27 October 2022

Herd Efficiency on Steven Fitzgerald’s Farm

A Teagasc Tirlán Signpost Farm Walk, as part of Signpost Sustainability Week, took place on the farm of Steven Fitzgerald, in Co. Waterford on Thursday 20th October 2022.

“The cows are the most important thing we have on the farm”. For the last 5-10 years they have been trying to breed the most efficient cow by focussing on EBI and the size of the cow they have, more solids for a smaller cow.  The EBI of the herd is €196 right now, with strong fertility with just 6% empty this year (after 9 weeks of breeding) and targeting keeping under 10% every year. Steven has 94% calving in 6 weeks every year which allows the farm to bring through high milk solids with 522kg / cow delivered last year. 

Steven is implementing a lot of actions to reduce his carbon emissions but all of the practices that he is adopting are positive from a profitability perspective. “ We see no negative effect on profitability from implementing the measures to reduce emissions.  In fact, its helping the farm as it allows us to focus on the small details that make a difference. We cant see any reason why everyone wouldn’t implement the changes.”

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