Down through the generations, the Mulligans of Templeboy have developed one of the premier dairy farming operations in the Sligo region. We met up with Padraig Og Mulligan to get an insight into the history of the business, day-to-day activities and their future plans.
Operating out of Templeboy in County Sligo, the Mulligans run a superb dairy farming enterprise, currently milking 620 crossbreed Jersey cows (there can be up to between 1,300 – 1,400 total stock on the farm during calving season), supplying Aurivo (Connacht Gold) exclusively. Padraig Og is the third generation of the Mulligan family to be involved in dairy farming – and the fourth generation is imminent! Reflecting on the early days of this impressive family business, he notes:
“My father [Padraig Snr.] would have started with around 40 acres. We now have over 480 acres of our own and have taken on an additional 400. We take land within a 20-mile radius of the home farm in Templeboy, but the vast majority of it is within a three-four-mile radius. We’re always on the look-out for more pockets of land and this will be vital in terms of the future growth of the business.”
When the milk quotas were introduced in 1984, Mulligans of Templeboy had about 80 milking cows. This rose to 240 by 1996 and, since 2003/04, they have consistently been up around the 500-600 mark. “Last year, we went to 730 but we had to sell 150 in calf heifers earlier this year. We have 300 in calf heifers now and are milking 620 in total, and have another 100 to calf,” says Padraig Og.
With quotas now abolished, further expansion is a distinct possibility, provided more land can be secured in the immediate locality. “Our intention is to expand, however this will naturally depend on more grazing land becoming available. Last year we had 6.4 cows per hectare and it was vital to ensure the right balance. Ideally, we’d love to have more grazing ground and that’s our main obstacle at the moment. Extra land would take pressure off our system. Ideally, we’d like to lease it, but you’re not always going to get things the way you want them.
“The last land we bought was back in 2008, when we paid €13,500 per acre; we haven’t bought any since. Where we are located, the land is very good and they can graze from February until November. Last year, they came in on November 15th and they were out again this year on February 6th – and overnight since the first week of March. We measure grass on the farm weekly through Agrinet and this gives us our platform to grow between 12 – 13 tonne per hectare and this also keeps the quality of the sward in top condition.”
As a host farm for Teagasc, Mulligans would have students from Ireland and overseas on their farm for three or four months of the year. The operation provides full and part- time employment, with additional help coming from Padraig Og’s brothers-in-law. Down through the years all five of Padraig Og’s sisters have been actively involved in the farm.
Padraig Senior is a former Chairman of the National Liquid Milk Committee, a National Milk Agency Board Member, Irish Grassland Association Council Member, serves the Steering Committee of Teagasc Liquid Milk, Member of the Master Farmers, Sligo IFA Representative on the Enviornment Committee, and is Secretary of Templeboy & Dromore West IFA, having been a member of the IFA itself for up to four decades.
Padraig Og meanwhile, was heavily involved in Macra na Feirme over the years, serving as County Chairman, North West Vice-president and also sitting on the Agricultural Affairs National Committee. In 2009, he won an All-Ireland Farm Skills title with Midway Macra. In 2008 he finished in the top 6 in the Young Farmer of the Year. He is also actively involved in a local discussion group, called West Awake, which has 15 members from the Mayo/Galway/Sligo/Roscommon/
“I came home from Warrenstown College in ’96 and it was at that stage that we put in the new parlour and upgraded the yard and started to move the business forward.
“Aurivo is our sole customer and we’ve been producing for them since the 1970s. As the co-op got bigger, so have we. We produce about 600,000 gallons for them – around 4,300 litres per cow. The constituents can range anywhere between 3.5 and 3.95 protein and butterfat ranging from 4.2 – 5 %.”
Going forward, plans are afoot to install a 64-unit rotary milking parlour to replace the existing 20-unit one. “The existing parlour can’t really handle the numbers going through it,” Padraig Og concedes. “Even though the new parlour will represent a substantial investment, we feel it is the best way forward. The work will be less labour-intensive and one person should be able to milk between 350 and 400 cows per hour. It will be very beneficial both from an animal welfare and a personal point of view.”
Padraig Og and Padraig Snr. oversee the operation as equal partners. “My mother Mary is the backbone and looks after all the paperwork and the finances which is a vital part of the business. Mary also runs a Bed and Breakfast and a tour of the farm is avilable to guests if they so wish,” says the former, who is married to Anita with three children, Kyle, Callum and Aveen. Anita works outside the home as well as being a full time mother as Padraig Og is so involved in the farm. “Everyone has their own duties to take care of and it’s a real partnership. Dad is farming all his life and he’s still as active around the farm as he ever was. It’s a team business.”
Looking to the future, Padraig Og makes no bones about his ambition for the business going forward. “To become more profitable,” he states. “If the right land comes up, we will take it and expand the business. We’re trying to produce as much milk per acre as we can and, in this respect, we’re trying to bring home as much information as we can from the Irish Grassland Association. We’re getting twelve-and-a-half tonnes of grass per hectare at the moment and we are aiming to get up to 14 tonnes. If we could get the whole farm up to there that would be an enormous achievement.”
The Mulligans have achieved so much down through the decades that it would be foolhardy to bet against it!
And before we finished talking, Padraig Og made sure to thank all those who have helped in the success of the farming operation – family, staff and suppliers down the years for their commitment and dedication to the Mulligan Family at Corkamore Dairies.
Corkamore Dairies,
Corkamore,
Templeboy,
Co. Sligo
Taken from Irish Tractor & Agri magazine Vol 3 No 5, June 2015
