Open Day announced on EBI €100 winners farm

31 August 2005

An open day will take place on the EBI €100 competition winners farm on Tuesday 13th September starting at 10.30am. It takes place on the farm of Pat and Pauline Ryan of Lauragh, Cappagh, County Waterford. The Ryans won first prize in this national competition for the outstanding breeding and financial management of their dairy herd.

Speaking about the farm walk, Matt Ryan, Teagasc Dairy Programme Manager said that the Ryans have clearly demonstrated the association between better breeding and higher profit. ‘Compared with the average dairy farm, the Ryans are earning an extra €12,000 per 50,000 gallons of milk. At the walk people can learn more about how the Ryans are achieving this’.

Labour saving and management are critical issues on all dairy farms. Key to the Ryans success in this area includes their use of contractors for much of the routine farm work and an efficient calf rearing system. Flexibility is the key to their approach to milking the cows – they milk once a day in early spring and thirteen times a week from mid-July on. How the Ryans manage the labour issue on their farm is one of the topics being presented on the day.

Excellent grassland management is a key component of low cost, high profit milk production. Grass budgeting and blanket spreading of fertiliser are practised on the Ryan farm. Last year cows spent almost 300 days at grass and protein content averaged 3.69%. The Ryans grassland management programme will be on show at the open day.

The farm has the highest EBI herd of dairy cows in the country with an average EBI of €64. Both replacement heifers and cows will be on view. Almost forty cows, with an average EBI of over €100, will be shown as a separate group with detailed milk production and fertility information available on each. This will allow farmers to see how high EBI cows are performing at farm level. Details of how the Ryans breed and manage their cows and replacement heifers will also be discussed.

Finally a public forum is planned where Pat Ryan will answer questions arising from the topics covered at the open day. Others available to debate the issues during the day include speakers from Teagasc, ICBF and the Farmers Journal.

Those attending the event are asked to park at Dungarvan mart and take the shuttle buses to the farm. Further information on the open day is available from local Teagasc offices.

Issued on behalf of Teagasc by

Larry O’Loughlin, A/Head, Public Relations Department, Teagasc

Tel: 059 9183408; 087 2562434; Email: loloughlin@hq.teagasc.ie