Young farmers are the very lifeblood of Irish agriculture. These young men and women will sustain the Irish agri sector – and by extension, drive the national economy – for decades to come. It’s a big responsibility but one that is being met head-on by the likes of Joe Maher, the progressive young face of Brockera Farm in Dunkerrin, Roscrea. We visited impressive family dairy enterprise in County Offaly to find out more.
It’s widely claimed that there aren’t enough young people getting involved in agriculture. However, one could counter that this is a classic case of quality triumphing over quantity. The quality of those who do choose a career in farming is beyond question, Joe Maher of Brockera Farm being a prime example.
Joe turned 25 in October of this year and has been entrenched in farming for as long as he can remember. His passion, enthusiasm and energy are boundless and this resulted in him being selected as the North Tipperary Young Farmer of the Year in 2014.
At present, operating alongside his uncle and partner, Peter Comerford, he milks some 154 pedigree Holstein Friesians at their Roscrea holding. The number is gradually increasing, having risen from 140 the previous year and – despite volatile milk prices – Joe is hoping to get up to around 180 in 2016. Judging by his inherent passion and determination, this vision is almost certainly destined to be fulfilled!
Joe grew up on a farm. His father Dudley runs a suckler and sheep operation at home, with 950 ewes and 60 sucklers. But Joe never farmed at home… “I’m in partnership with my uncle, Peter Comerford, here in Dunkerrin. I’ve been working alongside Peter for as long as I can remember,” he notes.
On the milking platform at the time of writing, there were some 130 acres, accommodating 154 cows. Joe’s uncle Tommy has an additional 72 acres, housing 30 sucklers (“We also buy all our silage from him.”), while 80 more acres have also been acquired recently by Joe and Peter. All this land will eventually be amalgamated into one block, which will leave the progressive Maher-Comerford team in a very strong position going forward.
A new 14-unit Pearson Parlour was installed during the summer to replace the existing ten-unit set-up. This has proven to be a very economical and efficient move, paring an hour off twice-daily milking times.
All the milk goes to Century Co-op in Thurles and has done since Day One. The yield is of the very highest quality and Joe intends to keep improving it even further. At the moment the yield stands at 381kg of milk solids per cow, from 4,700 litres per cow. “Now that the quotas are gone and things have changed, we hope to get more out of them,” Joe confirms.
Speaking of quotas, Joe believes the abolition will ultimately lead to an increase of over 50% in the overall operation. “It’s going to make a big difference when we put the whole farm together,” he explains. “We will definitely go up in numbers. Within the next four–five years, the goal is to go up to 220 – 250 max.”
True to form, Joe and Peter run the entire operation on their own. “There’s just myself and Peter and the dog,” the former quips. “I have learned a lot from him and I also went to Gurteen College, where I picked up more tips and hopefully Peter has been able to learn a little bit from me as well.”
Farming in Ireland seems to be suffering from a lack of young entrepreneurs. Is Joe aware of the fact that he is very much the exception to the rule? “I actually know a lot of young lads that are faming but I suppose there wouldn’t be too many who have set up partnerships or who are running their own businesses. But this could change. Hopefully more young people will get into it and make a career out of it.”
Joe knew from a very young age that he was going to spend his life on the farm. It was like a vocation, something that was just engrained in him. “I always knew I’d do this,” he confirms. “And it was always going to be cows. I knew from a very young age that I didn’t like sheep. I’ve been here since I was eight or nine and we’ve been in partnership since I left Gurteen in 2010.”
Feedwise, the cows benefit from a mixed diet. “We use a good bit of meal. It’s a dampish farm so we always have to throw them a few nuts. We’d give them 11kilos of silage per cow per day during the autumn to help build up the grass. Naturally, we try to keep it to grass as much as we can but they’d get some nuts in their diet all year around to keep them quiet.”
Being passionate about farming will only get one so far. The bottom line is that each enterprise has to function as a viable commercial entity. How difficult is this to achieve at Brockera Farm? “We can’t complain,” says Joe. “We will eventually evolve into a limited company. We’re producing our milk at 19c per litre and getting 31/32 cent for it, so we’re happy enough with that. A profit of 10-11 cent per litre isn’t going to make us rich but there’s no point whinging about it. If prices stay as they are, we are going to have to look at finding lower input costs.
“Unfortunately, they are predicting a bad year in 2016. If prices go back as low as 20 cent, like they were in 2009, we would obviously be in trouble and a lot of lads would go broke.”
On the day we visited Brockera Farm, butter far and protein readings were 4.3 and 3.85 respectively. The cows did 18 litres, with a somatic cell count of 170. The calving interval is 378 days (100% spring calving) and the herd EBI is €177, which ranks in the Top 200 in the country.
All in all, it’s a highly impressive operation and – with the youthful drive and enthusiasm of Joe Maher pushing things forward – things are destined to get even better!
Brockera Farm
Dunkerrin,
Roscrea,
Co. Offaly
Taken from Irish Tractor & Agri magazine Vol 3 No 10, November 2015
