The Mcloughlin family won the small/medium dairy herd category at the Origin Green Awards. Mairead McLoughlin and her husband Pat are new entrants to farming, not to mention dairying. They took over the management of the farm from Mairead’s father Michael Gleeson in 2014. Before they started their dairy farming venture the couple had their own company, specialising in CAD/CAM software. “My father asked us if we would like to take over the management of the farm because he wanted to retire and we accepted the invitation,” Mairead explained.

This was a very big move and the couple have to be commended for their bravery because neither had any long-term prior experience in farming. To make the transfer as smooth as possible, Mairead and Pat started farming alongside her father Michael from 2012 before the full transfer was completed in 2014. Mairead said the biggest change she found when they started farming was the relentless nature of the job. “You couldn’t turn off at five o’clock on a Friday evening,” she said.

However, the new lifestyle did not faze them. “We knew we had to do it so we just embraced it and carried on,” Mairead explained. They have settled in well with the routine now and are managing the farm exceptionally well. “We are milking 63 cows currently, supplying Lakeland, with plans of increasing this number to 66 on a compact 18ha grazing platform, with a further five hectares available to graze 400m up the road,” explained Pat. They also run dairy replacements and a small dairy to beef enterprise on a leased outblock.

During the judging process for the awards, one of the judges said: “If I was a cow I’d like to live there.” The farmyard had some small upgrades made to the original layout to increase slurry storage capacity but also to improve cow comfort. During the winter cows have the option of stepping outside to an unroofed feed area but there are also nice comfortable indoor cubicles for cows to lie in. The farmyard is kept immaculately clean and tidy throughout, which also contributes towards a nice working atmosphere.

The McLoughlins with their Lakeland dairy advisor.

Technology

The judges were very impressed by the way the Mcloughlins embraced technology. The couple were able to bring the experience from their software company to the farm. They investigated what was out there and found the most suitable farming technology for their situation to improve cow management.

“On our farm we have a principle that we measure everything that can be measured. We collect and use that data to identify problems and help make long- and short-term decisions,” said Pat. They use a Kingswood farm management package in conjunction with other online services. The other services include ICBF HerdPlus, MooMonitor heat detection and PastureBase.

“These services are particularly important around calving and breeding. We can look up useful data on our phones or oftentimes on the laptop when we are having a cup of tea in the morning,” Pat said. The MooMonitors are used mainly for breeding but the monitors can also pick up if a cow is running a temperature or if rumination is below average, according to Mairead. Approximately 85% of cows calve in the first six weeks and all cows are bred to AI. Another point the judges noted was that the Mcloughlins had a clear vision for breeding. The herd EBI is sitting at €87 but the couple are working hard to increase this figure. Every year they pick out the top performing bulls from the ICBF list and also take on board the advice from their AI technician. They hope over time with higher genetic merit replacements the amount of milk solids produced per cow will increase which should make for healthier profit margins.

Grassland management

Winters are generally short on the Mcloughlins’ farm as they try to maximise grass production. Cows are out grazing as soon as ground conditions allow after calving in February. Grass is measured weekly on the farm and grazing decisions are based on the results of the walk. “Our average grass grown on our grazing platform is 11,856kg DM/ha. The drought looks to have knocked up to 3,000kg DM/ha off compared to previous years,” said Pat. The soil is mainly deep clay which can become sticky during periods of prolonged rain. To avoid damaging paddocks they implement best practice – on/off grazing, sacrifice spur roads, back fencing etc.

This year some paddocks were identified as suffering from compaction. The plan is to aerate these paddocks to see if it helps alleviate the problem. A soil test was taken in January of this year which showed most of the farm was optimum for phosphorus and potassium.

With soil fertility data on each paddock they have a nutrient management plan in place to only target the paddocks most in need of inputs all the while ensuring fertility does not slide. A slurry inoculant was also used this year in an effort to reduce ammonia loss and increase nutrient uptake.