Galway man Dara Killeen is the newly crowned Macra na Feirme/FBD Young Farmer of the Year 2020.
A new entrant to dairying in 2018, Dara has transformed the farm in partnership with his father from a sheep farm to a 150-cow focus farm for his co-op, Aurivo.
His first major commitment to the farm was a €12,000 loan from the credit union that he used to buy 100 hoggets. His return from that first investment repaid the loan and the rest was ploughed back into the farm, a strategy he advises for other young farmers.
“Prioritise what you put your money into, put it into something that’s going to make you money and not just depreciate,” he says. “I never bought a tractor or jeep or anything fancy. I spent every penny I had on livestock.”
Farm succession, with its many potential potholes and awkward silences, is an area that the Meelick man is keen to talk about during his tenure as the FBD Young Farmer of the Year.
“We have a special relationship with land and land ownership in this country,” he says.
The youngest of seven children, Dara was working off-farm in his brother’s electricity supply business when he and his parents Charlie and Mary attended a Teagasc farm succession clinic in Co Galway.
“We learned a lot about the tax benefits of doing the right things at the right time as a young trained farmer,” he says, explaining how the registered farm partnership became their route to transferring the farm and, ultimately, being able to talk to the bank about switching to dairy.
“That was vital to the success of our succession plan because it meant that Dad’s name was still on the paperwork, and that’s important for the older generation, not to be just cast aside. I would have brought the land into the partnership and Dad brought stock and labour.”
His parents’ involvement in the farm is still key, with Dara recalling a photo of himself and his mother Mary in the pit together, milking the very first cow to calve down on their farm.
His fiancée Beatrix Ogunjimi and daughter Isabella are central to his insistence on a good work-life balance.
“I’m not just Dara Killeen, dairy farmer, I’m also a father and hopefully next year, a husband, when we can get married,” he says. The couple’s 2020 wedding plans were scuppered by COVID-19.
Off-farm pursuits
GAA, travel and charity work are just some of Dara’s off-farm pursuits.
In fact, he donated his two €500 cash prizes in his category wins to Chernobyl Children Ireland and a direct provision charity.
“Between 2012 and 2017, we doubled our sheep numbers and carried an extra 50 cattle but, by the end of 2017, I found myself just working too hard - there was no reward in it.
“When we went dairying, I was told I’d be smothered in debt and be chained to the milking parlour but I had done a few months in New Zealand and they always made sure there was time for fun,” he says.
He subsequently set up the farm to allow him downtime. Milking takes two hours (cupping time) and almost all machinery work is contracted out, including silage and slurry spreading.
During his tenure as the Macra na Feirme/FBD Young Farmer of the Year, Dara hopes to help other young farmers weave their way through farm succession and development.
“It took time for me to figure out my story and if I can help others to do the same I’ll be more than happy.”
Farm profile
Dara Killeen is farming in partnership with his father and converted the farm from sheep to dairy in 2018. Here is a snapshot of their farm, which is a focus farm for Aurivo.
Farmed land: 300ac.Milking platform: 115ac, stocked at 3.4cows/ha.Herd: 153 high-EBI crossbred cows, 80 in-calf heifers, 110 weanling heifers.Production and breeding: 480kg milk solids/cow and 92% six-week calving rate in 2020.Designated land: 100ac, grazing limited in winter as part of GLAS geese and swan measure.
Galway man Dara Killeen is the newly crowned Macra na Feirme/FBD Young Farmer of the Year 2020.
A new entrant to dairying in 2018, Dara has transformed the farm in partnership with his father from a sheep farm to a 150-cow focus farm for his co-op, Aurivo.
His first major commitment to the farm was a €12,000 loan from the credit union that he used to buy 100 hoggets. His return from that first investment repaid the loan and the rest was ploughed back into the farm, a strategy he advises for other young farmers.
“Prioritise what you put your money into, put it into something that’s going to make you money and not just depreciate,” he says. “I never bought a tractor or jeep or anything fancy. I spent every penny I had on livestock.”
Farm succession, with its many potential potholes and awkward silences, is an area that the Meelick man is keen to talk about during his tenure as the FBD Young Farmer of the Year.
“We have a special relationship with land and land ownership in this country,” he says.
The youngest of seven children, Dara was working off-farm in his brother’s electricity supply business when he and his parents Charlie and Mary attended a Teagasc farm succession clinic in Co Galway.
“We learned a lot about the tax benefits of doing the right things at the right time as a young trained farmer,” he says, explaining how the registered farm partnership became their route to transferring the farm and, ultimately, being able to talk to the bank about switching to dairy.
“That was vital to the success of our succession plan because it meant that Dad’s name was still on the paperwork, and that’s important for the older generation, not to be just cast aside. I would have brought the land into the partnership and Dad brought stock and labour.”
His parents’ involvement in the farm is still key, with Dara recalling a photo of himself and his mother Mary in the pit together, milking the very first cow to calve down on their farm.
His fiancée Beatrix Ogunjimi and daughter Isabella are central to his insistence on a good work-life balance.
“I’m not just Dara Killeen, dairy farmer, I’m also a father and hopefully next year, a husband, when we can get married,” he says. The couple’s 2020 wedding plans were scuppered by COVID-19.
Off-farm pursuits
GAA, travel and charity work are just some of Dara’s off-farm pursuits.
In fact, he donated his two €500 cash prizes in his category wins to Chernobyl Children Ireland and a direct provision charity.
“Between 2012 and 2017, we doubled our sheep numbers and carried an extra 50 cattle but, by the end of 2017, I found myself just working too hard - there was no reward in it.
“When we went dairying, I was told I’d be smothered in debt and be chained to the milking parlour but I had done a few months in New Zealand and they always made sure there was time for fun,” he says.
He subsequently set up the farm to allow him downtime. Milking takes two hours (cupping time) and almost all machinery work is contracted out, including silage and slurry spreading.
During his tenure as the Macra na Feirme/FBD Young Farmer of the Year, Dara hopes to help other young farmers weave their way through farm succession and development.
“It took time for me to figure out my story and if I can help others to do the same I’ll be more than happy.”
Farm profile
Dara Killeen is farming in partnership with his father and converted the farm from sheep to dairy in 2018. Here is a snapshot of their farm, which is a focus farm for Aurivo.
Farmed land: 300ac.Milking platform: 115ac, stocked at 3.4cows/ha.Herd: 153 high-EBI crossbred cows, 80 in-calf heifers, 110 weanling heifers.Production and breeding: 480kg milk solids/cow and 92% six-week calving rate in 2020.Designated land: 100ac, grazing limited in winter as part of GLAS geese and swan measure. 
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