It appears that concerns remain over delays to approvals under the Targeted Agricultural Modernisation Scheme (TAMS), despite a commitment from Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Charlie McConalogue that all eligible applications under tranche 3 will be approved.

The minister said last week that all eligible applications to the tranche – which closed on April 12 – will be approved, saying he was “delighted” with the number of applications to tranche 3, which numbered 3,802.

However, the Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers’ Association (ICMSA) has said that the minister’s commitment “counts for nothing” without formal notices of approval being sent to farmers.

Eamon Carroll, deputy president and farm and rural affairs chairperson of the ICMSA, said that farmers are unable to proceed with on-farm work for which they have applied for funding until formal notification is received.

“The delays involved, [which are] already ridiculous, will not be solved until those formal notifications are issued. The reality is that there are still applicants from tranche 1 who have yet to receive formal approval, despite the fact that their closing date was in summer 2023, and we know of cases where applications have been submitted for over a year,” Carroll said.

Carroll also criticised the department for what he claimed was a “double standard” on these delays.

“The department can take as long as it likes to issue an approval while, at the same time, writing to farmers with a query telling them to respond within 20 days or their application will be rejected in full,” he said.

“This is the kind of double standard that has made farmer interaction with the department so fraught and irksome. There’s one rule for the department and a second, much more abrupt, rule for the farmer.”

Carroll also claimed that Minister McConalogue “continues to stall” on concluding the Farmers’ Charter, which, the ICMSA deputy president said, “might offer farmers some protection”.

According to Carroll, farmers cannot have confidence to invest if the approval for their investment is delayed “so long that the building price quotes…are completely out of date”.

He called for the department to prioritise the work of approving TAMS applications so that all applications from the first three tranches are approved by the end of June.

Carroll also called for the four TAMS tranches scheduled for next year to be “set in stone” so that they open and close at quarterly intervals. He said this will bring a “degree of certainty” for farmers and their advisors.

“There is, however, no point in having certainty on tranche closing dates if approval can take up to a year to come through. This needs to stop and the minister must address it immediately,” the ICMSA representative said.

The post Concerns remain on TAMS approval despite minister’s comments appeared first on Agriland.ie.

Producer prices for dairy products fell back by 23.7% over the 12-month period to March 2024, according to the Central Statistics Office (CSO).

The wholesale price index for 2024 shows that for food products overall, producer prices fell by 9.1% in that 12-month period.

Apart from the decrease for dairy products, a slight decrease of 0.3% was also noted for meat and meat products in that period.

Decreases in producer prices were also recorded for vegetable and animal oils and fats (down 6%) and grain milling, starches and animal feeds (down 6.8%).

Some products saw increases in producer prices, including fish and fish products (up 7.1%), while bakery products increased very slightly by 0.3% in the 12-month reference period.

Producer prices for fruit and vegetable products were unchanged, while other food products, which weren’t categorised with any of the above, decreased by 11.5%.

The producer price index for beverages increased by 8.9%, while the index for wood and wood products fell by 10.5%.

Outside of the agri-food and forestry sectors, wholesale electricity prices were down 40.3% annually from March 2023 to March 2024, and down 70.4% over two years compared to March 2022.

The overall energy index decreased by 31.9% when compared to March 2023.

This is despite increases in prices of fuel (petrol, autodiesel, gas oil, and fuel oil) of between 2.3% and 8.9%.

Wholesale prices for construction products saw a slight decrease of 0.3% over the 12 months to March, with a wide range of decreases and increases in the relevant sub-categories; for example, prices for stone, sand, and gravel increased by 12.5% in that period, but prices for treated timber decreased by 31.6%.

In terms of capital goods, prices for such goods used in agriculture and industry increased by 4.3%, and prices of transportable capital for use in agriculture increased by 3.1% from March 2023 to March 2024.

The post Producer prices for dairy products down 23% in last 12 months appeared first on Agriland.ie.

Applicants to the 2024 Traditional Farm Buildings Scheme (TFBS) have one week left to submit their applications.

The scheme, which is for the conservation and repair of traditional farm buildings and related structures has been open for applications since February 22.

Online application forms and the required supporting documents must be submitted to the Heritage Council by Wednesday, March 27 at 5:00p.m.

In 2024, participants in the following Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) schemes will be eligible to apply:

• Approved participants the Agri Climate Rural Environment Scheme (ACRES);
• Participants in European Innovation Partnership (EIP) calls one, two and three, Hen Harrier and Pearl Mussel projects, and The Burren Programme who were an active participant as of December 31, 2022, or had completed the full term of the contract for the relevant EIP, or have completed a five-year project as appropriate;
• Approved participants of the Organic Farming Scheme (OFS).

