Eamon Power is a dairy farmer in Templetown, Co. Wexford, operating a 360-cow farm with his sons, Martin and Brian.
Their operation is spring-calving, with year-round milking carried out on-farm.
“We farm land on both sides of the Hook Peninsula. Our address is Templetown. It’s in Fethard-on-Sea,” explained Eamon.
“We’re milking 360 cows; predominantly Holstein with a bit of British Friesian and a bit of Jersey as well. We are spring calving, but milk through all year round.
“I farm in partnership with my sons Martin and Brian, who are both company directors. We have 114 hectares in the milking platform. Obviously we have land outside that we take in silage and finish cattle.”
Eamon admits that the herd is relatively young, despite achieving very high performance targets in terms of milk solids.
“Last year our milk solids reached 519kg, which we consider pretty good considering the fact that we have a young herd. We have been growing the herd over the last number of years. At the moment, our butterfat is at 4.18% and 3.63% protein.”
Grassland management is key
The Powers place a major focus on grassland management and quality and have a robust plan in place when it comes to maximising this lucrative commodity.
“Maximising grass growth and quality is key in ensuring that we continue to produce quality milk and to support our growing herd. We measure grass on a weekly basis so we know exactly what we have and can budget accordingly.
“Grass is the most precious commodity that we have at our disposal, so we put proper plans in place to limit waste, ensure that each paddock is properly grazed and that utilisation is maximised.
“I’m particularly keen on getting the best out of our cows in the month of September, because if you do, you get into October with a reasonable amount of milk as well,” Eamon explained.
By maximising grass growth and efficiencies on the farm, Eamon is able to extend his grazing season and shorten the length of time he needs to house his herd.
“We will try and keep the cows out as long as ever we can, even if it’s only by day, certainly well into November. We have monitors in the dairy and we can see on a daily basis what every cow is doing, which is a big help.
“The cows that are still milking, we try and keep them out as long as we can to cut down on the slurry and to cut down on all the emissions that are attached to it.”
The importance of nutrition
Eamon has been feeding his cows GAIN Autumn Extender for a number of years and feels that this has been one of the biggest reasons for improving his herd performance and allowing him to extend his grazing season.
“I’ve been giving the cows GAIN Autumn Extender for a long time now. It really helps us to extend the last rotation, meaning I can leave the cows out on grass for much longer.
“It contains an ingredient called Agolin, which maximises feed efficiency. I’m not very scientifically minded now, but I understand that that does improve the utilization of the protein and the energy in the rumen.
“It allows the cows to maximise the amount of grass they are consuming and improves their body condition, there’s no question about it.”
GAIN Autumn Extender is a 16% protein nut that is suitable for cows at grass. It is derived from digestible fibre and contains a balanced level of starch to maximise rumen fermentation.
GAIN Autumn Extender 16 Nut has Bioplex protected organic minerals, Selplex protected Selenium and Agolin included.
Bioplex protected minerals improve mineral availability, body storage and usage and have a benefit of €50/cow/year. Bioplex protected minerals decrease lameness by 24% alongside helping to improve locomotive score and helping to reduce somatic cell count by 22%.
Selplex protected selenium is also included, which helps to improve cell counts (SCC), mastitis and fertility.
The inclusion of Agolin increases milk yield, milk protein yield and diet efficiency. Agolin increases milk yield by 1L/cow/day and milk protein percentage by 0.1% cow/day.
It also reduces feed energy loss by reducing methane greenhouse gas emissions. Agolin is a key feed micro ingredient which will help reduce the carbon footprint, while helping to sustain the environment. Agolin is Carbon Trust approved.
GAIN Autumn Extender Nut contains the full spectrum of essential elements to support milk production.
Farm support
Aodhan Brennan is Eamon’s GAIN Business Manager. Eamon believes that the service that the team offer is a vitally important resource.
“We have been very fortunate to be working with Aodhan for the past number of years. We talk to Aodhan on a regular basis. We find the backup from Aodhan and the team in my local branch in Campile very good,” Eamon said.
“With two younger farmers here and with the number of animals that we have, it’s an absolute must that we have access to Aodhan because otherwise we would run into trouble and problems.
“It’s very important that we do have that backup. And as I say, we find the backup in Glanbia all around second to none. I certainly have no complaints about it. Aodhan is certainly on top of things and understands where we are and where we’re coming from and hopefully where we’re going.”
In terms of future plans for the farm, Eamon has big plans.
“We’ve taken on another 40 hectares that’s not too far from the farm. We might consider increasing the numbers. We might consider zero grazing. We are also considering improving some of the milking facilities.”
The GAIN Momentum programme
Our new GAIN Momentum Programme was developed to add tangible value, increase efficiency, environmental performance and profitability on farm. This is a results driven integrated programme comprised of four main categories; Great Grass, Herd Nutrition, Herd Health and Milk Solids.
To find out more about the Programme, click here.
For more information please contact your GAIN Business Manager, Glanbia Branch or visit glanbiaconnect.com
