March 16, 2021 6:11 pm
A new €5 million Dairy Beef Calf measure has been announced by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine under the new Beef Sector Efficiency Pilot.
Opening for applications today (Tuesday, March 16), submissions for the measure can be lodged through agfood.ie with the closing date on Monday, April 26.
The objective of this new scheme is to increase the economic and environmental efficiency of beef from the dairy herd, and to facilitate further the integration of the dairy and beef sectors by providing support for farmers who are rearing progeny from the dairy herd.
The core action is the weighing of eligible calves for which there is a payment of €20 per calf up to a maximum of 20 calves.
January 12, 2021 12:53 pm
Farming in Boherduff, Co. Galway, Kevin and his daughter Ciara Callanan operate a 200 cow Holstein Friesian dairy herd. Speaking on his enterprise, Kevin explains:
“I farm in partnership with my daughter Ciara on a 330ac farm. We operate a combination of spring and autumn-calving, leaning more towards spring-calving.
“It’s always been dairy on the farm. We supply Aurivo Co-op with our milk.”
Ciara and her father Kevin Callanan at their dairy farm in Co. Galway
Kevin is a second and Ciara is a third-generation dairy farmer, with the family having milked cows on the farm for over 60 years. The Callanans have installed a JFC Agri Evolution S4 automatic calf feeder back in 2018, which feeds and monitors up to 140 calves on an individual basis.