Applicants must also be the owner of the building/other related structure for which funding is sought or are acting with the permission of the owner (owner consent must be provided).

The DAFM has allocated €1,500,000 to this scheme in 2024. The minimum grant amount offered will be €4,000 and the maximum, €30,000.

The grant will not be for more than 75% of the cost of the approved works. (Some grants will be for less than 75% of the cost of the approved works).

The smallest project that could be funded would cost in the region of €5,400. The balance of
funding may not be from any other state source.

LEADER funding cannot be obtained for the conservation works in addition to a grant under this scheme.

You can apply through the Heritage Council’s online grants management system.

Paper forms are not provided or accepted, only applications submitted online will be accepted.

To consider your application, the Heritage Council must receive your online application along with required supporting documents by March 27, 2024 at 5:00p.m.

Applications or required supporting documents cannot be submitted after this time.

The following documents must be uploaded in support of an application by the stated closing date:

1. A location map so that we could get to your building/other related structure from a
   Regional road
2. Clear and current photograph(s) of the exterior;
3. Clear and current photograph(s) of the interior (if applying for building);
4. Clear and current photograph(s) of any parts in need of repair;
5. Clear and current photograph(s) of building or other related structure in its
   wider surroundings in the countryside.
6. Clear and current photograph(s) of public view (if answer to question on application is yes)
7. A quotation, or cost breakdown, detailing materials and costs (You must upload copies of quotations, estimates or other evidence to support the figures and costs you provide in the budget table of the online application form);
8. Consent of owner (as appropriate).

The Heritage Council will contact all applicants in writing to advise of the outcome of applications by the end of May 2024.

If your application is successful, you will be responsible for all costs related to the project.

Successful applicants will have two weeks to inform the Heritage Council of their decision to accept or reject a grant.

You will have until the first week of November 2024 to complete your project unless wildlife
considerations apply (e.g., bats) when a short extension may be granted.

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Calf-rearing is a seasonal job on most farms in Ireland, and with the peak spring-calving season fast approaching, beef farmers who buy-in calves from the dairy herd for beef production will now be making final adjustments to their sheds, ahead of the arrival of calves on their farm.

While some farmers have custom-built calf housing on their farm for rearing calves, many farmers use multi-purpose sheds for rearing calves.

It is important that a calf-rearing shed is dry, clean, bright, draught free and well ventilated. It should also allow the calves easy access to milk, clean water, concentrates and straw.

In the video below, Teagasc DairyBeef 500 programme advisor, Gordon Peppard outlines some of the key features in good calf housing:

The Teagasc advisor explained that “plenty of natural light should be available in all calf houses with at least 10% of the roof or side sheeting translucent”.

Group calf pens should allow for a minimum space of 2.2m squared for calves which includes the feeding area.

A pen that is 4.8m wide by 4.8m long would have a total area of 23m², which would be sufficient space for 10 calves.

Water troughs should be available at an appropriate height at the front of the pen to allow for easy calf access and for regular inspection and cleaning by the farmer.

Ideally, a 1:20 floor slope should be in place from the back to the front of the pen to ensure the calves have a dry bed.

A seepage channel should be located at the front of the pen to take all seepages away to a collection tank.

Good ventilation is essential to remove moisture, viruses, bacteria, dust and gases. The shed should provide a continuous stream of fresh air. The air inlet should always be above calf height.

Stock boarding and adjustable canopies above calf height can be fitted to existing calf sheds to help provide a draught-free environment and provide additional warmth in cold spells.

A well laid-out calf shed allows for less labour, less time and allows for maximum performance of the calf.

The post Watch: Advice for farmers on setting up calf-rearing sheds appeared first on Agriland.ie.

New life was breathed into a characterful old farmhouse in Urlingford, Co. Kilkenny, on a recent episode of Dermot Bannon’s ‘Room to Improve’ on RTE 1 television.

Dermot was joined by quantity surveyor, Claire Irwin, in renovating Ivan Williams’ forefathers’ farmhouse which was built in 1798.

Ivan and his wife, Grainne Murphy, had been dreaming for many years about restoring the farmhouse, which they looked on as a piece of history.

Ivan said: “A lot of people would say: ‘Knock them down and start again’, but you would lose so much.”

When Dermot first visited the house, Grainne, a part-time school teacher who also gives yoga classes, and Ivan, who farms full-time and is the sixth generation to farm there, had started renovating the exterior of the farmhouse with a limestone render, with the help of a local council grant.

Inside, they were working on the preliminary demolition of the interior of the farmhouse in their spare time.

