Joe Roche milks a herd of 115 cows at Ballinacarrig Farm, near Ballymoney in north Wexford. Joe started farming in 1994 on land that his great-grandmother first leased over a century ago.
He farms with the support of his wife Anne and their five children.
Joe milks year-round on his 69ha holding, supplying Strathroy Dairy Ltd, based in Omagh. Over recent years, he gradually adjusted his calving to target the winter milk bonus, available between November and February.
He has found that autumn calving offers several advantages: it’s easier to get cows in calf, easier to sell the newborn calves before the spring glut, and it allows him to enjoy any fine weather in late summer.
Like many dairy farmers, Joe is in derogation and is very nervous about the implications of its potential loss for the future viability of his farm enterprise.
He has pulled back from 130 cows while maintaining milk output, largely through improved breeding, but recognises that 115 cows or less may not be enough to sustain future livelihoods.
Yet he is understandably reluctant to change given the uncertainty, and the additional investment needed in land, labour, slurry storage and milking facilities.
He also recognises that his children would need a far better work-life balance than his generation: “We didn’t know what time off was,” he says.
As such, a move to reduce milking and move into drystock may be something to consider for the future.
A vegetated pond on Joe’s farm which acts as a silt and nutrient trap.
While in many ways Joe is your typical hardworking farmer, his farming journey took a slightly unusual turn when he signed up to participate in the Ballymoney Stream EIP, named after the watercourse which rises on Joe’s farm.
While Joe always had an appreciation of nature, engaging with groups from the ‘other side’ of the divide – perceived or otherwise – that has unfortunately developed between farming and environmental interests, was still a brave and progressive, move on his part.
Coastal stream catchment
The DAFM-funded EIP was designed by the Ballymoney Community Group to assess, improve and protect the biodiversity of their coastal stream catchment.
Actions undertaken by Joe included the creation of a large holding pond to capture any overspill from the farmyard, fields and public road – the pollutants are filtered out by the pond vegetation, planted under an EIP community ‘meitheal’.
In addition, small dams were created along field drains to ‘slow the flow’, thus preventing silt and nutrients from leaching into the stream and on to Ballymoney beach, a popular local bathing area. Joe also converted two fields to multi-species swards, reducing N input and improving soil health. These actions acted as great demonstration and discussion sites for visiting groups of researchers, community members and other farmers.
Supporting nature
But Ballinacarrig farm hosts not just
human visitors: EIP studies revealed the presence of seven bat species (two of them quite special, the Whiskered bat and Natterer’s bat), in support of which Joe has since installed several bat boxes.
The farm has a magnificent wooded ringfort and 3ha of rocky escarpment, both rich in wildlife and fairy folklore. Joe’s pastures are flanked by healthy hedgerows (he prefers light trimming to heavy flailing) and he plans to expand a nice 1ha area of wet woodland this winter with grant-aid.
Joe Roche on one of the wooded sections at Ballinacarrig farm in Co Wexford.
Joe isn’t in ACRES but does partake in Strathroy’s Sustainability Bonus scheme, which includes a commitment to join the new ‘Farming for Water’ EIP. He views this as an ideal opportunity to maintain and enhance the works undertaken under the previous EIP, which ended in 2022, as well as creating additional water-filtration features such as swales and willow
beds.
Joe is a modest man. His courage in stepping outside of his comfort zone and engaging with others was justly recognised by his recent ‘Farming for Nature Ambassador’ award, which he picked up at an awards ceremony in late October - the day before his son Frank won a county football medal!
It might surprise some that an intensive dairy farm can host such an array of wildlife and habitats and that a farmer like Joe can have a genuine interest in water quality and heritage.
That’s what makes farmers like Joe so important, walking the walk and bridging the divide between the business of farming and the growing imperative for improved environmental outcomes.
Even amid so much uncertainty, Joe remains positive about the future: “Challenge creates opportunity. Farmers have always shown their ability to embrace challenge and innovation and, as we enter a new era in agriculture, farmers can deliver a sustainable future while building on a successful past.” Joe himself is leading by example.
Learn More
The ‘Farming for Nature Handbook’ will be launched this November. The 256-page book was published with support from the DAFM, NPWS and the Lifes2Good.
Top tips
Be more aware of the amount of grey water coming from your farmyard: rather than allowing it eat into your slurry storage capacity, use natural solutions like sediment ponds and reedbeds to capture and clean it. www.farmingforwater.ie/ has lots of ideas and supports.
Name: Joe Roche.Farm type: dairy. Farm size: 69ha (18ha rented).Focus: securing a sustainable living on the farm.Schemes: none.
