Matthew farms 158 Ha in partnership with his parents Declan & Gladys and Uncle Gerry near Kells Co Meath. 15 ha of the land is rented. The milking platform is 70 Ha. They are milking an average of 300 cows in 2022. They have a winter milk contract & calve approx. 120 cows to fill this. The plan is to milk 300 cows & have a compact spring & autumn calving. Most of the farm needs to be reseeded. The soil fertility of the outside blocks is low. Matthew is measuring grass since 2019. They grow 16Ha of maize for the winter herd
Litres/Cow – 19.5
Fat % – 4.82
Protein % – 4.01
SCC – 155
Kg MS/Cow – 1.77
Meal Kg – 3.0
Average Farm Cover – 775
Cover/LU – 255
Stocking Rate on Milking Platform – 3.04
Pre Grazing Yield- 1450
Growth Rate – 47
Dermot is dairy farming at Kilberry, Navan, Co. Meath with his wife Catherine and 4 children Andrew, Laura, Matthew and Diurmuid. Dairying is his main enterprise, milking 250 cows. He has one full time hired labour unit with additional labour supplied by students in Spring. His son, who is in school, works 20 hours per week on the farm.