The couple who have two sons, Senan (10) and Luan (six), who lived with Ivan’s dad down the lane for the last 10 years, managed to avail of the vacant homes grant of €50,000 due to the fact that the house hadn’t been lived in for more than two years.

Given that the house, which had been given to them by Ivan’s grandparents, needed structural work, they were able to secure a top-up of €20,000 as well as an SEAI grant.

As well as conserving the old Urlingford farmhouse, they were keen to incorporate a large bright extension to the side of the house.

Their wish list was for a four-bedroom house with a den, along with a contemporary timber frame extension, optimising the spectacular views of the fields and Aoife’s Castle.

Ivan’s work inside the house, and the grants’ contribution to the coffers, alleviated a lot of the budget concerns.

Original features such as the lintels, were retained.

The couple were thrilled with the final result, saying the total cost had not yet been totted up.

Dermot commended them for their passion in combining a restoration with a new build. The farmhouse is still, he said, the most important building.

“Ivan and Grainne are continuing the story of the house. It means another generation get to live in this fantastic home,” he added.

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Christopher Corrie and his father of the same name are farming in the townland of Drumeague near Bailieborough in Co. Cavan, and recently built an impressive new slatted shed for their suckler herd.

The duo run a part-time spring calving suckler enterprise and Agriland recently paid a visit to the farm to see the new shed the Corries built.

Christopher Corrie (junior) explained how the new shed came about.

He said: “The shed came about out of necessity. We were out-wintering all our cattle and it worked grand in a dry winter but it was torture in a wet winter”.

“We needed better handling facilities and with the way legislation is going, we said we needed to build a slurry store too.”

“With both of us working off farm, we want to be able to switch on a light in the evening and have all our stock in front of us.”

Christopher works with AHV providing dairy, suckler and calf-rearing farms in the Cavan and Monaghan area with non-antibiotic animal health products.

The Corries generally calve 12-14 suckler cows every year and sell their weanlings. Commercial weanlings are sold at the mart and their pedigree Limousin cattle are sold privately.

A sample of the quality weanlings produced on the farm:

Christopher said that before the new shed came about, winter housing on the farm was limited.

“All we had originally was the hayshed. It was a dry-bedded, general shed. We do all our own small square baling so there was hay stacked in it most winters.

“The crush and handling yard was to the side of the hayshed and was built using box irons.”

The decision was made to construct a three-bay slatted shed with a dry-bedded lyeback.

This development was tied in parallel to the existing hay shed so existing shed space could be better utilised also.

The existing hay shed was 24ft wide and 45ft long (three spans of 15ft).

A 17ft wide roofed passage was put between the hayshed and the slatted shed and a 12’6ft slat was used with an 8ft concrete feed apron at the front. To tie in with the hay shed, all spans were 15ft wide.

The concrete area is all sloped towards a central channel that is piped into the slatted tank.

Christopher said the decision to add the 17ft passage between the existing hay shed and the new slatted shed added cost to the job but leaves the shed bigger allowing for more options.

Commenting on the space between the tank and the hay shed, he said: “You can do anything with it and that’s the beauty of it. When it’s not being used for cattle, you can stack bales there or park a machine in it or do work on a machine.

“There’s loads of light too. The lye-back can be used to calve a cow and we put creep gates at back of the slatted pens if we’re calving early or ever go down the autumn-calving route.”

He said there was very little alterations needed on the existing hay shed: “All we had to do with the existing shed was take the side sheeting off, take out the floor and put in concrete. We then clamped the RSJ’s for the new shed onto the existing shed.”

The concrete work was all carried out by local man Finbar Carolan, and the shed and steel work was carried out by another local man John McKeon.

Brothers Mark and Gary O’Connell as well as Chris Magee and Aidan Fay also assisted in the project with works including hanging barriers, plumbing and wiring.

“They all done a real, tasty job and I’m very happy with all the work that went on,” Christopher said.

The barriers, gates, drinkers and timbers all came from Teemore Engineering and the slats came from Banagher Concrete.

Feed barriers were placed at the front of the slatted area and dividing gates between each slatted pen with a drinker at each divide.

Creep gates were placed to the rear of each slatted pen. These gates can be opened from either side: “It’s handy for letting cattle through the crush”, Christopher said.

“We also placed a feed barrier at back of the hay shed for feeding any stock over there.”

Interestingly, the external sides of the slatted pen were finished with recycled steel from the old handling yard.

“We thought about walling the sides but we had the steel there from the existing yard so we came up with the idea of putting in the steel, and then bolting stock boarding over it,” Christopher said the idea looks to have been a success.

