The expansion of the Irish dairy industry over the last few years has largely come about from picking the low-hanging fruit. That is, increasing stocking rate on existing dairy farms, replacing beef and youngstock with milking cows and, in some cases, taking on leased land adjoining the milking platform.

But looking ahead, where is the growth in dairy output going to come from? Is it just going to come from converting beef and tillage farms into dairy farms? Or is there more low-hanging fruit to be picked?

The first seven farmers profiled in the 2018 Irish Dairy Farmer annual were the original seven members of the Heavy Soils Programme (HSP). Reading through their stories, two things immediately stand out – the level of increase in grass growth and milk solids output from the farm.

One thing feeds into the other, literally.

The farmers started to grow more grass, so they increased cow numbers, which in turn has led to an increase in output. Stocking rate increased, but it did so because the amount of feed being grown on their farms increased, so the logical thing to do was to let cows graze it and make more profit.

The catalyst for the extra grass growth, which enabled the increase in output, is not just down to one thing. The initial focus of the HSP was on drainage, but the Teagasc experts will readily agree that this was a mistake. Drainage in isolation will not improve performance; soil fertility must be corrected also.

There are golf courses built on bogs all over Ireland

At a practical level, drainage is the easy part of it. Correcting soil fertility is much harder. As Pat Tuohy from Teagasc often says, every field in the world can be drained, it is just a matter of how much money you want to spend on it. Hence there are golf courses built on bogs all over Ireland.

Another big lesson has been the value of the test pit. There are still hundreds of acres being drained in Ireland every year using the one-size-fits-all approach. In many cases it is the digger driver that is to blame as this is what he was told to do 20 years ago and he hasn’t changed since.

As the farmer who has to (a) work the land after the digger leaves and (b) write the cheque for the digger hire, it is up to you to install the drainage system that is best suited to your farm. Test pits are necessary. Dig a few in various spots and go down a few metres. Field drains should be placed where the soil is permeable, ie where the water starts to flow. Decide the depth of the drain based on this, and hope that the outfall is deeper. If it’s not, it will have to be deepened.

Every field in the world can be drained, it is just a matter of how much money you want to spend on it.

Some of the statistics are staggering. Take the work done on John Leahy’s farm at Athea in Co Limerick. Before drainage, the field was a field of rushes, growing around 1t/ha per year and grazed only once or twice in a year. John said he never spread fertiliser in it as he felt there was no point. This year, four years after being drained, it will grow 8t/ha.

The difference in output between before and after is 7t/ha. If we value this at €160/t, then the length of payback on the investment is 6.4 years. Considering John did a top job on this field, with collector drains and gravel mole ploughs, there is no reason why the drainage system won’t still be functioning in 20 or 30 years’ time.

The investment will be paid back within four and eight years. This is a return on capital of between 12.5% and 25%. Where else would you get a pretty much guaranteed return like it?

Further west in Clare, Danny Bermingham is continuing to drain and mould his farm, achieving continual increases in grass growth and milk solids output. Naked mole drains were used in his trial field and Danny reckons it is coming near time that the field will have to be mole drained again, four years after installation. He thinks this because the field is beginning to hold on to water. Mole ploughing again isn’t a big deal – all he needs is the weather, the mole plough and a few hours to do it.

Each of the farmers has spent between €2,000 and €3,000 per acre on drainage. Based on the increased in grass growth since, the investment will be paid back within four and eight years. This is a return on capital of between 12.5% and 25%. Where else would you get a pretty much guaranteed return like it?

Some farmers will baulk at the costs, but it is the return that they should be looking at. Going back to the original point, drainage and soil fertility are the low-hanging fruit that dairy farmers need to grab next.

Improving drainage and soil fertility should be a priority for farmers well before they consider taking on more land or looking at a second unit.

And this opportunity is not just confined to farmers on heavy land. There are fields and parts of fields on every farm that are underperforming because of poor drainage and/or poor soil fertility. Improving these areas should be a priority for farmers well before they consider taking on more land or looking at a second unit.

The HSP farmers featured in the Irish Dairy Farmer give an insight into the journey they have been on, their challenges and experiences, and the lessons from it all. They are still on a journey and they still have all the challenges of weather, but now they have the peace of mind that they can not only manage but flourish, despite their geographical challenges.

In turn, they are beacons of hope for others and prove that a good living from dairy farming is not just possible on free-draining land. It is possible on heavy land too, once management is tweaked and technical ability is honed.

  • This article appeared in the Irish Dairy Farmer 2018 annual. The 2019 annual will be out in November.
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