Grassland management was high on the agenda today (Tuesday, July 9) during the Irish Grassland Association’s (IGA) summer tour, which despite wet weather conditions, attracted significant numbers to Co. Laois.
During the the tour farmers heard why Grassland management can be their key to success.
The IGA summer tour featured two progressive farms – Bruce Thompson’s farm outside the village of Ballyfin and also the farm of Roy and Trevor Cobbe who are farming in partnership.
They all highlighted to farmers how important it is to walk your farm regularly to make prompt decisions, why you need to reseed a certain amount a year and also the reasons for incorporating clover into their swards and utilising the maximum amount of grass.
Thompson’s farm
Bruce Thompson, who is farming outside the village of Ballyfin is an eighth generation farmer. The farm which was traditionally a mixed farm is now a commercial dairy farm with a herd of 270 cross-bred cows.
Thompson is currently running a large-scale commercial dairy farm, with a focus on the environment.
Thompson is a 2020 Nuffield Scholar operates a grass based, spring calving herd of 270 cross-bred cows on a total land area of 250 ha with 100 ha on the milking block.
He is milking his cows through a 40 bale rotary parlour with the herd EBI currently standing at €233 with milk at €77 and fertility at €10 and he achieved 461kg/MS/cow in 2023 feeding 1.1t of meal per cow.
The 2023 fertility performance checked all the relevant KPI’s: 93% calved in six weeks with a 370-day calving interval. In 2023, PastureBase grass records show 13.2 t/DM/ha grown.
A huge part of Thompson’s success is down to effective communication skills on the farm which they do through the use of two apps.
The two apps – Trello and TimeTree – promote flexibility and trust and supports the the day to day management of the farm.
Thompson told the crowd that “we have a farm meeting every two weeks where we discuss what we can do better and what needs to be done.”
As part of his farming practices, Thompson also tries to do what he can for wildlife and to enhance habitats on the farm, in 2020, he undertook the Nuffield Scholarship focusing on the plight of the dung beetle.
Other nature actions taken on his farm include planting and managing hedges for biodiversity, planting native trees, incorporating bird boxes, sowing wild flowers and installing two ponds.
Thompson advised participants today to “focus on what you have on your own farm and look around to see what you can do in terms of biodiversity.”
Cobbe’s farm
Meanwhile the Cobbe family are an excellent example of the typical intergenerational partnerships that are in place on many farms around the country.
The Cobbes’ manage a 120 spring calving, grass-based, cow herd on a total land block of 81 ha with the milking platform consisting of 43ha and is stocked at 2.7LU/ha.
Roy and Trevor Cobbe are farming in partnership and the family has a long history in farming, with this the third and fourth generation farming at Doolagh, outside Portarlington.
Trevor Cobbe came back to the farm to dairy farm in a partnership with his father Roy about ten years and says it was the best thing they’ve ever done.
Trevor Cobbe told Agriland today that “the farm partnership has been very successful, we have a good relationship with each other and we don’t shut down each others ideas, even if they are mad.”
Trevor was the 2021 FBD Young Dairy Farmer of the year and since returning home, has consistently adopted best farming technologies on the farm to maximise productivity.
Trevor Cobbe says this would not have been possible if he was not supported by his father Roy, where they are together running the Doolagh pedigree registered Holstein Friesian herd of 120 cows.
There has been a strong focus on EBI with the current EBI of the herd at €235, with a fertility value of €125 (top 2% of herds) and a milk figure of €49.
Fertility performance of the herd was excellent with textbook key performance indicators (KPI’s) of 89% calved in six weeks and a 370-day calving interval with PastureBase records showing 15.2 t/DM/ha grown in 2023.
The Cobbe family are milking in a six unit double up parlour which needs to be upgraded and the crowd on the day had the chance to participate in the decision making process.
Two milking facility options were presented to the Cobbe partnership on the day with the costs associated by putting in a 20-unit herringbone parlour versus putting in two robots.
Trevor Cobbe expressed his concerns with the robot as he fears it could interrupt his already brilliant grassland management while Roy Cobbe was a bit more optimistic with the system as he feel it could bring a better work, life balance to the farm.
The IGA summer tour
As well as a focus on grassland management today the IFA summer tour also examined how each farm businesses had developed and farmers today also heard about the high and lows of expanding farms and getting into partnerships.
Participants on the tour also heard how the breeding performance goals for each herd was different and that both farmers had great success in increasing their herds EBI, conception rates, and overall fertility.
Farm labour management was also a major topic of discussion today and it has highlighted to participants how important it is for people to have effective communications skills in order to minimise confusion and arguments and ensure a smooth sailing operation.