“The crush was already there and anything else that was any good, we tried to reuse in the new build.”

The concrete work came to approximately €20,000 plus VAT. The shed cost approximately €14,500 plus VAT and the barriers, drinkers and timbers cost “approximately €6,000 including VAT”, he said.

Christopher said: “There was a few thousand then for piping, wiring and other bits and pieces.”

Christopher decided not to apply for Targeted Agriculture Modernisation Schemes (TAMS) grant aid and said that “all in, VAT included, the project would have cost not to far off €50,000”.

“The idea for this project was to keep it simple but leave us with loads of options. The pens are all on dropped posts so pens and gates can all come out. Everything can be taken out if needs be.

“We still have a few bits to do like put down a bit of concrete to cover up the pipes and grade back the gravel around the shed and we have plans to extend the dry-bedded area to join-in an old cubicle house,” he said.

Christopher is confident their new shed will reduce the workload on the farm in the winter months, and allow for plenty of options in the future.

The post Buildings Focus: Merging a new slatted shed with an old hay shed appeared first on Agriland.ie.

Graine Nature Farm in Urlingford, Co. Tipperary, recently saw the repair of an old workshop and cow sheds under the Traditional Farm Buildings Grant Scheme, which is managed by the Heritage Council in partnership with the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM).

The farm is ran by Richard Brennan and his daughter, Maura.

`’Our project saw the old workshop and cow sheds repaired and restored under the guidance of conservation architect, Fintan Dunne. My dad, Richard (Richie) Brennan ,who has over 50 years experience as a builder and carpenter, completed the work himself. He was supported by skilled carpenter Paul Regan, who has worked with him for almost 30 years.

“Also helping on the job, was Richard’s grandnephew, Cormac Burke, and myself,” said Maura who is founder of the Acorn project, a community seedsaving and nature education project.

“The old stone workshop dates back to the 1800s, and is listed on the 1901 census. It originally had a thatch roof, which was  replaced with galvanise in the 1950s. It was used as a barn, and later a workshop by Richard’s father, Dick Brennan, who was a farmer and carpenter,” said Maura.

“Currently the land is managed for biodiversity with meadow restoration projects, and we also host the Acorn project tree nursery. We are third generation beekeepers producing honey,” said Maura who processes the honey and beeswax to create a range of herbal remedies combined with wild foraged plants.

In July, Gerard Tobin visited the farm to complete a bird and bat survey for the work being done on the workshops and cow sheds.

“It was really interesting to learn about the nocturnal bats and birds present in our farmyard and adjoining lands. Gerard shared maps of the bats, and helped us to understand how we could maximise conditions for birds and bats. He also helped us identify spots for bat boxes and owl boxes,” said Maura.

“Once the swallows had left, and we were sure that there were no bats dwelling in the shed, work could begin. In the old workshop, the roof and rafters were repaired, and where possible, we used reclaimed materials. The lentel over the back door was replaced using a reclaimed wooden beam from Urlingford courthouse,” she said.

The ethos of using reclaimed materials was much aligned with Richard’s own practice of reclaiming and reusing materials. The floor of the workshop was repaired as well, with a traditional limecrete floor. Along the way, some damage revealed itself on that back wall, which needed structural repair.

“We sourced our lime from the Traditional Lime Company, Co. Carlow, who offered generous guidance and expertise. The limecrete floor was tougher work to lay than a concrete floor, but the results were worth it.

“The project was an opportunity to celebrate and value the many skills that the workshop has been home to over the generations, from beekeeping to sign writing to tanning sheep skins,” Maura said.

“The work benches and lathe used by my grandfather are still present. We found templates for shop front signs crafted by Dick Brennan, and of these signs is still present in Freshford today, over O’Shea’s shop,” said the north Kilkenny woman.

“However, the most interesting story we unfolded in the process of the project was attached to an unidentified piece of equipment. When Richard consulted with older brothers, John and Willy, it transpired that it was used for scoring the felloes of cartwheels to mark the spokes.

“A little bit of further research, and we discovered that my grandad, Dick Brennan, had served his time as a wheelwright, and had fabricated cartwheels in the workshop with a little forge out back. As cartwheels went out of use, he worked more as a carpenter and builder.

“It was interesting for Richie to get the opportunity to use traditional materials and to revisit materials that he would have used early in his career. The vision that we hold for the workshop, is that it will become a space in which traditional skills will be relearned. We have a series of workshops scheduled for 2024 in woodworking, basketmaking, tool repurposing, scything and more,” Maura outlined.

The old workshop building will host a community seed saving project, which focuses on valuing local provenance tree seeds from the Nore catchment.

