Barry O'Mahony has enjoyed working on the farm with his father since he started walking; and full-time since he finished his college work at Darragha Agricultural College in 2005. He is very proud to be the 5th generation of the family farming at Shankiel and believes that quality and sustainability are at the heart of what they do. His son Isaac at just over a year and a half old, already has his first pair of wellies and is gaining interest.
“We farm in beautiful West Cork. We are really only caretakers of the farm for the time we are in charge and I hope that we can pass it on to the next generation in the same or better shape than we got it,” says Barry.
“My personal hope is that the next generation can see how happy we are doing what we do; and that the sustainability of our herd can allow that generation to continue farming our family farm should they choose.”
The O’Mahony farm is full certified for the Sustainable Dairy Assurance Scheme (SDAS) and have a top quality herd, supplying milk through Barryroe Co-op to Carbery, where it is used to manufacture dairy products such as Dubliner cheese.
“Our location gives us a great ability to produce a rich, nutritious product from our grazed grass and our cows are amazing, productive animals which efficiently convert that grass into something so special,” says Barry. “We are blessed with a productive, fertile herd of pedigree registered Holstein friesians. We love to admire our different cow families.”
The farm is 90 hectares with 41 hectares currently used for grazing the expanding Holstein Friesian herd. The herd has grown from year to year. Denis grew the herd before and during the quota era and Barry has continued to grow and develop the farm with him since he came home to farm full-time with his father. In 2014 they milked on average of 150 cows peaking to 174 at some times, with about 220 cows in the herd in 2015. This is an all year round system of milk production with about 70 cows calving in between mid-September to mid-November.
The environment is always considered when making building or development decisions. The O’Mahony’s have a 24 unit milking parlour, built new overground storage in 2007 and a new cubicle shed in 2011. The tanks were fitted with aeration which reduces the odour when spred.
In terms of sustainability and efficiencies, the farm has a two stage plate cooler, with well water recycled. There are plans to install solar heating on the farm and packaging from the farm is recycled. Hedges are preserved, trees planted on the farm and soil is sampled regularly.
Quality, cleanliness and attention to detail rewards the O’Mahony with a very high standard of milk.
Farm Fact File:
Farm: 90 hectares, 41 hectares grazing
Average herd yield: 6,574 litres
TBC: 11
SCC: 123
Butterfat: 4.13%
Protein: 3.44%
Lactose: 4.77%
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