Farm Sustainability 2021

 

Dairy Cow Numbers

Year

Peak Dairy Cow Numbers

Average Cow Numbers

Whole Farm Organic N

Total Kgs MS Sold

Kgs MS Sold/Cow

% 1st & 2nd Lactation

2022

440

 

 

 

480**

40%

2021

421

398

198

173,562

436*

57%

2020

402

379

195

167,138

441

59%

2019

292

272

176

129,112

474

42%

2018

268

253

166

111,151

439

67%

2017

245

232

153

83,413

359

86%

2016

299

258

180

104,671

404

73%

*To 10th November** Estimate

  • Since 2016 dairy cows have increased by 41% at Salesian Agricultural College
  • Since 2016 whole farm organic nitrogen loading has increased by 10%
  • Since 2016 grass grown has increased from 8 T DM/ha to over 15 T DM/Ha, an 87% increase
  • Purchased fertiliser & concentrates have reduced by 18% from 2016 to 2020

 

EBI

Date

National Avg EBI

Salesian College Herd EBI

Top 10% Herds EBI

Salesian College Herd EBI National Ranking

January 2016

€136

€66

€191

Bottom 5%

March 2021

€127

€187

€166

Top 1%

 

  • In last five years we have moved from being in the bottom 5% of herds nationally based on EBI to now being in the top 1%
  • Each €10 improvement in EBI is associated with a reduction of 61.7 kg CO2 equivalents per Lactation
  • Our herd is emitting 370kgs less CO2 equivalent per cow per lactation compared to the national average dairy cow

Grassland

  • Annual tonnage grown last year was 15.36 Tonnes Dry Matter per Hectare (PastureBase), more than enough to sustain our stocking rate of 2.2 LU/Ha
  • We have incorporated Mixed Species Swards (ryegrass + plantain) but have found that the persistency of the plantain has been an issue so we are changing to oversowing clover into existing swards, targeting 15% of the grazing area per annum.
  • Despite experiencing drought in the last three years, we have always been able to grow sufficient forage and have in excess of 25% of our winter silage requirements in reserve

Slurry

  • All slurry is applied by Low Emissions Slurry Spreading systems, using an umbilical cord with dribble bar
  • This has been the case since 2019 and is applied by contractor using a flow rate meter where precise application rates can be achieved based on soil analysis and slurry nutrient analysis
  • 75% of slurry is applied in the spring and this further reduces our use of chemical nitrogen
  • In 2021 the purchase of chemical nitrogen was reduced by 10% from the previous year
  • Yet 2021, a total of 14.25 tonnes of protected urea (9.5 pallets) remained in stock at the end of the year, and more grass has been grown in 2021

Fertiliser

  • The Farm has a Nutrient Management Plan, with the entire farm soil sampled every three years up to now, most recently sampled January 2021

    • 91% of the farm is at pH 6.2 or above
    • 79% of the farm is at index 3 or greater for Phosphorus
    • 66% of the farm is at index 3 or greater for Potassium
  • Annual soil sampling of the entire farm will commence from December 2021
  • Carbon measurement will be included also
  • The estimated whole farm stocking rate for 2021 is 198Kgs Organic Nitrogen per hectare (2.3 LU/Ha) and the farm is in derogation
  • All chemical nitrogen application is by way of protected urea and this has been the case since 2019
  • All fertiliser applications are applied where both the tractor & fertiliser spreader have GPS and variable spread width technology.  This typically leads to a 5-8% saving in fertiliser use as there are no overlaps.

ASSAP

  • Padraig Fitzgerald (Teagasc Kilmallock) and Kevin O’Sullivan (Teagasc Killarney) both ASSAP advisers undertook a comprehensive assessment of the farm and farmyards in September 2020.
  • No issues were identified

Biodiversity

  • A full farm Habitat Survey & Biodiversity Assessment was completed in November 2019 by Forest, Environmental Research and Services (FERS) Ltd.

  • This established out baseline position and from this we have a plan in place to
  1. maintain and enhance all current habitats/biodiversity
  2. strategically develop new habitats and biodiversity for maximum benefit

Selective Dry Cow Therapy

  • We have been pioneering the use of Selective Dry Cow Therapy since 2017 and have participated in the Teagasc/Kerry Agribusiness on farm trials
  • Over the last two years, we have managed to have 75% of out cows dried off at the end of lactation without the use of antibiotics
  • The above coupled to our Herd Health Plan drawn up in conjunction with our veterinary practice has led to a substantial reduction in antibiotic usage and forms part of our overall AMR strategy

Energy/Water

  • Our milking parlour is fitted with a heat recovery system and variable rate pumps to minimise energy usage
  • All was water used in the plant is recycled to wash the collecting yards
  • All water use is metered and this quickly identifies any leaks that lead to waste

Beef

  • We operate a dairy calf to beef system using AI sires by utilising the Dairy Beef Index with an added emphasis carcase weight within the index
  • To this extent we are participating in the Dawn Meats / Teagasc – Dairy Beef Project (DBP)

Sheep

  • The breeding policy is to breed to high replacement index rams (Belclare) and consequently the maternal index of the flock has increased linearly over the last five years.

  • A high level of data recording is giving us a Data Quality Index (DQI) of 95.4%
  • 80% of lambs are finished off grass without any concentrates being fed