The physical and technical performance of a leased farm – The story of Kieran Kennedy, and Imelda and Tom Walsh
Summary
- Sourcing high quality stock is a fundamental pillar. Kieran has prioritised EBI, disease history, SCC and buying from as few farms as possible when putting his herd together.
- Focus on grass utilisation is crucial, Kieran did 30 grass walks in 2025 with the farm growing 12.7 Tonnes of DM/ha. He has 19 walks done to date in 2026.
- In a leased farm, it is critical to manage costs tightly due to the increased expense of leasing a farm and ensuring adequate cash reserves to manage through the spring period.
- Kieran’s case study shows the benefits of prudent financial management, where both Kieran and Imelda and Tom Walsh have good incomes from the farm. It also highlights the opportunity for the wider dairy industry to strengthen financial and cost management skills to improve profitability.
This is Kieran Kennedy’s fourth year in this lease arrangement with the Walsh family, beginning in 2023. Kieran came from a relatively small dairy farm, and in 2023, it became clear that there would not be an adequate income for him to become involved in the business full-time. At this time, Kieran’s brother Shane had taken over the running of the home farm, with a jointly owned block of 16 ha plus additional leased land.
This meant that Kieran considered his options and was subsequently put in contact with the Walsh family, who were operating a well-maintained dairy farm, but were finding it difficult to identify someone to take over the farm. They knew it could continue in dairying but just needed the right candidate. Key to their approach to finding a suitable candidate was their openness to work with a younger farmer and their wish to be able to keep an interest in the farm. This is highlighted in the case here, as Tom Walsh carries out a lot of the tractor work on the farm. Kieran is in control of the running of the farm but employs Tom to carry out some tasks as appropriate, and both Tom and Imelda Walsh act as a key support network when planning any development on the farm.
In 2026, the Kennedy brothers were then approached by Mike Slattery, another dairy farmer adjoining the farm of the Walsh’s, Mike had observed the work Kieran had put into the Walsh’s farm and how well the farm had been performing. He offered the Kennedy’s the opportunity to enter a collaborative farming agreement with him. Again, the farm was very attractive to Kieran and Shane, given its location, the infrastructure on the farm and Mike’s interest in working on the farm with Kieran in a stepped back approach. During this time Shane continued to farm on their home farm, as scale increased with the addition of Slattery’s farm, Kieran and Shane decided to enter a partnership with all three farms.
Kieran Kennedy
Tom and Imelda Walsh
Kieran establishing his herd
Kieran purchased 160 cows from 3 farms in 2023, consisting of 120 in calf heifers and 40 in calf cows. The main criteria for purchase were high fat and protein percentages, and high EBI (high fertility sub index) stock. A specific focus was placed on minimising disease risk and optimising biosecurity. As Kieran and Shane entered the share farming agreement with Mike, Kieran & Shane took the step to purchase Mike’s herd of 150 cows and 35 breeding heifers. This herd is run independently of the Walsh’s farm with separate herd numbers.
Development of the farm
After the lease was signed with the Walsh’s, the first key action was to soil sample the farm and create a nutrient management plan, this resulted in 330 tonnes of lime being spread in the first 3 years of this lease. In the first year alone 38% of the grazing platform was reseeded, with 80% reseeded by the end of year 3. P and K on the farm also required significant investment with compound fertiliser spread according to nutrient management plan to improve soil fertility (Figure 1). A new water supply was also required on the farm and was installed in 2024 with 1,500 metres of water piping put in place and new water troughs where required. A further 10 ha of land was also leased in 2024. Following this, in 2025 an additional 4,500 metres of water piping was installed and 600 metres of farm roadway. In 2025, the decision was made by the Kennedy’s, in consultation with the Walsh’s, to construct a new milking parlour on the farm. Up to this point, 186 cows were being milked in a 7 unit double up milking parlour, which was unsustainable. A new 24-unit milking parlour (with space for 30 units) was constructed in 2025 along with additional slurry storage and feed space. In 2026, Kieran and Shane entered a registered farm partnership, amalgamating two herd numbers with 300 cows across both farms. In addition, Slattery’s farm is in a share farming arrangement in 2026 between the Kennedy’s and Slattery’s, with 160 milking cows at present.
Figure 1. Soil fertility status for Kieran Kennedy’s Farm
Farm performance
The current EBI of the herd is excellent at €157, placing the herd in the top 20% of herds in the country, and in the top 5% for Milk sub-Index. A full breakdown of the herd’s EBI is presented in the table below.
Summary of the herd EBI for Keiran Kennedy
| Animal Group | Num of Cows | Milk Fat Prot | Kg % % | Surv% CI Days | Milk | Fertility | Carbon | Calv | Beef | Maint | Mgmt | Health | EBI € |
| Cows with EBI Missing EBI* Total Cows | 297 0 297 | -171 6.9 1.6 | 0.25 0.13 | 1.2 -3.2 | € 45 | € 58 | €21 | € 23 | € -56 | € 54 | €1 | € 12 | € 157 |
| 1st Lactation | 62 | -190 8.8 2.0 | 0.29 0.15 | 1.2 -3.1 | € 54 | € 57 | € 20 | € 23 | €-55 | € 49 | €-1 | €9 | € 154 |
| 2nd Lactation | 52 | -221 | € 51 | € 53 | € 22 | € 23 | € -64 | € 58 | € 0 | € 11 | |||
| 8.0 1.4 | 0.30 0.16 | 1.2 -2.9 | € 154 | ||||||||||
| 3rd Lactation | 55 | -174 6.9 1.4 | 0.25 0.13 | 1.1 -3.1 | € 44 | €55 | €22 | € 23 | €-59 | € 56 | € 1 | € 13 | € 155 |
| 4th Lactation | 83 | -163 5.9 1.6 | 0.22 0.13 | 1.3 -3.3 | € 41 | €61 | € 23 | € 24 | €-58 | € 57 | €1 | € 12 | € 161 |
| 5th Lactation (+) | 45 | -94 4.8 1.8 | 0.15 0.09 | 1.4 -3.4 | € 33 | € 63 | € 19 | € 20 | €-39 | € 48 | €2 | € 13 | € 159 |
In 2024, Kieran and Shane decided to contract rear all heifer calves with a single contract rearer in Limerick, which allows the Kennedy’s to increase the stocking rate on the grazing platforms and place all their focus on the dairy cows. The heifer calves leave the farm at 42 days and return before housing at 20-22 months. Kieran and Shane are currently rearing heifers at a 30% potential replacement rate per year through the contract rearer to allow for herd improvements.
