Monaghan suppliers takes top honours in Quality Milk competition

Attention to detail, excellent practical knowledge, management to overcome challenges and consistently producing a top-quality product are the hallmarks of how the McKenna business in Monaghan is run.

There were other farm businesses that scored equally well, if not better on some individual parameters, but the combination of quality milk results and an excellent understanding of how to operate makes Darren McKenna stand out from the rest.

His capital investment on the farm to allow him produce quality milk and keep the place clean certainly stood out.

The flooring in the dairy, the paint work in the parlour, the equipment investment to deliver a consistent product that had been thoroughly researched came across loud and clear to the judges when we called.

The statistics speak for themselves – somatic cell count (SCC) consistently less than 80, total bacteria count (TBC) less than eight and delivering over 450kg of milk solids per cow stocked at 3.2 cows/ha make the business numbers rank at the top.

Big operation

In the early stages of his farming career, Darren was heading for a herd of 10,000-litre cows, which, in fairness, would not be unusual for farmers in this region and further north. Often, farms are fragmented and a lot of milk is produced indoors in the winter months.

However, Darren realised early when he had some individual cows reaching for that very high output that there were challenges with that operation which would not be solved easily at larger scale.

He then took it on himself to research and watch others on what they were doing and realised a business with larger scale delivering about 6,000 litres per cow from less than 1t/cow/year of meal might be more sustainable long-term.

His vision was that it would be better for herd health and fertility and allow him to utilise the assets he had on his farm to make better profits.

Darren is the fifth generation to farm at Derrygasson. To deliver on his herd and business objective, he was going to have to invest in facilities.

Investment push

The real push on investment came in 2007 when sheds, parlour and tunnels were constructed to allow him build the cow numbers from 60 to 90 by 2017 and up to 105 cows milking this year.

In total, 62ha are farmed, with 33ha available for grazing. Meal fed is about 800kg/cow and grazed grass is in the diet for 10 months of the year.

With 37 heifer calves and 26 in-calf heifers, Darren might be able to milk 130 cows in the coming years.

In summary, the holistic nature of the people and the business to allow Darren and his family develop a business that sets them apart from the rest on quality is recognition that they are on the right road.

There is not much in it at the top, but the winner must take the glory and this prize belongs to the McKenna family from just outside Emyvale in Monaghan.

The Ryan farm is a family-run dairy partnership between Tom and Mary Ryan and their son Michael. The performance is excellent, despite the fact the herd is in expansion mode. This is a real family business where every member plays a part in delivering top-class performance.

The Ryans’ protocol and method for washing, cleaning and attention to detail is spot on the money. There are no shortcuts taken and all members of the team have a part to play.

Mary, Tom and Michael are clearly all involved and all dedicated to the cause. Up to now, the herd is really delivering, with over 530kg of milk solids per cow delivered from 800kg of meal and stocked at 2.8 cows/ha.

However, it’s not all about expansion for the sake of expansion – the focus is on replacing drystock with milking cows to convert more of the grazed grass in Lisheen to milk rather than meat protein.

A new 20-unit parlour is being finalised to improve facilities as cow numbers increase. Similar to the McKenna family, the milk quality results speak for themselves.

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NDC Quality Milk Awards: leading from the front on milk quality