I farm: “with my parents, Jack and Judith, and my brothers, Luke and Justin, on our dairy and beef farm. We milk 450 cows on over 800ac. It’s a busy operation, the family all work together.”
Breeding: “we do 100% AI. We use sexed semen for replacements on our best cows. For beef semen we use the ICBF dairy beef index to choose breeds like Angus, Aubrac, and Limousin. We have collars on the cows and use them pre-breeding to catch cows that are not cycling and get them scanned to see what the issue is before breeding starts.”
Calving: “up to last week we had about 270 cows calved. We keep most of calves born, so we could have up to 1,300 animals on the farm at once, cows, replacement heifers and beef stock. Calf management is huge for us, colostrum is number one, when a cow calves, we get her milked straight away, test the quality and get 4l into the calf, it gives them a good start to life.”
Production: “last year we did 540kg milk solids and 7,000l per cow, averaging at 4.6% butterfat 3.68% protein.”
The Milk Bar: “during COVID-19 in 2021, I had some extra time on my hands. In July, I graduated in Agriculture from Harper Adams University and set up my first vending machine in September, while I also started a full-time job as a sales rep. It was hard to manage the two roles, so I left my sales rep job last Halloween to fully focus on The Milk Bar. We now have a farm shop, milk vending machines, ice-cream and our supply of milk to coffee shops is growing and growing.”
International year of the woman farmer: “it was mind blowing to be selected as one of the final five for Ireland’s ambassador, for a wee woman in Donegal it was an amazing opportunity. It opens more doors and it’s great to get contacts from across the country.”
Quotable quote: “as women in agriculture we should take more opportunities and risks, there’s a place for us all.”
Shannon Porter, The Milk Bar, Newtowncunningham, Co Donegal. Photo: Clive Wasson
I farm: “with my parents, Jack and Judith, and my brothers, Luke and Justin, on our dairy and beef farm. We milk 450 cows on over 800ac. It’s a busy operation, the family all work together.”
Breeding: “we do 100% AI. We use sexed semen for replacements on our best cows. For beef semen we use the ICBF dairy beef index to choose breeds like Angus, Aubrac, and Limousin. We have collars on the cows and use them pre-breeding to catch cows that are not cycling and get them scanned to see what the issue is before breeding starts.”
Calving: “up to last week we had about 270 cows calved. We keep most of calves born, so we could have up to 1,300 animals on the farm at once, cows, replacement heifers and beef stock. Calf management is huge for us, colostrum is number one, when a cow calves, we get her milked straight away, test the quality and get 4l into the calf, it gives them a good start to life.”
Production: “last year we did 540kg milk solids and 7,000l per cow, averaging at 4.6% butterfat 3.68% protein.”
The Milk Bar: “during COVID-19 in 2021, I had some extra time on my hands. In July, I graduated in Agriculture from Harper Adams University and set up my first vending machine in September, while I also started a full-time job as a sales rep. It was hard to manage the two roles, so I left my sales rep job last Halloween to fully focus on The Milk Bar. We now have a farm shop, milk vending machines, ice-cream and our supply of milk to coffee shops is growing and growing.”
International year of the woman farmer: “it was mind blowing to be selected as one of the final five for Ireland’s ambassador, for a wee woman in Donegal it was an amazing opportunity. It opens more doors and it’s great to get contacts from across the country.”
Quotable quote: “as women in agriculture we should take more opportunities and risks, there’s a place for us all.”
Shannon Porter, The Milk Bar, Newtowncunningham, Co Donegal. Photo: Clive Wasson
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