The Crowley family, from Hornhill, Lissarda, Co Cork, decreased their carbon number from 1.26kg of carbon per kilogramme of milk solids produced in 2015 to 0.77kg in 2017. This was achieved through a combination of energy-saving investments, increased days at grass and better slurry utilisation.

Their farm enterprise is very much family orientated. Trevor farms with his wife Olive, son Gavin and daughters Alyson and Katelyn. “We don’t get too excited about things, we make everything as fun as possible, everybody helps out when they can and everybody gets on with it,” Trevor explained. This attitude has no doubt helped encourage their children to get involved in the farm and help out. They are milking 136 cows on a 72ha (180 acre) grazing platform. There are also 70 acres of land rented nearby where the store cattle and replacement heifers are carried. They are not overly pushing stocking rates which meant they were able to ride out the drought this year without having to buy in extra feed.

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Grass is an important part of the Crowleys’ farming system and they aim to reseed 6% of their farm annually. Grass seed mixtures with clover inclusion are used. Trevor likes to include clover in the seed mixes because of the nitrogen fixing ability of the legume. Once cows calve, they are out to grass as soon as possible. A good farm road network and paddock system on the farm makes this possible. To save labour during the busy spring period, Trevor installed an automatic gate latch system. He can give the cows a three- or four-hour break and time the latch to open so cows can come in themselves. The aim is to achieve a 300 days at grass every year.

Energy usage is also monitored closely on the farm. In the parlour to reduce energy usage a heat transfer unit was installed. This system transfers the heat generated from cooling down milk in the bulk tank to contribute towards heating the water in the hot water tank. Olive said they noticed a big drop in energy usage after this installation and a reduction in their electricity bill.

Nutrient management

The family availed of a TAMS II grant and bought a trailing shoe to spread slurry. After hearing some recommendations on reducing nutrient loss Trevor thought this would be a good option to take. “After three years’ experience with it, we are absolutely delighted. We are using approximately 30kg to 40kg less nitrogen per hectare this year over 2015 by using the trailing shoe,” Trevor explained. The other advantage he found with the trailing shoe is that it gives a greater window to apply slurry to grass. “You can graze grass three to four weeks after spreading slurry because the slurry is being targeted on the soil,” said Trevor. Slurry odours and ammonia loss are also reduced. An aeration system is used in the slurry storage tanks so that slurry is always ready to spread when an opportunity arises in the open period. Soil pH is monitored closely with regular soil tests and paddocks with low soil pH are targeted with lime applications. Trevor believes that having a balanced soil pH will unlock nutrients already in the soil and make them available for plant uptake. A balanced pH will also help to ensure persistency of perennial ryegrasses.

Biodiversity

One thing that really stood out for the judges on the tour of the Crowleys’ farm was the effort made to improve biodiversity. This is an area that was taken very seriously and must be commended. The Crowleys participated in the Rural Environmental Protection Scheme (REPS) in the past and are currently participating in the Green, Low Carbon Agri-environment Scheme (GLAS). “When some dairy farmers were knocking hedges and ditches my dad was keeping them in place, which augured very well with REPS down the line,” Trevor recollected. In GLAS, they have sown more hedge rows and have coppiced others to make sure they are in good order for the future. They have also fenced off waterways to prevent pollution from cows. Before there was any environmental scheme to take part in, Trevor’s father created a man-made pond and small island on the farm which is a haven for wildlife. “During a dry year in the 70s my father decided to bank up a spring to create a reservoir of water for the farm. It was a good idea as we always have water but it is also a nice amenity and a great asset for wildlife,” Trevor said.