kg milk solids/cow (1,382kg MS/ha). The milk was sold to Kerry Agribusiness. For John and Martina, the main driver for milk output and revenue on the farm is the growth of quality grass to feed the dairy herd cheaply and sustainably, and in 2019, the herd was at grass for 270 days.

Investing in soil fertility

Good soil fertility is crucial to the farming system. Improving soil fertility has been a key area of priority investment on the farm.

“Soil fertility has to be right to allow us to grow over 14t of grass in a sustainable manner. With the improvements we have made in soil fertility, we are in a position to fully feed the herd without having to buy in silage and with minimal supplementation only,” John said.

As part of the Kerry Agribusiness-Teagasc joint monitor farm programme, soil samples are taken on the farm every year. Progress in the key elements of soil fertility management – soil pH, P and K levels- between 2016 and 2020 are shown in Figure 1.

“We feel annual soil testing is vital to keep on top of soil fertility changes that happen over a period where we concentrate on soil fertility build-up.”

Progress in soil fertility has been achieved using a long-term liming programme and application of build-up rates of P and K fertilisers over the last four year period. According to John, “it took persistence and investment but it’s the foundation of our grass-based system”.

Grass production and management

In 2019, the grass production on the milking platform averaged 14.5 t DM/ha. Annual concentrate feed was 500 kg/cow of low protein concentrate. Grass reseeding is now planned on the farm having corrected soil fertility. The plan is to reseed up to 15% of the area each year.

So far, John has included clover at 1.2kg/ac in the grass seed mixes used, however, he is open to increasing clover content over the next few years. Eliminating weeds post reseeding and over-sowing with clover the following year is one plan that John is considering.

Protected urea N fertiliser

The nitrogen fertiliser use across the whole farm was 11,505kg N or, on average, 236kg N/ha. Over 50% of the N fertiliser applied on the farm was applied in the form of protected-urea.

“The 2019 season was our first year using protected urea and we are very happy with the outcome, seeing no negative impact in our three week grass growth cycle and our annual production at 14.5t /ha,” John says.

“Overall, the nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) on the farm was calculated at 30%, which I understand is a good figure for grazing systems. Our high milk protein levels of 3.76% and low concentrate feed use have helped to achieve this, as well as being self-sufficient for forage to feed all our stock.”

Role of slurry

Colour-coded maps made by the Teagasc NMP-Online fertiliser planning programme are used to target slurry applications on the lower P and K index paddocks (i.e. P index 1 and 2). The grazed grass and silage yield records in the Pasturebase Ireland programme were used to identify paddocks with high grass offtake, which need higher replacement of P and K, for which the application of cattle slurry is ideal.

Slurry is spread using low-emission slurry spreading (LESS) method by a contractor. “We are very happy with the grass growth response and the fact that leaf contamination is greatly reduced, encouraging us to remain with this system of slurry spreading in future,” John says.

Breeding and the right cow for the farming system

The Molyneauxs have focused on selecting high EBI sires for the replacement breeding programme on their herd and have also used Jersey sires over the years. The average age of heifers at first calving was 23-months. Cow size is important, with a focus on producing medium-sized, low maintenance cows. In 2019, 89% of the herd calved within six weeks and the average calving interval was 370 days.

Over time, this breeding programme and good herd performance have resulted in decreasing (-19%), the carbon footprint per kg milk (0.96 kg CO2 /kg Fat and Protein Corrected Milk in the 2018 Bord Bia farm sustainability audit.)

Energy efficiency

The Molyneauxs aim is to be as energy efficient as possible and have installed a plate cooler to reduce the temperature of milk entering the bulk tank and the associated energy costs of cooling milk.

They also maximise use of night-rate electricity to heat water. Variable speed milk and vacuum pumps have been installed in the dairy and this has helped to further reduce electricity costs on the farm.

Space for biodiversity on the farm

The farm has a high density of natural hedgerows, which have been augmented with broadleaf trees over the years. John and Martina’s goal is to further manage and enhance these natural farming assets where they exist across the farm.

Farm profitability

Much attention is being placed on monitoring the financial performance of the farm through the use of cash flow budgeting and E-Profit Monitor analysis.

As the farm business will be consolidated further in 2020 by reducing leased land and focusing more on the dairy enterprise efficiencies, a net profit of €2,000/dairy hectare (at base milk price of 30c/l) will be targeted.

Future plans for the farm

The farming system developed by John and Martina provides a profitable return on time and investment and a good work-life balance for them and leaves time for their family. The Molyneauxs are conscious of the environmental footprint of their farm and the impacts the farming system has on the wider environment.

Many of the current management practices adopted on the farm are in keeping with recommendations to reduce carbon emissions from the farming systems.

In conclusion, John says: “We want to live and work in an environment that is sustainable from an economic, work-life and environmental perspective. We are willing to make changes and without change, we are not playing our part and we intend to do just that.”