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Introduction

Introduction. We are farming near Cappoquin,Waterford 800 feet above sea level I am married to Amy and we have 1 child Invested € 116,500 on farm since I started in 1998, this doesn’t include a land loan which I am also funding from the farm.

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Introduction

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  1. Introduction • We are farming near Cappoquin,Waterford • 800 feet above sea level • I am married to Amy and we have 1 child • Invested €116,500 on farm since I started in 1998, this doesn’t include a land loan which I am also funding from the farm

  2. Expanded from 52 cows in 2007 to 92 cows in 2013. • Rainfall in 2012 was 1233mm • Why? To provide a more sustainable business.

  3. €116,500 Invested Excl. Land

  4. Dairy Milking Area(36.57Ha) 42ha if humps included Leased Farm(1) x ha (x miles) Humps and Hollows Farmyard

  5. 41.84ha available incl. humps& hollows Details of My Farm

  6. P Status K Status Soil Fertility Status - 2012 Average ph 5.73

  7. Stock Numbers & Stocking Rate

  8. Grass Production • Grew 9 T Dm /Ha in 2012 • Grew 11.5T Dm/Ha in 2011 • 7.6 Tonnes DM/ha(79%) utilised in 2012 • 700 Kgs Concentrate fed/cow

  9. Grass Growth Rates 2012 • Insert the graph

  10. Milk Solids Production(kgs Milk solids produced)

  11. Reseeding Roadways Good Fencing between paddocks & roadways Phased Development worked well Things we got right √

  12. No where for maiden/breeding heifers to go Things we got wrong Things we got wrong X

  13. 1.As you increase cow number- young stock numbers increase, pressure on yard facilities 2. Heifers really under stress this year = high SCC 3.As young stock increase so too does grass demand 4.Plan expenditure for the priority areas 5.Reaching targets a challenge i.e. heifer weights 6.More bulk buying e.g. meal for calves Lessons learned along the way

  14. 7. Feb and Mar -driest months of the year on my farm over 10 yr period 8. Not having enough milk produced in Feb & Mar means it will be Apr before there is a milk cheque 9. No Poaching 10.Walk and measure farm 1-2 times /wk 11. Close with adequate grass cover (700kg DM/ha) 12.Expanding means there is more demand on silage & grass Lessons learned along the way

  15. 13. Expanding means there is more demand on silage & grass 14.Choosing good EBI bulls will lead to a better cow for the system 15.Be flexible in a bad weather year 16.Measure your winter feed stocks early 17.Calf rearing = same time as it takes to milk = too long! 18.Need to be super organised with a 1 MAN OPERATION Lessons learned along the way

  16. In Summary • Phase 1 Getting the grass growing/drainage/roadways • Phase 2  Growing the herd • Phase 3 Now! Slurry Storage cubicles/milk tank

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