William O’Donovan graduated from Clonakilty Agricultural College in 1999 and in 2002 he started farming in a partnership with his father Dan Joe. This was only the third partnership established in the country at the time. The partnership allowed access to milk quota and allowed the new partnership grow from 70 to 122 cows. William is now married to Trish and they have three children Alice, James and Clare.
William has driven the evolution of the farm infrastructure since he came home farming full time
The O’Donovans farm in deep west Cork, not far from the village of Drinagh, which is 15km southwest of Skibbereen. Typical for this part of the country, there are big fields, small fields, up and down fields, but all grow lots of grass.
William has driven the evolution of the farm infrastructure since he came home farming full time. A relatively new cubicle and slurry store has been matched with a new 18-unit herringbone parlour with slatted collecting yard and covered handling unit. The new facility is well placed in the farmyard and creates an airy, bright parlour that is a very nice place to work in.
William firmly believes it wasn’t until he started measuring and managing grass that he started to see the real benefit of the genetics in his herd
William has a big interest in breeding and completed a DIY AI course in 2001. The herd is in the top 5% of herds in the country when ranked on EBI. William firmly believes it wasn’t until he started measuring and managing grass that he started to see the real benefit of the genetics in his herd. Herd EBI is €157 and production is good. The herd are delivering 490kg of milk solids per cow from about 1t of feed and grazed grass.
William has a gas-powered water heating system and is very happy with it
On washing the plant after milking, William is a big believer in rinsing the plant with lukewarm water. Similar to other finalists, William reckons it’s great to get a lot of the milk away before the detergent and it warms the plant so the detergent wash circulates at a higher temperature. William has a gas-powered water heating system and is very happy with it as it gives him hot water on demand.
Cow numbers 2019: 114Herd EBI: €161Total milk delivered (2019): 655,841Total milk solids (2019): 55,662Fat % average: 4.44%Protein % average: 3.80%Milking parlour: 18-unit herringboneWeighted TBC average (2019): 10Weighted SCC average (2019): 94Detergent used parlour: Arkaline 2CFDetergent used bulk tank: Deosan OsanProportion of herd using selective dry cow therapy (SDCT): 20%Nitrogen used (kg/ha): 240Proportion protected urea: 20%Measure grass : Yes
Read more
Stricter rules on dairy labelling welcomed
Young milking cows average €1,500 at Templemore Mart
William O’Donovan graduated from Clonakilty Agricultural College in 1999 and in 2002 he started farming in a partnership with his father Dan Joe. This was only the third partnership established in the country at the time. The partnership allowed access to milk quota and allowed the new partnership grow from 70 to 122 cows. William is now married to Trish and they have three children Alice, James and Clare.
William has driven the evolution of the farm infrastructure since he came home farming full time
The O’Donovans farm in deep west Cork, not far from the village of Drinagh, which is 15km southwest of Skibbereen. Typical for this part of the country, there are big fields, small fields, up and down fields, but all grow lots of grass.
William has driven the evolution of the farm infrastructure since he came home farming full time. A relatively new cubicle and slurry store has been matched with a new 18-unit herringbone parlour with slatted collecting yard and covered handling unit. The new facility is well placed in the farmyard and creates an airy, bright parlour that is a very nice place to work in.
William firmly believes it wasn’t until he started measuring and managing grass that he started to see the real benefit of the genetics in his herd
William has a big interest in breeding and completed a DIY AI course in 2001. The herd is in the top 5% of herds in the country when ranked on EBI. William firmly believes it wasn’t until he started measuring and managing grass that he started to see the real benefit of the genetics in his herd. Herd EBI is €157 and production is good. The herd are delivering 490kg of milk solids per cow from about 1t of feed and grazed grass.
William has a gas-powered water heating system and is very happy with it
On washing the plant after milking, William is a big believer in rinsing the plant with lukewarm water. Similar to other finalists, William reckons it’s great to get a lot of the milk away before the detergent and it warms the plant so the detergent wash circulates at a higher temperature. William has a gas-powered water heating system and is very happy with it as it gives him hot water on demand.
Cow numbers 2019: 114Herd EBI: €161Total milk delivered (2019): 655,841Total milk solids (2019): 55,662Fat % average: 4.44%Protein % average: 3.80%Milking parlour: 18-unit herringboneWeighted TBC average (2019): 10Weighted SCC average (2019): 94Detergent used parlour: Arkaline 2CFDetergent used bulk tank: Deosan OsanProportion of herd using selective dry cow therapy (SDCT): 20%Nitrogen used (kg/ha): 240Proportion protected urea: 20%Measure grass : Yes
Read more
Stricter rules on dairy labelling welcomed
Young milking cows average €1,500 at Templemore Mart
This is a subscriber-only article
SHARING OPTIONS: