Cows Cows and More Cows

Hello Everyone,

On Friday last I travelled to the farm of Jimmy and Edward Payne in Tulsk Co.Roscommon, and what an experience it was. The dairy farm is divided between two farms one in Ballymoe and one in Tulsk. Between the two farms they are milking 450 dairy cows. This is by no means a small operation. The main take away points that I got was Edward found that by farming intensively it was easier for the grass to re grown, than having free blocks of pasture with no cows on it. All leased ground is reseeded nearly straight away. It is important to remember that grazed grass is the cheapest and most widespread feed for cattle in Ireland. The Payne family farm is trying to limited its use on concentrates focusing on mainly growing grass.

Grass 10

This is a campaign launched by Teagasc to promote sustainable grassland excellance. The Payne farm won Grass 10 Grassland Farmer of the year for the Connaght/ Ulster Region. This Campaign links increased grass utilization, increased profitability, the Department of Agriculture Food and the Marine, in collaboration with stakeholders including Teagasc.

On the day topics such as soil fertility, reseeding, an overview of the farm, labour, and farm performance were all discussed.

Here are some pictures of the day.

Stay tuned for more,

Sinéad