John & Colette run a family farm which goes back generations and the tradition is continuing.
Their daughter Ciara (14) enjoys helping on the farm when she’s not at school. Aidan is finishing school and eldest son Alan is in College.
“I love what I do. Since I was a lad I’ve always wanted to milk cows. It was like heaven compared to other jobs,” says John. “If a volunteer was needed to help milk the cows, I was always the first in line.”
The farm is fragmented so about 14.5 hectares of the most accessible land is used for grazing the dairy herd, with the rest of the farm used for beef and replacement heifers.
The farm is in the REPS scheme and is Registered with Bord Bia’s Sustainable Dairy Assurance Scheme. For example rainwater is harvested on the farm which also has a plate cooler installed, a stream on the farm is fenced off for protection and stone walls are maintained.
Farm Fact File:
Farm 29 hectares, 14.5 hectares grazing
36 cows, average herd yield 6,200 litres
TBC 8.9
SCC 118
Butterfat 4.03 %
Protein 3.53%
Lactose 4.7%
Find out more about all the winners.