'Farming for the Future: The Spring Surge' delves into the busyness of the calving season on a family dairy farm milking 260 Jersey cross cows at peak.

Lakeland Dairies, Lakeland Dairies Agribusiness, and Agriland Media have teamed up for a brand new series, going behind the scenes on a farm with a spring-calving herd to showcase the busy, but rewarding, nature of dairy farming.

The series takes us into the Corrigan family dairy farm where Eoin Corrigan talks us through his farming system which he farms in partnership with his wife, Roisin, and his parents Sean and Catherine.

The family are expecting to calve down 275 cows this spring near Trim, Co. Meath. The Corrigans are new entrants having joined Lakeland Dairies and the dairy industry in 2021.

In that short time, the Corrigan family have become a top-class operation, having won a Lakeland Dairies Quality Milk Award in 2024 and represented the co-op at the NDC / Kerrygold Milk Quality Awards.

Eoin talks through how having family and a proper team behind him makes the whole system an easy operation and said that all his success has come through having the support of good people.

The dairy farmer also talks about how he is managing 275 calves on the ground this spring, talking about everything from getting colostrum into the calf, to getting them sucking, and introducing hay and pellets to the animal.

This ‘Farming for the Future’ series begins with the first episode, titled ‘The Spring Surge‘ where Eoin details the ins and outs of the busy calving season.

The episode brings viewers into the calving area and calf pens with Eoin Corrigan to see how he ensures the delivery of healthy calves into the herd.  

Eimear Leonard who is the calf rearer on the farm claimed that she got "railroaded" into doing the job, but describes to viewers her patience, care and diligence for calves, which is everything someone who is rearing calves needs.

Eoin goes into detail on how he manages family life at this busy time and how he is working to provide for his young family and described it as a "privilege" to have the support and motivation of his family.

Eoin and Roisin have an eight-month-old daughter, Hannah, who is now at the heart of the family business and is down in the yard at every given opportunity.

Peter Grogan from Lakeland Dairies Agribusiness also explains how he works hand-in-hand with farmers like Eoin to drive efficiency and increased profitability at farm level.

Peter talks about the dietary requirements of the cows at this time of the year, and offers advice to Eoin around meeting the cow's energy requirements through grass, silage, and meal.

The cows are out at grass since the start of February where Eoin has been allocating 9kg of grass dry matter (DM) over two to three hours grazing in the morning and evening.

Eoin talks about how his crossbred herd of cows are performing on the farm in terms of grazing and producing milk solids while also having the ability to produce a quality, sought after calf.

The second episode, ‘Farming for the Future: A Sustainable Future‘, will be released on Thursday, March 6, and will delve into what the dairy industry will look like for farmers.