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Dan & Valerie Dennehy

National finalists, presented with a commemorative plaque to acknowledge their excellence in dairy farming and achievement

Dan describes dairy farming as his first love and left school at 16 to return to the farm. Ever since then he has been trying to build and improve the farm.

“It has been handed down through the generations and I want to do the best I can. There is huge satisfaction in seeing the herd I built up producing the best quality milk.”

“My aim is to produce premium quality milk on a consistent basis, by using top quality milking facilities, good milking routines and attention to detail,” says Dan.

This is a proper family farm where everyone has a role to play. Dan and his wife Valerie, have three children aged 25 to 16, Claire, Michael and Colm. The family home built in the 18th Century, has been modernised while retaining its original character.

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Dan has always embraced new initiatives ranging from Milk Recording or REPS to HerdPlus and the Sustainable Dairy Assurance Scheme, with good conservation and efficiency practices in place.

Farm Fact File:

Farm: 58 hectares, 50 hectares grazing

106 cows, average herd yield 6,377 litres

TBC: 6.9

SCC: 120

Butterfat: 4.24%

Protein: 3.5%

Lactose: 4.74%

Thermodurics: 48.3

Find out more about all the winners.