One of the biggest improvements in farming over the last decades has been the introduction of more accurate weather forecasting apps, according to Limerick farmer Michael Hickey.
By having reliable weather data, Michael can make better decisions around grazing during the tricky times of year such as spring and autumn.
Michael is farming with his wife Anna and parents Jim and Betty at Caherconlish, near Limerick city.
This is very much a family farm with Michael’s son John also busy at silage on the day of the judges’ visit.
The Hickey farm is a well-established farming business milking 154 cows this year and keeping all progeny as either replacement heifers or beef cattle to stores.
The herd of Holstein Friesian cows are very high EBI, with an average of €267 according to the May evaluation. Last year, the cows delivered 492kg MS/cow from about 1t of meal per cow.
The farm has already made over 800 round bales of silage this year.
The Hickeys are farming a total of 141ha with just under 57ha in the milking platform giving a milking platform stocking rate of 2.7 cows/ha. Michael says they went to 170 cows in the past but have since come back a bit from that. Technical performance is very good, with the six-week calving rate at 88%. One of the biggest challenges on the farm over the last few weeks has been to keep on top of grass quality as growth rates have been very strong. The Hickeys aren’t complaining though, with Michael calling 2025 “a perfect year for farming”.
Michael is an active participant in the Kerry Dairy Ireland Evolve programme, using protected urea, participating in the ‘protecting our waters’ measure, using lime, high clover grass seed, dairy care, low protein feed, milk recording and a financial management course.
He is also a member of the Fedamore/Mulcair discussion group. He installed heat detection collars last January and in May of this year he installed solar panels on one of the shed roofs.
He also uses sexed semen on the maiden heifers and used 70 sexed straws on the cows.
The farm has recently completed the Farming for Water EIP assessment as part of the Hickeys’ drive to improve water quality.
The herd has a very high EBI of over €267.
Seven areas have been identified, with a new hedgerow proposed to intercept runoff, a new buffer zone near a stream, tree planting, fencing of an existing buffer zone, a new earthen bund around the farmyard to divert water away from the yard, water bars to divert run-off from roadways and managing a critical source area. When all measures are completed, the Hickeys will receive funding from the EIP of over €16,000.
To view the Hickey's farm, click here.
The Hickeys are milking 154 cows at Caherconlish in Co Limerick on a 57ha milking platform with 141ha in total.All beef calves are kept to 1.5 months of age and then sold for finishing. Technical performance is very good with a high EBI herd delivering 492kg MS/cow in 2024. Land type is good ranging from limestone to sandy soils.
One of the biggest improvements in farming over the last decades has been the introduction of more accurate weather forecasting apps, according to Limerick farmer Michael Hickey.
By having reliable weather data, Michael can make better decisions around grazing during the tricky times of year such as spring and autumn.
Michael is farming with his wife Anna and parents Jim and Betty at Caherconlish, near Limerick city.
This is very much a family farm with Michael’s son John also busy at silage on the day of the judges’ visit.
The Hickey farm is a well-established farming business milking 154 cows this year and keeping all progeny as either replacement heifers or beef cattle to stores.
The herd of Holstein Friesian cows are very high EBI, with an average of €267 according to the May evaluation. Last year, the cows delivered 492kg MS/cow from about 1t of meal per cow.
The farm has already made over 800 round bales of silage this year.
The Hickeys are farming a total of 141ha with just under 57ha in the milking platform giving a milking platform stocking rate of 2.7 cows/ha. Michael says they went to 170 cows in the past but have since come back a bit from that. Technical performance is very good, with the six-week calving rate at 88%. One of the biggest challenges on the farm over the last few weeks has been to keep on top of grass quality as growth rates have been very strong. The Hickeys aren’t complaining though, with Michael calling 2025 “a perfect year for farming”.
Michael is an active participant in the Kerry Dairy Ireland Evolve programme, using protected urea, participating in the ‘protecting our waters’ measure, using lime, high clover grass seed, dairy care, low protein feed, milk recording and a financial management course.
He is also a member of the Fedamore/Mulcair discussion group. He installed heat detection collars last January and in May of this year he installed solar panels on one of the shed roofs.
He also uses sexed semen on the maiden heifers and used 70 sexed straws on the cows.
The farm has recently completed the Farming for Water EIP assessment as part of the Hickeys’ drive to improve water quality.
The herd has a very high EBI of over €267.
Seven areas have been identified, with a new hedgerow proposed to intercept runoff, a new buffer zone near a stream, tree planting, fencing of an existing buffer zone, a new earthen bund around the farmyard to divert water away from the yard, water bars to divert run-off from roadways and managing a critical source area. When all measures are completed, the Hickeys will receive funding from the EIP of over €16,000.
To view the Hickey's farm, click here.
The Hickeys are milking 154 cows at Caherconlish in Co Limerick on a 57ha milking platform with 141ha in total.All beef calves are kept to 1.5 months of age and then sold for finishing. Technical performance is very good with a high EBI herd delivering 492kg MS/cow in 2024. Land type is good ranging from limestone to sandy soils. 
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