Nowadays, it is not particularly uncommon to change career, with the average person changing three to seven times throughout their working lifetime.

However, it is slightly unusual for a man operating at the peak of a well-paid profession to transfer into milking cows. This is exactly what Meath veterinary surgeon Sean Roche is planning.

When I rang Sean about asking if he’d be interested in completing an interview with the Irish Farmers Journal, he was very positive, open and assured about doing it.

In my book, that’s a good indicator of someone who has done his homework and is fully sure that he is not about to take a blind leap of faith, rather a calculated, informed sidestep.

A vet by trade in a mixed animal practice with bases in Ballivor and Enfield, Co Meath, Sean also operates a beef enterprise with 40 weanlings and 60 finishing cattle.

However, Sean is looking to trade this in to set up a new dairy enterprise by developing his existing yard in Castlerickard, not far from Longwood, Co Meath.

Margins too tight

When I asked what was his reason for ditching the cattle and vet professions, he was outright and frank with his answers.

A view down the suckler shed on Sean’s farm in 2013.

“The margins in beef are too tight and it’s too much to juggle with a full-time day job, especially the way things are these days.”

Specifically on veterinary, his reasoning, although logically sound, may surprise a lot of people. Modern-day veterinary is in decline.

"With the end of brucellosis testing, there is a lot less work for vets and farmers are also a lot more reluctant to call a vet to a sick animal, unless it’s a life or death situation for the animal.”

While having a keen interest in dairy himself, stemming back to his youth when he spent many a happy day helping on his uncle’s dairy farm in Macroom, Co Cork, he is also making provisions for his sons Eamon and Jim. Eamon is 16 and Jim is 14 and both already have a keen interest in milking cows.

“The lads have an interest in dairy and, to be realistic, there simply isn’t enough here with the beef for them to make a comfortable living, so that was a major factor in my thought process.”

Cows

Sean plans to operate a spring-calving system and purchased 140 Friesian weanling heifers in April 2016.

He said: “Buying them as calves rather than buying in-calf heifers means less money was required for purchase and I was able to offset the rearing cost by gradually selling out the beef stock.”

Calving is set to start in February 2018 and Sean is targeting high-EBI cows with particular emphasis on fertility and the capacity to do 5,000 litres or 400kg of milk solids.

Infrastructure

Although converting to dairy requires a huge investment in infrastructure, the Roches hope to do this with relatively few borrowings.

This is possible as the yard was previously upgraded in 2013 with the ultimate aim of going into dairy further down the track. One pre-existing shed is being developed to house 80 cubicles and there is another shed being built from scratch to contain 114 cubicles.

There is a dry cow straw bed area adjacent to this, which also contains a calving bay. A milking parlour is also under construction which will contain a 20-unit De Laval parlour.

At current projected cow numbers, that will mean seven rows in the parlour, which will mean less time spent milking and more time maintaining the rest of the farm.

The parlour is set in the middle of the farm and there are two roadways leading up to it, so a circular collecting yard was built to allow for good cow flow.

There was a big investment in waterways, with over 4km of 40mm piping installed to allow for good flow. He also installed a 20t meal bin, a 15,000-litre Packo bulk tank (direct expansion) and has plans to install an automatic drafting gate in the near future.

Grass

Sean has a milking platform of 90ha and paddocks are split into 2.5ha each. Sean said: “Grasstec were great in helping me map the farm and, with their assistance, I was able to split it into 2.5ha paddocks, which I hope to graze at 36-hour intervals.

"I got 16ha of reseeding done this year and I hope to do 10% each year.”

Finance

Obtaining finance was an issue, Sean says. Despite only borrowing a reasonable amount, there was what Sean described as “an unnecessary amount of red tape” for him to obtain funds.

It took a full “10 months to get through the bank”, he states. “They were very fussy and delayed me a lot, looking for engineering reports, etc.

I honestly feel if it was somebody else looking for a mortgage to buy a house, they wouldn’t have the same issues. Banks need to work with farmers rather than against them.”

As for advice, Teagasc provided him with invaluable guidance in helping him get started, with people like Patrick Gowing providing a lot of assistance initially and then Willie Byrne on a more long-term basis.

“They were very helpful in helping to iron out a few kinks long the way.”

Sean also says: “I’m not naïve. I’m aware that what we’re doing has a certain amount of a risk to it and we are susceptible to price volatility, but I’m confident it’s something we can make work.”

From talking to him, he seems well placed to not only just survive but also thrive in the world of 21st-century dairy farming.

Dairy Day 2017

The Irish Farmers Journal will host National Dairy Day on Thursday 23 November 2017 in Punchestown Event Centre, Co. Kildare. The event promises to offer solutions for a growing sector. The day aims to showcase all that is good about the dairy industry and find solutions for farmers to emerging challenges and trends. To get a FREE ticket for Dairy Day, simply collect 3 tokens from the Irish Farmers Journal and bring them along with you on the day or BUY YOUR TICKET HERE