John Fagan is one of Ireland’s best-known farmers thanks to the success of the RTE show ‘Big Week on the Farm’, which was broadcast live from his farm in Gartlandstown on the shores of Lough Derravaragh in Co. Westmeath earlier this year. Having focused mainly on sheep over the past six or seven years, he recently entered into a contract rearing agreement with an expanding local dairy farmer which he viewed as too good an opportunity to turn down.
John, who is currently running 950 ewes (including 150 ewe lambs) and 400 replacement dairy heifers on his 180-hectare Gartlandstown farm, sees his future in contract heifer rearing which is a form of collaborative farming where the dairy farmer out-sources the rearing of replacement heifers to a dry stock farmer. Having a set monthly income and avoiding the gambling element of buying in and selling stock was the main attraction for John. The other main benefit is that there is no capital required to stock the farm.
“I got an opportunity to enter into a contract rearing agreement with Brian Murphy, who is milking almost 1,000 cows in Oldcastle, Co. Meath, and after giving it plenty of thought, decided it was the way to go,” he says.
“I got into sheep farming six or seven years ago after phasing out the tillage enterprise and initially teamed it up with a 150-head heifer finishing system. At first, I was wary of entering into two new enterprises (sheep and dairy) in short succession, but with unpredictable returns from the beef finishing enterprise, I felt I had nothing to lose. It took about six months to flesh out a contract of agreement with Brian.
“The key to a good contract rearing arrangement is having a clear and written agreement from day one. Talking about certain aspects and making agreements in word of mouth is okay during initial discussion, but it is important that all these are written down and a robust contract that both parties are happy with is established. The arrangement allows Brian more space on his milking platform.”
John currently has 200 yearling-to-18 month old heifers and 200 spring 2016-born calves which arrived on the farm after they were weaned off milk. A background in sucklers and beef farming gave John a good grounding for his new enterprise.
“We have the expertise, knowledge and land here to carry out contract rearing. While the heifers belong to someone else, I still mind and manage them as if they’re my own. For me, this is an easier way of making a profit than when I had the beef enterprise and was at the mercy of the factory. The transition to contract rearing hasn’t been all that much different to what I was doing with beef anyway,” he continues.
While John is already taking steps to reduce the size of his sheep enterprise, he doesn’t intend getting out of sheep completely.
“I’d be reluctant to do that. Sheep are great for utilising grass, but what I’ve learned over the last five or six years is that if your flock goes above 700, you need an extra man with you. It’s the same as having 1,500. Managing 1,000 ewes is a lot more time consuming that managing dairy heifers.”
Around 1,600 lambs were born on the Gartlandstown farm last March and April. Most of those lambs have since been supplied to Irish Country Meats (ICM). John has decided not to lamb any of this year’s ewe lambs in order to decrease his flock size.
John, who receives great support from his girlfriend Claire Marshall and parents Frank and Margaret, is committed to driving production from a grass-based system and says working closely with Brian Murphy has refocused his attention on grassland management.
“It’s a gradual thing with grassland management. I don’t have a full handle on it yet, but am working towards making improvements each year. I recently had the farm mapped with Grasstec and am getting more up to speed on grass budgeting. I am having good success with grazing calves and heifers ahead of ewes and lambs and using them to graze out paddocks. With the correct grass management and pre-grazing grass height, this should achieve high levels of performances in both enterprises.
“At the end of the day, my focus should be on grass and using whatever animal gives the best return and also suits the system to utilise it. I know my farm can produce more grass, but the experience of the last five years has shown me growth in any enterprise needs to come in line with higher grass production or else the risk is that it will just increase costs.”
In his mid-thirties, John graduated from UCD in 2001 with a degree in Agri-Business and Rural Development. The following year, he won a Nuffield Scholarship where he highlighted the lack of traceability in South American beef production. Having travelled extensively, he is convinced that efficient grassland management can reap massive benefits for Irish farmers whether in beef, sheep or dairying. The affable Westmeath man has been an active member of the Irish Grassland Association for many years, holding a position on the council for three years. He hosted an Irish Grassland Association reseeding demonstration on his farm and spoke at the Student Conference in 201, and at the Sheep Conference in 2012.
John became a familiar face on our TV screens when RTE One’s ‘Big Week on the Farm’ was broadcast live from his farm in Crookedwood last April. The programme was a hit with viewers, with 1.5 million people tuning throughout the week. Presented by Aine Lawlor and Ella McSweeney, the show aimed to give viewers a real insight into the activities at farms across Ireland as spring brought them to life.
Over the course of the week, 60 lambs were born, including a live birth with Ella McSweeney lending a hand. Country music star Nathan Carter also delivered twin lambs when he co-hosted the show. Viewers also saw celebrity co-hosts battle it out in the ‘Pull the Udder One’ challenge to milk a cow with Met Eireann’s Gerry Murphy emerging victorious. Host Aine Lawlor trumped camogie star Anna Geary in the battle to find the fastest chicken plucker. And a new world record was set when Donegal man Ivan Scott shaved 1.41 seconds off the existing Guinness World Record for shearing a mature sheep, live on air. Scott is also the current world record holder for the greatest number of sheep shorn in eight hours.
The RTE cameras are due to return to Gartlandstown in late November to record a Christmas Special of ‘Big Week on the Farm’. Now that should be well worth a watch!
John Fagan,
Gartlandstown,
Crookedwood,
Mullingar,
Co. Westmeath.
Taken from Irish Tractor & Agri magazine Vol 4 No 9, November/December 2016
