I farm: “80ac of leased land in Castleisland, as a new entrant dairy farmer since 2018. The land is split by a busy road with one-third of the farm at the far side of the road. It is also heavy enough land over there.”

Milking platform: “The milking platform consists of 65ac and 35% to 40% of it has been reseeded since I took over the farm in 2018.”

David operates a spring-calving system. \ Valerie O'Sullivan

The herd: “I am currently milking 78 cows and have the capacity for 80. I run a spring-calving system. I was happy with how breeding went. I had a 70% conception rate overall. I had 16 heifers which were all bred over three to four days. I was very pleased with how it went. The herd is mainly Holstein Friesian with a small amount of crossbreeding.”

Feed: “Cows are currently on 2kg/day of a 14% nut. As regards silage, I don’t use any of the milking platform for silage, which has worked out well so far.”

David currently milks 78 cows. \ Valerie O'Sullivan

This week: “We are busy at the minute prepping for the farm walk on Thursday at 11am. It will consist of a grass walk and I will talk about the new infrastructure on the farm. Since taking over the farm, I have put in five to six spur roadways and a main roadway.”

Weather: “So far, the weather hasn’t been too bad and we hope to have enough grass until early November. I have spread 178kg of nitrogen on the milking platform this year and have averaged the same for the last few years. I don’t think I’ll have any issues with slurry storage either.”

David believes it is important to a passion for what you're doing in order to have a successful farming operation. \ Valerie O'Sullivan

Future plans: “I aim to get 20% of the milking platform into clover next year to reduce fertiliser usage in 2022. I also plan to reseed about 4ac every year.”

Quotable quote: “The key to running any successful business is having a passion for what you are doing and having goals set out of where you would like to be in five years’ time.”