Breeding started on the 3rd of May this year, with 9 weeks of AI, followed by 3 weeks of bulls with both herds, tail paint is the current tool used during the breeding season, but heat detection collars is something the Kennedy’s are looking into for the future. In 2025, there were 93% of cows in calf following 12 weeks of breeding. Heifers were bred using a fixed time AI programme with sexed semen, and an Angus bull for any repeats.
Summary of fertility and calving data for Kieran Kennedy’s Farm in 2025
| Measure | Column 1 | Column 2 | Column 3 | Column 4 | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Calving Interval (days) — Average number of days between successive calvings for cows calved during the period | 369 | 381 | 363 | 68% | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
| Spring 6 Week Calving Rate — Number of cows/heifers calved within the first 6 weeks (159) as a proportion of all cows calved during the Spring (188) | 85% | 73% | 91% | 75% | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
| % with known Sire and Calving Survey recorded — Calves where sire (188) and calving survey (124) are recorded as a proportion of all births during the period (194) | 80% | 72% | 100% | 38% | ⭐⭐ |
| % AI bred replacements — Calves born in the period from dairy AI (11) as a proportion of dairy females born (11) | 100% | 65% | 100% | 100% | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
| % of Heifers Calved at 22 & 26 months — No. of heifers calved (45) that were between 22 & 26 months of age (43) | 96% | 78% | 100% | 64% | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
Total milk solids sold for 2025 were 467 kgs Ms/Cow at 5.07% Fat and 4.12% protein at a price of 61.1 cent per litre (Figure 4). SCC averaged 112,000 for the year. The Walsh’s farm consists of 67ha, together with an additional 10ha leased giving a grazing platform of 77ha with a stocking rate of 2.53 LU/ha, an additional 10ha is leased away from the grazing platform. In 2025, the platform grew 12.7 tonne of DM/ha with 234 Kgs of N/ ha applied (Figure 5). This milk solids output was produced with 850 kg of ration per cow.
ICBF performance scorecard for Kieran Kennedy’s Farm in 2025
| Measure | Your Herd | Average | Top 10% | Your Rank out of 100 | Star Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fat + Protein (Kg/cow) | 467 | 454 | 558 | 50% | ⭐⭐⭐ |
| Litres per Cow per Day | 13.51 | 15.1 | 18.4 | 25% | ⭐⭐ |
| Fat % to end December 2025 | 5.07 | 4.35 | 4.63 | 99% | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
| Protein % to end December 2025 | 4.12 | 3.66 | 3.81 | 100% | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
| Average Milk Price (c) incl. VAT | 61.1 | 53 | 56 | 99% | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
| SCC (’000 cells/ml) | 112 | 191 | 99 | 84% | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
Cows went to grass as soon as they calved in 2026 and the first round was finished on the 10th April, despite a challenging spring. As of the end of July, 6.9 tonnes of DM/ha have been grown in 2026. The grassland performance in 2025 is presented in Figure 5.
Figure 5. Cumulative grass yield per paddock for the Kieran Kennedy’s Farm in 2025 (PastureBase)
Share Farming: Slattery’s farm
The Kennedy’s were approached by Mike Slattery to see if they were interested in a collaborative arrangement in late 2025. Mike and Bridy Slattery had been running a well-maintained dairy farm adjoining the Walsh’s farm. The Slattery’s did not have anyone who was interested in taking over the dairy farm and so approached the Kennedy’s. Some key features that made this farm attractive to the Kennedy’s, were firstly Mike was very easy to work with and very approachable, a large land block and excellent facilities including a 20-unit milking parlour, adequate slurry storage and a newly built calf shed. The Slattery’s also had a good herd of cows, allowing Kieran and Shane to begin milking on the farm in spring 2026.
Conclusion
It has been a great start for Kieran in his dairy career, together with his brother Shane. It is very important for any aspiring dairy farmer to work with and learn from a solid dairy farmer mentor for a number of years before taking on such a venture. For Kieran, this was invaluable, it allowed Kieran to tackle the challenges with confidence. Additionally, the value of open communication and workability with both Tom and Imelda Walsh, and Mike and Bridy Slattery’s cannot be overstated; both in terms of input on day-to-day tasks as appropriate and larger development tasks. Key to any success story like that of Kieran is the ability to communicate and collaborate with the right people. Creating a partnership between Kieran and Shane also allowed for the risk and reward to be shared, while the scale involved means there is a good standard of living for both brothers.
Buying the right high EBI stock is paramount to ensure a positive outcome, as well as managing costs and optimising grass utilisation which are fundamental building blocks for a successful venture. The milk price for 2025 was a significant help, Keiran’s milk price was 8 cent above the Co-op average price in 2025. 2025 has proven to be a very strong financial year for the Kennedy’s, however his low-cost structure is key to ensuring the farm is viable in years like 2026.
The above first appeared in Securing the Future of Irish Farms: Approaches for Generation Renewal (PDF), produced as part of Teagasc Generational Renewal Week 2026.