The workshop will also host the ‘Song of the Scythe’ tool library and biodiversity recording kit, which individuals and community groups can borrow.

The ‘Song of the Scythe’ is a project run by the Acorn project, which celebrates meadows and shares the living skill of scything through a series of workshops and volunteer days. Members of the community can borrow the set of scythes to run their own scything projects,” said Maura.

The repair of the workshop and cow sheds has been an absorbing project for all involved, illustrating what can be achieved under the scheme.

The post Old workshop and cow sheds repair unveils rich heritage appeared first on Agriland.ie.

The issuing of approvals under Tranche 1 of the Targeted Agricultural Modernisation Scheme (TAMS 3) has commenced. 

The approval letters are going out to farmers now starting with the Solar Capital Investment Scheme.

Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue said: “This scheme, which has its own ring-fenced investment ceiling of €90,000, is grant-aided at the enhanced rate of 60%.

“It enables farmers to consume solar, PV-generated electricity on-site in order to meet their farm electricity demand, including the dwelling house.”

The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) has said that it should be noted that approvals for mobile investments will issue more rapidly, as they do not require the same level of checks as fixed investments.

As a result, it is anticipated that many of these will issue in January.

It is expected that the first engagement with applicants will have occurred on all files by March 2024, and that the majority of approvals will issue by the end of April 2024.  

The system for applicants and/or advisors to submit payment claims will be open in January 2024.

Tranche 2 of TAMS

The minister also confirmed that the current tranche (Tranche 2) of TAMS 3 will close this Friday, December 15 at 5:00p.m.

Tranche 3 of the scheme will open on Monday, December 18 and close on Friday, April 12, 2024 at close of business. 

The minister added: “I have decided to close Tranche 2 this week in the interests of ensuring that applications received since the tranche opened in July can be proceeded with as efficiently as possible.”

He said that he wanted to ensure that those who need to carry out works in a timely manner in 2024 can be processed by according them the necessary priority.

“I can also confirm that, as is the case with Tranche 1, all eligible applications received in Tranche 2 will be approved,” the minister added.

“Similar to Tranche 1, those who have applied for mobile investments may proceed with that investment at their own risk pending formal approval in due course.”  

Expanding further on the question of prioritising applications, Minister McConalogue said: “This autumn, for farmers that needed to commence works, I ensured that priority approvals were issued.

“This assisted farmers that required the construction of slurry and manure storage facilities, or urgent animal welfare-related investments for the winter of 2023/2024.

“Notwithstanding the approvals timeline that I am now announcing in respect of Tranche 1, I am advising applicants and their advisors who have an urgent need to commence works that this priority application process has reopened.

“If you are in this situation, you should contact your local Department of Agriculture office. Your application will then be assessed to determine whether there is an urgent need to issue approval, and it will be prioritised accordingly,” he added.

The minister has explained that this facility will also be available to Tranche 2 applicants in early 2024, again for those requiring the construction of slurry and manure storage facilities, or urgent animal welfare-related investments, but also for other priority cases.

LESS

The DAFM has also issued a reminder about the changes to the terms and conditions of the Low Emission Slurry Spreading Scheme (LESS).

From January 1, 2024, applicants farming at or above 150kg/N/ha in the year of application or the preceding year are ineligible to apply for LESS equipment.

“Applications for LESS, which are submitted in advance of this date will be based on the terms and conditions that exist at that time,” the minister said.

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A sheep farmer from Ballylee, Gort, Co. Galway who has just concluded work on her repair project under the latest tranche of the Traditional Farm Buildings grant scheme, was required to apply for a derogation licence to proceed with works after the building was found to be a good site for bats.

Margaret Hennigan. who keeps Suffolk sheep, said that as a result of the find and the requirement, the start of works was deferred to October 15.

The building is a roost for the common pipistrelle bat – but also lesser horseshoe bats, Brown long-eared bats and soprano pipistrelle bats were also in the building.

The aim of the licence and the Heritage Council is to try to ensure that works will cause the least disturbance to the protected bats, taking into account the time of year, particular materials and methods.

“We think complying with the licence conditions and carrying out these works will safeguard the existing roost, and also enhance it further, making it a very good place for bats,” said Anna Meenan, project manager, Traditional Farm Buildings Scheme, the Heritage Council.

“There is mixed broadleaved woodland, hedgerows and treelines all around this building, great foraging and feeding liens for them. There is also a watercourse,” she said.

Challenging timeframe

“It is a challenging timeframe for applicants, as grants are allocated in a calendar year, and must be drawn down in the year, that a grant is offered,” the project manager said.