Joe Roche milks a herd of 115 cows at Ballinacarrig Farm, near Ballymoney in north Wexford. Joe started farming in 1994 on land that his great-grandmother first leased over a century ago.
He farms with the support of his wife Anne and their five children.
Joe milks year-round on his 69ha holding, supplying Strathroy Dairy Ltd, based in Omagh. Over recent years, he gradually adjusted his calving to target the winter milk bonus, available between November and February.
He has found that autumn calving offers several advantages: it’s easier to get cows in calf, easier to sell the newborn calves before the spring glut, and it allows him to enjoy any fine weather in late summer.
Like many dairy farmers, Joe is in derogation and is very nervous about the implications of its potential loss for the future viability of his farm enterprise.
He has pulled back from 130 cows while maintaining milk output, largely through improved breeding, but recognises that 115 cows or less may not be enough to sustain future livelihoods.
Yet he is understandably reluctant to change given the uncertainty, and the additional investment needed in land, labour, slurry storage and milking facilities.
He also recognises that his children would need a far better work-life balance than his generation: “We didn’t know what time off was,” he says.
As such, a move to reduce milking and move into drystock may be something to consider for the future.
A vegetated pond on Joe’s farm which acts as a silt and nutrient trap.
While in many ways Joe is your typical hardworking farmer, his farming journey took a slightly unusual turn when he signed up to participate in the Ballymoney Stream EIP, named after the watercourse which rises on Joe’s farm.
While Joe always had an appreciation of nature, engaging with groups from the ‘other side’ of the divide – perceived or otherwise – that has unfortunately developed between farming and environmental interests, was still a brave and progressive, move on his part.
Coastal stream catchment
The DAFM-funded EIP was designed by the Ballymoney Community Group to assess, improve and protect the biodiversity of their coastal stream catchment.
Actions undertaken by Joe included the creation of a large holding pond to capture any overspill from the farmyard, fields and public road – the pollutants are filtered out by the pond vegetation, planted under an EIP community ‘meitheal’.
In addition, small dams were created along field drains to ‘slow the flow’, thus preventing silt and nutrients from leaching into the stream and on to Ballymoney beach, a popular local bathing area. Joe also converted two fields to multi-species swards, reducing N input and improving soil health. These actions acted as great demonstration and discussion sites for visiting groups of researchers, community members and other farmers.
Supporting nature
But Ballinacarrig farm hosts not just
human visitors: EIP studies revealed the presence of seven bat species (two of them quite special, the Whiskered bat and Natterer’s bat), in support of which Joe has since installed several bat boxes.
The farm has a magnificent wooded ringfort and 3ha of rocky escarpment, both rich in wildlife and fairy folklore. Joe’s pastures are flanked by healthy hedgerows (he prefers light trimming to heavy flailing) and he plans to expand a nice 1ha area of wet woodland this winter with grant-aid.
Joe Roche on one of the wooded sections at Ballinacarrig farm in Co Wexford.
Joe isn’t in ACRES but does partake in Strathroy’s Sustainability Bonus scheme, which includes a commitment to join the new ‘Farming for Water’ EIP. He views this as an ideal opportunity to maintain and enhance the works undertaken under the previous EIP, which ended in 2022, as well as creating additional water-filtration features such as swales and willow
beds.
Joe is a modest man. His courage in stepping outside of his comfort zone and engaging with others was justly recognised by his recent ‘Farming for Nature Ambassador’ award, which he picked up at an awards ceremony in late October - the day before his son Frank won a county football medal!
It might surprise some that an intensive dairy farm can host such an array of wildlife and habitats and that a farmer like Joe can have a genuine interest in water quality and heritage.
That’s what makes farmers like Joe so important, walking the walk and bridging the divide between the business of farming and the growing imperative for improved environmental outcomes.
Even amid so much uncertainty, Joe remains positive about the future: “Challenge creates opportunity. Farmers have always shown their ability to embrace challenge and innovation and, as we enter a new era in agriculture, farmers can deliver a sustainable future while building on a successful past.” Joe himself is leading by example.
Learn More
The ‘Farming for Nature Handbook’ will be launched this November. The 256-page book was published with support from the DAFM, NPWS and the Lifes2Good.
Top tips
Be more aware of the amount of grey water coming from your farmyard: rather than allowing it eat into your slurry storage capacity, use natural solutions like sediment ponds and reedbeds to capture and clean it. www.farmingforwater.ie/ has lots of ideas and supports.
Name: Joe Roche.Farm type: dairy. Farm size: 69ha (18ha rented).Focus: securing a sustainable living on the farm.Schemes: none. 
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