O’Meara Family Farm in Co Tipperary has seen quite an expansion over the last 37 years. Irish Tractor & Agri learned more about the family milking specialists from Portroe after hearing from Denis and Declan O’Meara recently.
Business is good right now for the O’Mearas in Portroe, Co Tipperary and the plan is to maintain the status quo as the family farm nears closer and closer to 40 years in existence.
When the farm was inherited back in 1980 from his father Michael, Denis O’Meara owned just eight milking cows and 12 hectares of land but the best part of four decades can make a hell of a difference, especially when you and your family are particularly passionate about the profession.
Fast forward 35 years later and the O’Meara Family Farm’s expansion sees the total up to 350 Holstein and British Friesian cows, 180 replacement heifers and 150 hectares of land.
Today there are 340 cows in total on the farm, as Denis explained to Irish Tractor & Agri when we caught up with him and his family recently.
“We’re in Portroe, Co Tipperary and I’ve been farming here since 1980,” Denis explained.
“Altogether there’s myself, my wife Maura, son Declan and one other full-time employee working here right now and we’ve been very busy.”
Denis runs a registered dairy partnership with his wife and son and also receives help from his three daughters – Denise (26), Triona (24) and Eimear (20) – whenever it’s required.
Declan, who is 27, is set to be the farm’s next owner once Denis decides to step aside, having been immersed in this line of work all of his life.
Denis has owned the farm since back when the milk quota first began and has managed to grow it with the unwavering help of his family alongside him.
All of this has combined into making O’Meara Family Farm the success it is today.
“I would’ve started back in 1980 and at the time there were 37 acres and eight cows here,” Denis outlined.
“The quotas came in in 1982 and they put huge restrictions on us but we still built the herd up to 40 cows towards the late 1980s and continued to grow from there.
“In 2002 we leased an adjoining farm of 80 acres. That gave us extra scope to increase the milking herd.
“At the time there was an early retirement scheme in place which let me expand the holding. It is a pity there is no similar scheme there at the moment for farmers.
“In 2004, we leased a further 80 acres and in 2012 we bought more land that gave us further access to lease land and at the moment we’re sitting on 150 hectares, 60% of which is long-term leased. We have 102 hectares of milking platform and another 48 hectares outside the milking platform as well.
“We are milking 340 cows here and rear another 100 replacement heifers each year.”
The milk from O’Meara Family Farm is supplied to Arrabawn Co-Op in Nenagh, which was founded following the merger of Nenagh Co-op and Mid West Farmer’s Co-op in 2001.
The co-op produces a wide array of products which include dairy consumer products such as milk, butter, cream; dairy ingredients such as casein, skim milk powder, whole milk powder, whey; and animal feeds products.
Supported by an experienced leadership team of professionals, each division is focused on ensuring commitment to the highest standards of quality, efficiency, competitiveness and customer satisfaction to all stakeholders.
Arrabawn Co-op is also leading provider of dairy produce to the Kerrygold brand.
The O’Mearas’ working relationship with the co-op dates all the way back to 1980 – before Declan was even born – and they still supply all their milk to the company’s Nenagh depo.
“We supply all our milk to Arrabawn Co-op and we’ve had a good working relationship with them from Day One,” said Denis.
Another who has hit the ground running when it comes to the family business is Declan O’Meara.
Declan has been helping out on the farm since he was a kid and having earned a valuable education in the agri sector, he is now the next in line to take over the reins once his father takes the decision to hand them down.
“I’m working here full-time since finishing college five years ago,” Declan explained.
“I went to New Zealand for three months after college and worked on a farm which was milking 600 cows, so it was a great experience to get before coming back here. I think it has stood to me and I’m just looking forward to what the future holds now for us here.”
The family looks after the herd’s seasonal breeding programme and Declan is constantly overseeing the breeding, as well as being responsible for AI services
The fact that there is a 65 percentage pregnancy rate in first-service heifers speaks volumes about the success that the O’Mearas have been having down in Portroe.
All of the family’s calves are registered quickly after they are born.
It’s little wonder why the O’Mearas are relishing what’s to come down the line, as they are currently as busy as they’ve ever been in their 37-year history.
“Milk prices have made a huge difference and we’re doing about 6,000 litres of milk or 480kg of milk solid per cow here. At the moment we’re in the process of building a new milking parlour to make life easier and reduce the length of time milking.”
It’s safe to say that the O’Meara Family Farm has a bright looking future indeed.
O’Meara Family Farm
Portroe,
Co. Tipperary
Taken from Irish Tractor & Agri magazine Vol 5 No 6, September 2017
