For over 30 years, John O’Connor has been pursuing excellent technical performance. Back in 1994, John took part in what was called the Protein Project with Kerry – designed to improve the level of protein in the milk.
As John describes it, the things he learned back then are as true now as they were 30 years ago; getting high quality grass into cows, extended grazing, breeding for protein and good animal health. Last year, the herd averaged 3.62% protein which is well above the Kerry average.
John is farming with his wife Rachel and four boys at Currans, near Castleisland in Co Kerry.
This is very much a family affair and everyone helps out when required.
The O’Connors are milking 100 cows and are farming a total of 150 acres across three divisions. The home farm is picture perfect in terms of paddock design, grass quality and facilities and of course, it’s south facing.
The herd of Holstein Friesian cows has an EBI of €243 and all cows have been genotyped and the farm participates in the GenoCells programme for milk recording.
Breeding start date is 6 May and John and Rachel delayed this by a few days this season as they felt the old calving date was just a little bit too early.
The O'Connor's are milking 100 Holstein Friesian cows.
The O’Connors use all AI for the first five weeks and then let off stock bulls for the last six or seven weeks of breeding.
There were 20 cows inseminated with beef AI during the first few weeks too. Heifers are given one round of AI before a stock bull is released with them also.
The bottom of the farm is next to the Maine river which is prone to flooding but in general, the farm is very dry and free draining allowing for early turnout.
The calving shed is bedded with rushes harvested from wet land.
John makes all his own bale silage using his own machinery but feels that he will shortly have to start buffer feeding the dairy herd with silage as growth rates have slowed in the dry weather.
There were eight acres, or 16% of the milking platform, reseeded in early May and on the day of the judges’ visit, these fields had just received their clover-safe post emergence spray.
The O’Connors are active participants in the Kerry Evolve sustainability programme and have recently planted trees and hedgerows around the farmyard and have also decided to install solar panels on the shed roof.
In short
John and Rachel O’Connor farm with their four sons at Currans, Castleisland, Co Kerry.The O’Connors are milking 100 cows on a 50-acre milking platform with 150 acres in the farm in total. The farm is dry and free draining and a big emphasis is placed on letting cows achieve high intakes of grazed grass. The herd has an EBI of €243 and is fully genotyped. To view the farm, click here.
For over 30 years, John O’Connor has been pursuing excellent technical performance. Back in 1994, John took part in what was called the Protein Project with Kerry – designed to improve the level of protein in the milk.
As John describes it, the things he learned back then are as true now as they were 30 years ago; getting high quality grass into cows, extended grazing, breeding for protein and good animal health. Last year, the herd averaged 3.62% protein which is well above the Kerry average.
John is farming with his wife Rachel and four boys at Currans, near Castleisland in Co Kerry.
This is very much a family affair and everyone helps out when required.
The O’Connors are milking 100 cows and are farming a total of 150 acres across three divisions. The home farm is picture perfect in terms of paddock design, grass quality and facilities and of course, it’s south facing.
The herd of Holstein Friesian cows has an EBI of €243 and all cows have been genotyped and the farm participates in the GenoCells programme for milk recording.
Breeding start date is 6 May and John and Rachel delayed this by a few days this season as they felt the old calving date was just a little bit too early.
The O'Connor's are milking 100 Holstein Friesian cows.
The O’Connors use all AI for the first five weeks and then let off stock bulls for the last six or seven weeks of breeding.
There were 20 cows inseminated with beef AI during the first few weeks too. Heifers are given one round of AI before a stock bull is released with them also.
The bottom of the farm is next to the Maine river which is prone to flooding but in general, the farm is very dry and free draining allowing for early turnout.
The calving shed is bedded with rushes harvested from wet land.
John makes all his own bale silage using his own machinery but feels that he will shortly have to start buffer feeding the dairy herd with silage as growth rates have slowed in the dry weather.
There were eight acres, or 16% of the milking platform, reseeded in early May and on the day of the judges’ visit, these fields had just received their clover-safe post emergence spray.
The O’Connors are active participants in the Kerry Evolve sustainability programme and have recently planted trees and hedgerows around the farmyard and have also decided to install solar panels on the shed roof.
In short
John and Rachel O’Connor farm with their four sons at Currans, Castleisland, Co Kerry.The O’Connors are milking 100 cows on a 50-acre milking platform with 150 acres in the farm in total. The farm is dry and free draining and a big emphasis is placed on letting cows achieve high intakes of grazed grass. The herd has an EBI of €243 and is fully genotyped. To view the farm, click here.
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