The mapping records for the building show that the structure has been there since at least 1841, and formed part of a much broader array of what appear to be similarly scaled structures.

The structure contains two separate spaces.  The smaller space historically had a storage area at first floor level.

“The building was used in the past for the storage of food and meat. I used it for my sheep, and will be using it as a roosting area for bats,” Margaret said.

“The roof is a reconstruction likely from the early 20th century. It comprises natural slate on timber collared rafters, lime parging to the underside and timber sprocket bedded into and over the walls.

“The roof slates are French grey type slates. Some are damaged, but any that are salvageable have been retained. French grey salvage slates have been sourced for where replacement slates were needed,” said Margaret. 

“With the roof slates and ridge caps off, it was possible to see all the roof timbers, with some timbers needing replacement, but any that could be retained were reused. Some of the stonework needed pointing and natural hydraulic lime was used as an ingredient for the mortar.

“Any original timbers that could be saved were retained. Otherwise new timbers were treated, cut and fitted.”

Delivered milk to WB Yeats

As young boys, the father and uncles of the owner of this building used to, on occasion, deliver milk to W.B. Yeats in Thoor, Ballylee.

Another fascinating gem of information is that the long stone lintel over the larger door opening is understood to have come from the cemetery at the Kilmacduagh monastic site.

It is a “real privilege” for Margaret to be part of the continuing story of this enduring built heritage wonder, she said.

Her Teagasc advisor, Keith Fahy, assisted with the initial administration for the Heritage Council which manages the scheme on behalf of the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM).

“The grant offer from the Heritage Council made it possible for me to undertake this project which was very rewarding,” Margaret said.

“Working under the guidance of roofer, Mark O’Flynn, was my son, Tom Hennigan, daughter, Siobhan Hennigan and Cormac Folan. Conservation architect Don Silke of Silke and Co. Galway, who provided analysis, method statement and specification report for recommended works which was a great help to us. 

“Ruth Minogue, ecologist, of Minogue and Associates, carried out the bat and bird survey.

“The Heritage Council’s input was invaluable to me.  Because I was working with the Heritage Council, a lot more thought and research went into sourcing materials and products than might have done, if I was working without their support,” said Margaret.

The post Gort sheep farmer’s building repair provides roosting area for bats appeared first on Agriland.ie.

Three generations of the McGuinn family in Gurteen, Co. Sligo, were involved in one form or other in the repair of a traditional granary on the family farm, constructed between 1847 and 1888, as part of the Traditional Farm Buildings Grant Scheme run by the Heritage Council and the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM).

The two storey building was constructed of stone and lime mortar with a corrugated iron roof.

According to Patrick McGuinn: “It was in reasonably good condition but was descending into dilapidation, with works required. It had been used for housing cattle; chickens; donkeys; horses; pigs, along with the storage of equipment and feed.”

The granary is situated on a small suckler farm in Co. Sligo, which participates in the Agri Climate Rural Environment Scheme (ACRES), and is in the process of modernisation.

In 2022, a slatted shed was constructed. The granary project was seen as an important project by the family to conserve some traditional aspects of the farm for future generations.

It was a real family affair. “My brother, John, did the bulk of the physical work, followed by our father, Raymond. I put together the idea of doing the project and associated paperwork. I also helped out with the restoration,” Patrick said.

Patrick’s eight-year-old nephew Noah, kept the family motivated: “He lifted the spirits more than anything else.”

“The building was shortlisted in May 2023, subject to conditions. One of the conditions was to submit a conservation method statement which was carried out by Áine Doyle, a conservation consultant, in June 2023. This set out conservation specifications, minimum repairs and costs to demonstrate minimum intervention,” Patrick said.

In July 2023, a bat and bird survey was carried out by Barbara McInerney of Wild on Foot Ecological Services. “This found the building and surroundings a rich habitat for bat and bird species. A high-level of swallow activity and nests was located in the building.

“Other bird species noted in the survey were: goldcrest; goldfinches; grasshopper warbler; robin; song thrush; stonechat and wren. Three species of bat were noted in the survey, soprano pipistrelle, common Pipistrelle and myotis bat. The myotis bat was observed roosted in a wall plate.

“Several recommendations had to be taken to minimise disturbance such as waiting for the last swallow brood to fledge, and to hold off roof works until the first cold snap to allow the bat to move to its hibernation location. This meant work could not start until late October 2023, when a scaffold was erected by SHS,” Patrick said.

The roof galvanise was removed first, and an inspection of the timbers was carried out by the conservationist consultant. “Some of the rafters and wall plates were saved, with others being supported by new timbers. None of the purlins could be saved due to rot and water damage.

