Hard work has paid off for Lavally farmers

Over 200 people walked in glorious sunshine

FARMERS enjoyed cooling ice-lollies and were happy to leave the wellies at home and enjoy the sunshine blazing down on the green fields of the well-tended farm of Olivia and Keith Lowry in Lavally, a few miles outside Tuam last week.

Over 200 people attended the Teagasc Dairy Beef 500 Farm Walk and the glorious warm weather meant it was as much a social occasion for many locals as it was an information session on farming.

Olivia and Keith, who both also work off the farm, have put a lot of hard work into making significant improvements to the land over the past four years.

Adviser with Teagasc John Kilboyle told the crowd that 62 per cent of cattle killed in Ireland last year were from dairy and that there were huge opportunities for farmers. However, he stressed that this potential didn’t come without challenges.

Six out of ten farmers fall out of the system in the first five years and that presents a significant challenge, warned Kilboyle. He stressed that setting up a sustainable system that can deliver and is viable in terms of being profitable is key.

“There has been a huge investment in terms of grazing infrastructure on this farm,” remarked John Kilboyle. A lot of reseeding has been carried out to improve the swards and to make more out of grass in terms of cheap light weight gain.

Olivia and Keith Lowry started 15 years ago initially as a suckler and sheep farm. They got involved in calves about three to four years ago and became participants in the Teagasc Dairy Beef 500 scheme.

The number of buildings has increased on the farm and others have been improved and made more efficient.

Grassland management has been a major focus area on Olivia and Keith’s farm. Extensive investment in paddock infrastructure and water systems has transformed grazing management.

Olivia explained that initially the grass was poor and the land hadn’t been ploughed for a number of years.

“Red clover is something I’d definitely recommend. We have found it mighty for silage,” told Olivia, who looks after 31 hectares over four blocks.

“We reared 80 calves this year, 30 in autumn and 50 in spring.”

At the beginning most of the calves were being born in spring which wasn’t manageable in terms of buildings and the workload of the couple. Splitting into autumn and spring has helped spread the workload and also means that there is a more even spread of cashflow.

The improvements and commitment have paid off resulting in increased efficiency and better weight gain with animals gaining 540 kilos over their lifetime, an extra 110 kilos per animal over the past few years.

Over four years 200 tonnes of lime have been spread on the land, soil fertility has improved, and the better-quality grass is showing in the return margins.

One outfarm block has been redesigned from five large fields with a single water point into a highly efficient grazing platform consisting of a central roadway, 16 paddocks and 14 drinkers.

Farmers were also told about the benefits of local discussion groups which are free to attend. “We’ve been learning from these constantly. People have different ideas. People are doing different things to what we have. We’re learning all the time,” added Olivia.