Dairy farmer Shane O’Loughlin held a special open day at his farm in Oghill, Kildare recently.

Supported by the National Dairy Council (NDC), up to 200 students from Kildangan National School, Co Kildare, were guided through the farm and given presentations on nutrition and dairy production by experts from the NDC.

Kildare under-20s GAA stars Cormac Barker, Luke Killian, Eoin Cully and Ethan Mountaine also attended with the Leinster Flood Cup and All-Ireland Clark Cup that they won in 2023.

Kildare under-20 GAA stars at the walk.

Like thousands of Ireland’s dairy farmers, Shane comes from a farming tradition.

His family have been farming at Oghill, Co Kildare, since 1943 when Shane’s grandfather first bought the land.

The family have been dairy farming since 1960 when a dairy co-op was established in Monasterevin, Co Kildare.

Management

Following the completion of a first class honour’s degree in animal crop production in UCD and time abroad, Shane returned to the farm in 2005, taking over full management from his father in 2011.

He and his wife Judith have three children - Hugh, Tom and Emma.

Since taking over the farm, Shane has worked hard to reduce the carbon footprint associated with his farm’s milk production, putting in place a series of initiatives which have improved grass quality, soil fertility and animal breeding, as well as improving biodiversity on his land.