Friday 20 November 2015

Major Awards for Dairymaster Goat Rotary Parlour

 
Anyone that works with goats will certainly be aware of the labour involved in running a milking herd.  As goat numbers increase, labour can become a limiting factor on expansion and productivity and adding a labour unit to the operation can significantly increase production costs.  Therefore profitability can be heavily influenced by utilising facilities and technology that maximise efficiency.
 
To the very forefront of this technology is the new Dairymaster Swiftflo Goat Rotary parlour.  The parlour features a robotic carriage where a single operator can milk up to 1,300 goats per hour with a milking unit attached every 2.5 seconds.  This is possible due to its unique design where the cluster is presented out of the rotary floor directly below the goat’s teats.  This allows the operator to work easily and comfortably.  Rapid attachment also helps to minimise stress on the animals, which can have a significant negative effect on milk yield.  Teat cups are removed automatically when the goat has finished milking. The cluster can then be automatically sanitised to reduce risks of cross contamination and stored hygienically under the rotary platform. Automatic teat spraying also is an option.  Dairymaster also state that the system’s shorter milking tubes are designed to reduce maintenance costs and improve milking characteristics.
 
Recognition for Dairymaster’s innovation and excellence has come in the form of highly prestigious honours – nationally from the Engineers Ireland Excellence Awards and internationally with a Eurotier Gold Medal.  “Innovation in milking is key to Dairymaster and winning this prestigious award for our highly efficient rotary is an honour. Everything we do is with a focus on how we can make dairy farming more profitable, enjoyable and sustainable and this award highlights that Dairymaster has a lot to offer progressive farmers” said Dr Edmond Harty, CEO, Dairymaster.

It’s wonderful that a company from a small rural village in County Kerry is pioneering the development of goat milking technology internationally.  I wish them the very best of success in the future and look forward to seeing an example of this parlour in the near future.
 

Friday 13 November 2015

A YouTube tour of Irish Goat Farms

I get lots of enquiries about goat farming in Ireland and answer them to the best of my ability.  However it’s always better to be able to see how things work on the ground and with the power of modern technology it’s not always necessary to spend time and money travelling around the country.
 
There are lots of videos about Irish Goats and related products available on YouTube.  Some of these are obviously very professionally done and some are more home-made.  However, they are all valuable in allowing the viewer to learn a little more about goat farming in Ireland.  In this post I’m going to highlight some of these videos to give you an insight into Irish goats.
This is a beautifully made video by Glenisk about one of their suppliers  - the Boons family in North Tipperary.


Check out Charlie Cole of Broughgammon farm in this light-hearted video by Whitney Oliver highlighting his great work and excellent products .
 
A relatively recent and very successful addition to the goat industry in Ireland is Aran Island Goats Cheese.  Learn more about how it came about and it’s beautiful location in this video from TG4.

 
St. Tola is one of the most well-known goats cheese in Ireland.  Both their goats and cheese making process are featured in this RTE video featuring Clodagh McKenna.
 
Another well-known cheese in Ireland is Ardsallagh from County Cork.  Jane Murphy demonstrates how she makes their cheese in this video from A Taste of Ireland.
 
Michael Finegan produces a blue cheese from his goats near Slane in the Boyne valley, hence the name – Boyne Valley Blue.  He introduces us to his goats in this video made as part of the Boyne Valley Food Series.
 
Ed Harper is a highly renowned goat farmer producing a range of goods from his goats on the beautiful Cape Clear Island off the coast of Cork.  Take a short virtual tour of his farm courtesy of Lauren Hardy.
 
There may be lots of other videos available featuring Irish goat farms so please send them on and I’ll be more than glad to share them!

Thursday 29 October 2015

Fertiliser for Growth in a Grassland System

I'm sure you know that Ireland has a massive ability to grow grass, at least a third higher than the European average.  In fact over 80% of the agricultural area is dedicated to grassland, hence the name 'The Emerald Isle'.  But did you know that most soils (up to 90%!) are below optimum fertility for grass production?  Addressing this issue is central to maximising grass production as outlined at the recent Teagasc Soil Fertility Conference in Clonmel. 
 
Mark Plunkett of Teagasc highlighted a number of key messages from the day:
 
1.      “65 to 70% of dairy and drystock grassland soils respectively are below the optimum soil pH 6.3 for optimum grass production”;
 
2.      "Soil testing is the starting point for good fertiliser planning an essential requirement to maximise grass production annually”;
 
3.      “Maintaining soil pH close to the optimum 6.3 for grassland mineral soils will ensure soil the availability of soil P for plant growth and development”;
 
4.      "Sulphur containing fertilisers should be applied routinely to all grass silage swards in spring to prevent yield losses worth up to €100/ha/cut”;
 
5.      “Urea is a less expensive and a viable N source for grassland.  It produced similar yields to CAN when applied throughout the year, particularly at low rates.  Farmers could consider having urea on hand throughout the growing season and applying shortly before rainfall to minimise ammonia loss risk”;
 
6.      "The slurry hydrometer is an effective tool to measure the nutrient content of liquid manures and to determine its fertiliser value”;
 
7.      "Grass-clover swards increased grass dry matter production levels by 2.9t/ha compared with grass only, regardless of N fertiliser application rate”;
 
8.      “On average 1,000 gallons of pig slurry is equal to one 50kg  bag of 19-7-20 (N-P-K)”;
 
9.      “There is significant nutrient lock up especially on soils with high clay contents and low soil pH levels. Correcting soil pH based on lime advice as per the test soil report will increase the availability of soil P”.
 
A large number of speakers addressed a wide variety of topics relating to soil fertility research and practical application.  The full conference proceeding is available here.
 

Friday 23 October 2015

2015 British Goat Society Autumn Conference

As part of their 50th anniversary celebrations the Northern Ireland Goat Club host the autumn conference of the British Goat Society tomorrow Saturday October 24th .  The line up looks absolutely superb with renowned speakers on Boer goats, dairy production, kid rearing and goat health.  Refreshments and a buffet meal are included in the fee but you'd want to hurry as prebooking is essential through Terry Hanna (hannaterry@gmail.com).  Full details are available here.
 
I'm sure the conference will be very well attended with goat enthusiasts from all over Ireland and the UK and I'd like to congratulate the Northern Ireland Goat Club on their significant anniversary.
 
#goats #agriculture #boer #NorthernIreland
 

Tuesday 21 July 2015

Grant Aid for Goats under TAMS II



The latest tranche of grant aid announced by the Department of Agriculture is commonly known as TAMS II (Targeted Agricultural Modernisation Scheme).  This has already been opened for young farmers – Young Farmers Capital Investment Scheme (YFCIS) – and for dairy farmers under the Dairy Equipment Scheme (DES).  This grant scheme covers the purchase and installation of new milking and milk storage equipment subject to a maximum investment of €80,000.  It also now appears that goats will be eligible for other valuable farm equipment under further TAMS II funding to be made available over the next few months. This would include handling equipment, rollover crates and weighing scales.  The exact details of this new scheme will be announced by the minister in due course so keep an eye on the farming press for its release.  Further details on all on-farm investment schemes are available here.
 
More details and lots of other goat related information are contained in the latest Teagasc Goat Advisory newsletter which is available for download here.