Teagasc is to spend over €300,000 next year when it installs a new 46-unit rotary milking parlour at Moorepark, the Irish Farmers Journal can reveal.

Dairymaster successfully tendered for the contract to fit the parlour.

Three other tenders were received by Teagasc for the project.

The Kerry-headquartered company will supply, deliver, install, commission and train Teagasc staff on the rotary. The contract is worth €299,179.12, excluding VAT.

Documents seen by the Irish Farmers Journal show that the existing 30-unit and 10-unit parlours will be traded in against the new parlour, with Dairymaster engaged to dismantle the 30-unit parlour.

Milk recording, rubber matting and the recording of milking characteristics of each cow for research purposes were among the requirements set out by Teagasc for the contract.

Solar panels

Teagasc is also to install an array of solar panels on up to 49 of its sites across the country.

It will have both small- and larger-scale solar photovoltaics (PV) projects, as well as roof-mounted and ground-mounted systems.

The solar panels will be installed at its farms at Moorepark, Athenry, Grange and Oak Park and at a range of its offices around the country.

It had tendered for solar companies to carry out the work and the successful companies must deliver planning applications and engineering solutions for exporting electricity to the grid.

Activ8 Energies, Fingleton White, Local Power, PV Generation and Solar Electric will be the suppliers of the panels across the range of sites.

The installation of the solar panels will go towards the authority meeting its organisation-wide energy management strategy, which is to see it meet its public sector energy efficiency targets and to deliver operational cost reductions and reduce its environmental impact.