Leading change in Irish dairying

Of a total land area of 6.9 million hectares, 4.5 million ha is dedicated to agricultural production and a further 730,000ha to the forestry industry. Eight one percent of 3.63m ha are devoted to pasture, hay and grass, 11% is described as rough grazing, while 380,000ha or 8% is set aside for cropping, horticulture and fruit growing.

The latest figures (2021) suggest that 163,000 people or 7.3% of the total workforce are employed in the agri-food sector, coming together to deliver export revenue of €15.2 billion ($26.1 million) or 6% of GDP. Since the abolition of European quotas in 2015, the national herd has risen from around 800,000 dairy cows to around 1.2 million in 2021, with total liquid production rising from 6.4 billion litres to slightly more than 8 billion litres in 2019.

Looking at the dairy sector more closely, approximately 18,000 dairy farms milk around 1.6 million cows (as at June 2021) with an average herd size of just 90 cow. Like our own New Zealand production systems, Irish dairy farming is centred around milk from grass, with a growing season that appears to be extended from the early part of the calendar year by the warming effect of the North Atlantic Drift that moves across the Atlantic Ocean from the equatorial regions.

Great emphasis is placed on the quality of Irish milk with Bord Bia (the Irish Food Board), certifying a grass-fed standard quality award to herds that operate under a 95% grass fed regime and an average of at least 240 days fed on pasture.

One feature of the Irish dairy industry is the Lyons Farms Complex at the University of Dublin.

Founded in 1854, the university sits in the top 1% of the universities in the world, while playing home to 33,460 students, and delivers 60 undergraduate programmes.

The UCD Lyons Farm Complex, situated 25km south-west of Dublin in County Kildare, is a state-of-the-art facility that is structured to educate the next generation of agri-food and veterinary leaders. Working to strengthen the Irish agricultural and food industry, much of the work is centred around building strong partnerships on an open innovation platform.

Commercial partners include well known Irish companies such as Devenish Nutrition, Dairy Master, Glanbia, The Munster Cattle Breeding Group, Enterprise Ireland and the European Union. Key areas of research include long term grassland research, soil fertility, biodiversity, pasture resilience, and water quality. Of course, up-to-the-minute environmental issues are also commanding attention such as carbon sequestration, greenhouse gas emissions, food quality, Smart Ag, alongside animal health and performance, all with an eye towards profitability.

The Lyons Farm herd is made up of 200 cows split into two main herds, Herd 1 (The Research Herd) with 140 cows with a split calving set up of 60 autumn and 60 spring calving animals. Herd 2 (The Systems Herd) is made up of 60 spring calving cows.

Much of the research is centred around incorporating recent advances in grassland management to deliver a high output system, while at the same time using dairy cows with good genetic indices for production and fertility, with an overall target of enhancing dairy production sustainability. The facility has been instrumental in developing systems that change the typical Irish thinking of grass-based systems of low outputs per cow to one of high outputs and sustainability.

Typically, the former is based on good cost control, higher stocking rates and the aim of high profitability. By contrast, the latter system is now starting to find favour as farmers tackle multiple problems, not least environmental concerns because of the increase in the national herd, fragmented operational sites because of land availability, limited infrastructure, limited labour and a poor work/life balance.

Lyons Farm has set itself a target of 3.27LU/ha over the milking platform, a yield of 7500-8000kg per cow and 625 kgMS per animal. From a feed perspective, the animals’ diet is made up of 51% grazed grass, 75% grazed grass and grass silage on a DM basis and 1,500kg of concentrate over 305 days.