Preparations are underway for a dairy farm walk, hosted by award-winning farmer, Shane O’Loughlin, near Oghill, Co. Kildare, later this month.
Set to take place on Tuesday, August 27, at 11:00am, the event is being organised by Bord Bia, Teagasc and Glanbia Ireland.
Host on the day, Shane, who won the top award for large dairy herd at Bord Bia’s Origin Green Farmer Awards last December, farms alongside his father Dermot, supplying Glanbia Ireland.
He is also an active member of the Glanbia representative structure, participating in the Donaghmore Monasterevin regional committee and the Glanbia Co-operative Council.
Shane currently milks a herd of over 240 cows across a 64ha grazing platform.
Speaking about the walk, Shane commented: “There are great opportunities and rewards in modern dairy farming but it is not without its challenges.
During the walk, I’ll demonstrate some of the measures I have taken on the farm to address issues such as water quality, and animal, time and grassland management.
“I’d welcome all farmers to attend as this is an ideal opportunity to discuss these issues with others farmers and hear directly from expert speakers from Teagasc, Bord Bia and Glanbia Ireland.”
Farmer Feedback
At the walk, Bord Bia will present on the new farmer feedback report that all quality-assured farmers are set to receive from September, following their audit.
The data gathered will be used to generate a feedback report which includes a summary of the farm’s environmental performance and advice on how to improve efficiencies.
Speaking about the report, Eleanor Murphy, data manager at Bord Bia, explained: “The new farmer feedback report will show how farm inputs and activities contribute to greenhouse gas emissions.
Using the data gathered during the audit, we can give advice and feedback to farmers on how to mitigate against these emissions and improve production efficiencies.
This is the second in a series of farm walks to be hosted by finalists of Bord Bia’s Origin Green Farmer Awards this year with a previous walk held on the farm of Trevor Crowley in Lissarda, Co. Cork.