Few farmyards are as pristine as the Ryan farm in Herbertsown, Co Limerick.
This is a real family farm with Derek and his sister, Caroline, running the show and carrying on the tradition of farming instilled in them by their parents.
Their mother, Mary, is still a very important part of the farming household, along with getting great help from Caroline’s children, Liam and Sinead.
The Ryans are farming a total of 293 acres with 250 acres owned, 80 of which are around the milking parlour and home to the 90 Holstein Friesian cows.
All calves are kept either as replacement heifers or finished as beef before the second winter.
There are also 12 Hereford suckler cows on the farm. About 40% of the cows are bred to beef AI and then a Hereford bull runs with the herd to mop up after five weeks of AI.
There were 40 straws of sexed semen used this year also, so there should be plenty of heifer calves on the ground next spring.
Most of the tractor work is carried out by Liam, with slurry spread using a dribble bar.
They also claim credits under the Kerry Evolve programme for planting native trees, milk recording four times per year and using protected urea fertiliser and spreading lime.
In fact, Derek had to buy a lot of lime last year as the soil sample results showed that the farm has slipped in pH, so 250t was purchased last year and a further 100t will be purchased this year.
Like most farmers, Derek and Caroline are working on getting clover established across the farm and have included clover in all recent reseeding programmes. These fields get half the rate of nitrogen as fields without clover.
Grass measurement
Derek learned how to measure grass last year at the local Teagasc grass measuring course and is now measuring grass weekly in order to better manage pre-grazing yield.
The cows are high-performing, milking 535kg MS/cow according to the milk recording results from a total of 1t of meal per cow.
The Ryan farmyard is extremely tidy.
The herd has an EBI of €185 and Derek likes the cows to have a split of 75:25 in terms of Holstein to Friesian. A new 12-unit Dairymaster milking parlour was installed by local man Tony O’Connor in 2022 with milk meters, automatic cluster removers, cluster flush and dumpline, with milking taking no longer than two hours from start to finish.
Derek Ryan farms with his sister Caroline and her children, Liam and Sinead, at Herbertstown, Co Limerick. The Ryans are milking 90 cows and farming a total of 293 acres. The farmyard is exceptionally neat and tidy.
Few farmyards are as pristine as the Ryan farm in Herbertsown, Co Limerick.
This is a real family farm with Derek and his sister, Caroline, running the show and carrying on the tradition of farming instilled in them by their parents.
Their mother, Mary, is still a very important part of the farming household, along with getting great help from Caroline’s children, Liam and Sinead.
The Ryans are farming a total of 293 acres with 250 acres owned, 80 of which are around the milking parlour and home to the 90 Holstein Friesian cows.
All calves are kept either as replacement heifers or finished as beef before the second winter.
There are also 12 Hereford suckler cows on the farm. About 40% of the cows are bred to beef AI and then a Hereford bull runs with the herd to mop up after five weeks of AI.
There were 40 straws of sexed semen used this year also, so there should be plenty of heifer calves on the ground next spring.
Most of the tractor work is carried out by Liam, with slurry spread using a dribble bar.
They also claim credits under the Kerry Evolve programme for planting native trees, milk recording four times per year and using protected urea fertiliser and spreading lime.
In fact, Derek had to buy a lot of lime last year as the soil sample results showed that the farm has slipped in pH, so 250t was purchased last year and a further 100t will be purchased this year.
Like most farmers, Derek and Caroline are working on getting clover established across the farm and have included clover in all recent reseeding programmes. These fields get half the rate of nitrogen as fields without clover.
Grass measurement
Derek learned how to measure grass last year at the local Teagasc grass measuring course and is now measuring grass weekly in order to better manage pre-grazing yield.
The cows are high-performing, milking 535kg MS/cow according to the milk recording results from a total of 1t of meal per cow.
The Ryan farmyard is extremely tidy.
The herd has an EBI of €185 and Derek likes the cows to have a split of 75:25 in terms of Holstein to Friesian. A new 12-unit Dairymaster milking parlour was installed by local man Tony O’Connor in 2022 with milk meters, automatic cluster removers, cluster flush and dumpline, with milking taking no longer than two hours from start to finish.
Derek Ryan farms with his sister Caroline and her children, Liam and Sinead, at Herbertstown, Co Limerick. The Ryans are milking 90 cows and farming a total of 293 acres. The farmyard is exceptionally neat and tidy.
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