Dermot and Adam Phibbs are milking 130 cows in Blessington, Co. Wicklow, with a strong focus on infrastructure.

The Phibbs are liquid milk suppliers for Tirlán, with the herd currently split 60/40 between spring and autumn calving.

Currently the herd is producing 30L milk/day at 3.9% fat and 3.6% protein off 4kg worth of 14% crude protein dairy nuts.

In 2025, the herd pumped out 650kg of milk solids (MS) while maintaining an average weight of 650kg.

The father and son partnership are also rearing all their own cattle, meaning there can be up to 500-head of stock on the 400ac platform each year.

The milking herd is primarily Friesian alongside a handful of purebred Fleckviehs and Montbeliardes.

However, they breed all heifers off an Angus bull, while a red Friesian and a Limousin bull clean up within the milking herd following sexed semen, which is used on 50% of the herd.

The beef stock is then fattened on farm and sold to Kepak Clonee.

There are 38 replacement heifers fit to enter the parlour within the next nine months, with the Phibbs aiming to get the milking herd back up to the 150 mark after losing 28 milkers to TB.

Infrastructure

While the Phibbs were happy with their herd, they felt their yard was quickly becoming outdated, between handling facilities, housing, and the milking parlour.

Therefore they decided to heavily invest in the farm's infrastructure, breaking ground in the back end of last year and fitting a new eight-bay shed.

To the right of the shed, an 18-unit Swiftflo Swing Parlour from DairyMaster was fitted by Allen Dairy Services.

The Phibbs installed an array of trimmings, from auto wash and automatic cluster removers (ACRs), to Cluster Flush and front end air gates.

Adam said the new parlour has been "life changing", with milking time slashed down to an hour from well over two in the old one.

The new parlour is also a lot more comfortable to work in, with light-weight clusters installed and 2in mats lining the pit.

Dermot said the cluster flush system was his main desire, especially as the farm aims to keep somatic cell counts under the 100,000 cells/ml mark.

They also installed a dump-line, describing it as a 'must have' in any parlour.

Meanwhile, Adam stated that he would not go back to a parlour without ACRs, both for his and the cows' sake.

The duo noted how the 4x0 vacuum stops any cluster slippage, meaning heifers are getting milked out comfortably, an important factor for a year-round calving system.

They also installed a 12,750L SwiftCool milk tank to hold the milk.

Three phase electric was brought into the farm to run the parlour, with the possibility of solar panels in the future.

They also set up a rainwater harvesting system from the sheds gutters, stating that if it only rains once a week they will have enough water to wash out the machine for the rest of the week.

To the left of the new shed, the Phibbs invested in handling facilities, with a new Dairymaster drafting gate installed alongside a foot bath and a roll crate for hoof pairing.

The Phibbs said the drafting gate is not yet fully set up as they have to switch out standard ear tags for electronic tags.

A slurry channel was fitted the length of the run from the gate back to a new slurry tank at the rear side of the shed to ensure cows are not walking in dirty conditions.

Between that, the foot bath, and the hoof pairing, lameness rates have dropped significantly.

Lameness could often be an issue on farm, especially when considering cows have to walk a mile and a half up hill to the furthest paddock.

The walk includes crossing the main Blessington to Dublin road, which is why the Phibbs also invested in a zero grazer at the back end of last year.

The Phibbs are not yet done with upgrading their infrastructure yet, as they are currently in the process of constructing a new 26ft feed passage, which requires beams and tractor slats at the end of an old tank.

Once constructed, zero grazing will become an easier process, keeping the cows in when traffic is too heavy.

Although neither Adam or Dermot like the idea of cows being housed full-time.

To the side of the new handling facilities, the Phibbs also installed additional calving facilities, with the close proximity to the parlour essential for early calf health.

Earlier in the year they fitted additional cubicles too, with the cows having an option of indoor and outdoor bedding.