“Due to extensive corrosion the galvanise sheets were beyond saving. However, the roof capping was in good condition and placed back in location,” said Patrick.

“The first floor timbers, rain water gutters, and external first floor access were reinstated. Glass windows replaced with louvers, a gap was left on top of the ground floor door to allow access and egress for wildlife along with a few small holes in the walls where birds were seen perching. The walls were repointed with lime mortar using traditional materials and techniques,” he said.

Wet conditions significantly impacted the time to complete the lime mortar pointing. Due to structural concerns of one wall, ties were added to the structure.

“All materials and services were sourced from local suppliers, with all works completed in early December 2023,” Patrick said.

“In the new year the building will be lime washed and the galvanise roof will be painted red as it would have been originally. The building will stand for future generations and provide a safe habitat for wildlife.”

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Padraic Kenny of Falleighter, Aghamore, Ballyhaunis, is one of two Mayo farmers who have become the first to complete their repair projects under the latest tranche of the Traditional Farm Buildings Grant Scheme.

The main objective of the scheme is to ensure that traditional farm buildings and other related structures that contribute to the character of the countryside and are of significant heritage value, are conserved for active agricultural use.

Padraic repaired a traditional old granary and adjoining smaller building that are part of a group of buildings in his farmyard.

The granary was constructed in the early 1900s and was built under a grant scheme. There is also a loft which was used for the storage of hay or oats.

A small single story building with a chimney may have originally been a house built in the late 1800s and was converted to a piggery in later years. The granary downstairs was used for housing cows, with the original flagstones in place for separating the animals.

These buildings will now be used for storing feedstuffs and farm implements by the next generations.

The original buildings belonged to his grandmother so he did not want to lose them as they were part of the original family homestead.

The main obstacle in the repair of the buildings was the stone stairway between the buildings that had steps missing.

The steps up to the granary had to be rebuilt; in order to protect any biodiversity, Padraig waited until the results of a bat and bird survey before starting repairs.

Padraic expressed thanks to the Department of Agriculture and the Heritage Council for their support in the repair of the buildings and in particular, Anna Meenan of the Heritage Council,
Aine Doyle, the conservation architect on the project, Barbara McInerney for completing the bird/bat survey and Jimmy Murphy who carried out the work on the buildings.

“It took a lot of work over the summer but I am glad it is done,” said Padraic.

Eligibility criteria can be found on www.heritagecouncil.ie

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The Health and Safety Authority (HSA) has begun a two-week safety campaign focussing on working at height in agricultural settings.

The campaign, which begins today (Monday, September 25), will target both small and large farms nationwide, the HSA said.

Over 10 years, from 2013 to 2022, there were 191 fatalities on Irish farms. Working at height and falls led to 22 of these fatalities.

So far in 2023, there have been two confirmed fatalities as a result of working at height on Irish farms.

During their farm visits, HSA inspectors will be reminding farmers of the serious risks involved in any work at height, the authority said.

The HSA will also be advising farmers of the following points:

• Using the safest possible means of doing work at height, and using the appropriate machinery, such as a mobile elevated work platform, or putting adequate working platforms, adequate edge protection, and other measures in place, to prevent falls from height;
• Encouraging the use of specific advice and risk assessment provided in the HSA’s Working at Height in Agriculture information sheet;
• Utilising online resources that provide guidance and direction for farmers to ensure work at height is undertaken safely.

Pat Griffin, senior inspector for agriculture with the HSA, said: “A fall from a height can lead to a very serious life-changing injury or even death. Taking shortcuts or carrying out work without due regard to the risks involved is not an option for any person working at height on a farm.

“Unfortunately, there have been 22 fatalities in the last 10 years relating to working at height on farms. These can all be prevented by planning the work and taking the right precautions,” Griffin added.

“Storms and changes in weather mean there can be more hazardous conditions for carrying out working at height, particularly when carrying out repairs on farm buildings.

“We advise farmers to plan ahead and make sure that work at height is only carried out using the proper equipment and with protective measures in place. This can be done by carrying out the risk assessment in our information sheet to identify all the hazards, especially when working to repair fragile roofs,” the HSA inspector said.

According to the HSA, the main hazards when working at height are falls from ladders; unprotected edges of roofs or other structures; and falls through fragile roof materials.

If working on a roof, farmers need to assess the roof to see if it could potentially be fragile; if it cannot support the weight of the person; or if part or all of the roof could can be easily broken or shattered.

The HSA advices farmers to take account of the following factors when working on roofs:

• Previous repairs may have weakened the roof;
• Metal roof sheds may have deteriorated with age;
• Wood wool slabs may have been damaged over time by water;
• Roof lights may have become brittle by paint or moss.

