The McVerry family have been in dairy for over 50 years. Patsy McVerry and his son Michael milk approximately 320 cows in Whitecross, Co. Armagh and supply to Town of Monaghan Co-Op.
Dairy is the main type of farming carried out in the Whitecross area and the McVerry’s have been at it since circa 1900. They milk all year round on their 500-acre Bridgeview Farm and also rear calves for dairy and beef. In addition, they keep a number of pedigree Charolais cattle and graze lambs over the winter months.
The McVerry’s sizeable herd of Holstein Friesian cows are milked twice dairy, between 7 and 10 o’clock in the morning and again between 6 and 9 o’clock in the evening. The milking duties are shared between Michael, Colm Gorman and Ryan Mackin with relief from Patrick Morgan.
“We do manage to take the odd holiday,” Michael smiles.
“I think it’s important not to tie yourself to the milking parlour, which a lot of farmers end up doing. We organise ourselves in such a way that everyone gets a break at some stage. We’ve two very good lads with us and we all work well together.”
The herd size hasn’t changed much in 25 years. Michael explains: “We were milking 150 cows until I returned from college in 1990. At that stage, we decided to double that figure and we’ve been holding firm at around 300 ever since.
“In order to produce milk 12 months of the year, we stagger the calving. The calving starts in September and runs until December. Then there is usually a small break until the middle of January when it starts again and continues until June. It would be impossible to cope with 300 cows calving at the same time.”
He continues: “We keep the Friesian calves, but sell the Hereford and Charolais when they are only a few weeks old. The Friesian heifers will eventually end up in our dairy herd and the bulls are reared for beef.”
The McVerry’s caused quite a stir in 1996 when they became the first dairy farmers in Northern Ireland to invest in a computerised milking system. The 20:40 Dairymaster parlour has an automated ID system that is used to control feeding among other things. Since installing the system, milking time has been dramatically reduced, output has increased and the job of milking cows has become an easier and more enjoyable experience. The cows also seem to be a lot happier!
“The system was way ahead of its time and is still comparable with the best that’s out there now,” Michael maintains.
“People were sceptical about it at the time and some even thought we were mad to be investing in a computerised system. We had farmers from different parts of Ireland coming to see how it works for about two years after Cookstown Dairy Services in Ardee installed it for us. It milks 20 cows at a time and we haven’t regretted getting it in for one minute.
“It’s still running as smoothly as the day we got it. I’d say it will be at least another five years before we start thinking about upgrading. Three years ago we added the automatic cluster-flush system which will keep mastitis to a minimum. ”
The McVerry’s make their own feedstuff, buying grain and straw from a number of producers in the Co. Louth area. They also buy straights from Tullyherron Farm Feeds in Mountnorris, Co. Armagh and Lakeland Dairies.
Bridgeview Farm has been supplying milk to Town of Monaghan Co-Op for over 20 years. Indeed, Patsy McVerry is on the Co-Op’s committee. Town of Monaghan is one of the longest established co-operatives in Ireland. It was founded in 1901 by a group of local farmers and business people who came together in order to own and control their own business for the long-term benefit of its dairy farmers.
Today, Town of Monaghan Co-Op remains a farmer-owned and controlled co-operative, still based on the same values of long-term sustainability, mutual responsibility and equality and equity. With member milk suppliers in both the Republic and Northern Ireland, it is a truly a cross-border organisation. Town of Monaghan sources all of its milk from its farmer suppliers, giving it full “Grass to Glass” traceability.
The Co-Op currently handles and processes 500 million litres of milk annually from 1,000 farmers at its site in Coolshannagh, Monaghan and TMC Dairies (NI) Ltd site in Artigavan, Co. Tyrone.
Being market and customer driven, Town of Monaghan Co-Op is a major supplier of value added dairy products. It supplies leading retailers with a wide range of dairy products both branded and as retailers’ own brand. Town of Monaghan works in partnership with these retailers on developing product ranges that suit the ever-changing needs and requirements of its customers.
There was much fanfare surrounding the lifting of milk quotas on March 31 last after 30 years in which dairy farmers in the Republic were restricted on the amount of milk they could produce. Now, new rules mean they can produce as much milk as they want and Michael, for one, fears it will have a negative impact on the industry.
“We had a degree of protectionism, but that’s no longer there. If there’s a big increase in production, then milk prices will fall like a stone. If anything, we need a decrease in production. We’re only getting 22p a litre at the moment which means we are just about breaking even. I would be quite fearful about what the future holds for the Irish dairy sector arising from this,” he concludes.
The farm has recently invested in PV solar panels and are currently working on a rain-Water harvesting project which they hope will reduce electricity bills and make them more eco-efficient.
In addition, the McVerrys have recently opened a small on-farm store, which supply minerals and vitamins, milk replacer, dairy hygiene products, and other items to local farmers.
Bridgeview Farm
Whitecross,
Co. Armagh.
Telephone: 028 30837076
Mobile: 077 11189377
Taken from Irish Tractor & Agri magazine Vol 3 No 6, July 2015
