Farmer Focus Series in association with IHFA
When you picture farms in harmony with nature it’s the Maher family farm in Cappamore, Co. Limerick that you’re dreaming of.
The farm is home to a content and healthy herd grazing a mix of perennial ryegrass, clover, and mixed-species swards with the hum of wildlife and biodiversity in the air.
Gearoid Maher makes a conscious effort to keep space for biodiversity on the farm, hedgerows are plentiful, minimal pesticides are used and 24ac of forestry flank the southern side of the farm.
Clearly Gearoid is doing something right to encourage biodiversity, as a hive of bees found the farm to be the perfect place to build a hive and assist with pollination in the area.
Pure Friesian herd
Farming under the Killuragh herd prefix since 2011 Gearoid runs a herd of 80 pedigree Pure Friesian cows which are uniquely suited to the land type in Cappamore.
“The land here is a very heavy clay soil,” he explained.
“Our average grazing season would range from 200 to 240 days. I knew I couldn’t change the land so I focused on the cow.
“The cow was going to be the engine of the farm. I considered all the different breeds but I felt that due to the land type and the length of farm road I had, that a Pure Friesian cow would suit the farm best.
“My stocking was always going to be limited so I felt that my cull cow has a huge value to me as do my bull calves. There was also an element of tradition in my decision as my father and grandfather all bred pedigree Pure Friesian cows.
“So, I purchased 40 pedigree pure Friesian cows, the majority from the Dunum herd and some from the Gortfadda herd. This was the foundation of my farm and these cows were the establishment of my pedigree herd.
“Some of these cows are the mainstay of the herd to this day in their 10th lactations.”
Gearoid is a prime example of someone who is making his cow type work for the land type he has, while preserving the quality and productivity of the farm for generations to come.
Like many other farmers Gearoid is acutely aware of the effects farming practises can have on the ecosystem around them and works conscientiously to protect waterways from any farm run off or chemicals. All slurry is spread using low emission slurry spreading (LESS).
Gearoid is also conscious of over use of antibiotics and has used selective dry cow therapy when drying off cows over the last number of years, in 2022 only 10% of cows received antibiotics at drying off.
Open day
Gearoid, his wife Sarah and daughter Sally-Kate and Lily (pictured below) hosted this year’s Pure Friesian Club Open Day and welcomed over 400 visitors to Cappamore to see how their pedigree herd is run.
It was a very proud moment for Gearoid and something he was delighted to do for the club with all that they and the Irish Holstein Friesian Association (IHFA) have supported him in over the years.
“Being a new entrant, it can be difficult to know what direction to take with your herd. The advice out there was to focus on EBI and only breed a cow from a number on a page which seemed crazy to me.
“A suckler farmer would never buy a bull from just looking at a book. I decided to look at what the dams and gran dams were producing and from there I focused on breeding for milk and protein because every other trait is a given.
“I joined the Irish Pure Friesian club to meet other pedigree farmers and learn from them. I was nervous enough joining the club because here you had experts breeding cows for generations and I was very new to the scene.
“However, the club members and officers were very welcoming and are so passionate about breeding excellent cows.
“Today my herd has grown to 80 cows producing just under 6,800kg at 4.27 % fat and 3.59% protein. This has been achieved from marginal land and all from cows that are minus for milk.
“I also have heifers bred from the club’s bulls producing an average of 5,600kg. My calving interval is close to 365 days and the empty rate is generally 4-5% with a submission rate to first service consistently over 90% and 70 % conception rate to first service.”
Gearoid classifies his cows every year through IHFA and has really seen the benefits in developing the herd.
“Currently there are three EX cows 23 VG cows on the farm,” he said.
“There are eight cows of eighth lactation and older in the herd, all of which are highly classified. I think this just shows how pedigree animals can have the very best fertility, health and longevity attributes.
“My cows and cow type are the pillar to my success. The pure Friesian is probably the most underrated breed in the country but to me the pure Friesian cow is a high producing, highly fertile, low-maintenance cow.”
Ambassadors for Irish Dairy
A fourth-generation dairy farmer, Gearoid has come a long way since taking over the farm at age 26 in 2011.
In the years prior the farm had been leased out due to his father being in ill health. The task ahead was challenging as the infrastructure on farm was outdated and not fit for purpose and the quality of the grassland swards was poor.
Heavy investment was required to modernize the farm. However, through determination, grit and a positive mindset, Gearoid progressed forward.
A herd of cows was assembled, he re-established the Killuragh prefix with IHFA and thus started a new chapter for the herd, building for a better and progressive future.
Clearly Gearoid is already making huge strides in that area as he was awarded the Sustainability award at the 2022 NDC Milk Quality awards. This was off the back of the Killuragh herd winning the 2022 Dairygold Co-op Milk Quality award.
Gearoid may also be familiar to you as the new face of the National Dairy Council’s (NDC’s) Grass Roots Movement and has previously been an ambassador for Farming with Nature.
He has become accustomed to life behind the lens and knows the importance of sharing truthful information and real-life examples of Irish dairy farms.
“Irish dairy has a fantastic story to tell, we produce some of the lowest carbon-footprint milk in the world to the highest quality standards,” he said.
“Even more importantly we do this with animal welfare as a priority and every farmer in Ireland is working to farm as sustainably as they can.”
Grass Roots Movement
IHFA members are really to the form of this movement with Miriam Gunn of the Slievebawn Herd, Strokestown, Co. Roscommon also taking part in the Grass Roots Movement.
Miriam farms 180 pedigree Holstein Friesian cows alongside her husband and children. Miriam is a huge advocate for sustainability and women in agriculture.
Like her grandmother before her Miriam is huge part of the running of the farm and wants women to get the recognition they deserve for the years of work they put into their farms.
“Women have always been central to keeping the show on the road in farming, but they haven’t necessarily had a voice,” she said.
Miriam is a founding member of Aurivo’s women’s discussion group and hopes transparency and publicity around women in agriculture, and farming in general will inspire the next generation.
Rachel White, IHFA marketing and breed promotion, stresses the importance of transparency in dairy farming.
“IHFA are very proud to have such excellent ambassadors as Gearoid and Miriam representing our members,” she said.
“It is a collective responsibility of the entire dairy industry to do the best we can in terms of sustainability and share our story with the world.
“There can be a very negative narrative around dairy farming but by sharing what is happening on real, family run, Irish dairy farms we can dispel a lot of these mistruths and reconnect the general public with agriculture.”
If you are interested in pedigree registering your herd, or classifying pedigree cows contact the IHFA today at; [email protected], or call the office on; 023 883 3443.
Whole herd grade-up discounts are available for first time pedigree-registration herds.
More info on the NDC’s campaign can also be found here.
You can hear directly from Gearoid at our open day on September 15, at Clonaslee, Co. Laois, all welcome.