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Liam Houlihan farms on the outskirts of Ballyduff, not far from the sea in north Kerry. With 31ha in the milking block, the farm is highly stocked, with 130 cows giving a stocking rate of 4.2 cows/ha.
This is a high-EBI pedigree Holstein Friesian herd with an average EBI of €160 and has bred some bulls in AI stud, including the widely-used bull SEW.
They produced 484kg MS/cow from 1.2t of meal per cow.
The farm is split by a busy road, so the cows graze on the yard side at night and across the road during the day.
Liam is helped out on the farm by his father and children, but he also relies on various relief milkers to help out when necessary.
All silage is produced from outside land, although 50 round bales of silage were made from the milking block this year. There are 32 in-calf heifers and 40 calves on the farm also.
Slurry is spread by contractors using low-emission applicators.
Liam uses a combination of protected urea and CAN plus sulphur when it comes to nitrogen use.
At the moment, he is spreading 27 units/ac of CAN + S. The farm is soil-sampled every three years and slurry and compounds are targeted at the fields that need it the most.
There was 145t of lime spread on the farm recently, on the fields that are low in pH.
The target pre-grazing yield is 1,500kg/ha.
The herd is milk recorded 10 times per year and Liam is part of the Kerry herd health programme.
The animals are vaccinated against leptospirosis, IBR, blackleg and salmonella.
Cows get eight weeks dry, while first-lactation cows get 10 weeks dry. The Hereford bull will be taken out of the cows in August.
Shed
A new machinery and straw storage shed was constructed last year, which can also double up as a calf shed if needs be.
The farmyard and milking parlour is maintained to a very high standard and hygiene is something that Liam really impresses upon relief milkers. This is reflected in the excellent SCC and TBC results coming from the farm.
Hot water is provided through a gas heater to ensure there is sufficient water available for regular hot washing, as Liam is using chlorine-free washing programme.
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