Farmers are also advised to seek competent contractors with the right equipment to carry out the work at height safely.

Farmers and the duty holder should remember that maintenance of a structure is considered construction work and the extensive legal requirement for construction work must be complied with.

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The total number of planning permissions granted for farm buildings in quarter two (Q2) 2023 increased by 47.9% since quarter one (Q1) 2023, according to latest figures from the Central Statistics Office (CSO).

Planning permissions granted for buildings for agriculture totaled 264 in the second quarter of 2023.

This compared with figures from Q1 2023, which highlighted that 162 permissions had been granted which represented an increase of 47.9% in Q2 2023.

There were 5,955 planning permissions granted for all “functional categories” in Q1 2023.

Shane O’Sullivan, statistician at the CSO said: “Of the 5,955 individual applications for planning permissions granted in Q2 2023, 1,471 were for new construction dwellings, 1,791 for other new constructions, 1,767 for extensions, and 926 permissions were for alterations and conversions.”

From the information in the table this translates into an increase of 6.7% in planning permissions granted for buildings for agriculture from Q2 2022 to Q2 2023.

Areas where farm buildings were permitted

Northern and Western: 47

• Border: 26;
• West: 21.

Southern: 173

• Mid-West: 59;
• South-East: 58;
• South-West: 56.

Eastern and Midland: 44

• Dublin: 2;
• Mid-East: 22;
• Midland: 20.

Six month comparison figures

A side by side comparison of Q1 2023 and Q2 2023, a six-month period, shows there was 102 more planning permissions granted for buildings for agriculture in the second quarter this year than in the first.

The table shows that the total planning permissions granted in Q2 2023 for farm buildings showed a 47.9% increase since the previous quarter.

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The Irish Concrete Federation (ICF) has said it is ready to work “constructively” with the Minister for Finance on the 5% concrete levy, which was implemented today (Friday, September 1).

The federation continues to have “grave concerns” over the levy, but in recent days has tabled a “series of proposed measures” that it believes could assist with compliance across the industry.

It said that given the “relatively short timeframe” and “significant lack of awareness” over the levy, that the submission would give concrete product manufacturers and private individuals opportunity to “conform” to the legislative requirements.

The introduction of the Defective Concrete Products Levy (DCPL) arises from a government decision in November 2021, that a levy should be imposed on the construction sector to contribute towards meeting the substantial cost of the Mica Redress Scheme.

The levy was first introduced at 10%, but in light of feedback was reduced to 5%. The levy was also originally meant to be introduced in April, but was delayed due to feedback.

Concrete levy including precast

Concerns have been raised by TDs and lobby groups over the levy’s inclusion of precast products.

According to the Department of Finance, precast products had originally been listed as being within scope of the levy when the budget was announced.

Following “further consideration” these were removed prior to the publication of what became Finance Act 2022.

In a statement to Agriland, the department said: “While such products are not within scope of the DCPL, as noted above, the pouring concrete element which forms a constituent part of precast concrete products is within scope.  

“The department has been in communication with the concrete sector and wider construction industry in regard to the DCPL and will continue to consider the points raised by them as part of those interactions.”

ICF has submitted a proposed solution for consideration by the Department of Finance to address the unexpected inclusion of precast concrete products within the scope of the DCPL.

The federation stated that the proposal would “protect domestic Irish precast manufacturers from unfair competition from ‘levy-free’ imports as well as reducing the inflationary impact of the levy on Irish construction.”

It said that the public could be liable to interest and penalties, due to “lack of awareness” associated with the DCPL.

Revenue has advised farmers and agri-contractors that they should be aware that if they import certain concrete products and do not pay the new concrete levy on, or before, the due date, it will be subject to interest on a daily basis.

According to Revenue a number of penalty charges may also apply in relation to the DCPL if the chargeable person fails to meet all of the requirements of the new levy from a €500 to €3,000 fine for failing to keep proper documentation.

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An independent TD has called on the government to defer the implementation of the concrete levy due to concerns over the inclusion of precast products.

According to Galway East TD Seán Canney, this would include slats for cattle.

The Defective Concrete Products Levy (DCPL), which is charged at a rate of 5% of the open market value of a concrete product, is set to come into effect from September 1.

It was announced as part of last year’s national budget (Budget 2023) for the purpose of funding the Defective Concrete Block Scheme, also known as the mica redress scheme.

Speaking today, Canney called on the government to defer the implementation of the levy, citing concerns over the products it will apply to.

“I am calling for the deferral as the Department of Finance and Revenue are now including precast concrete products in the levy which was never the intention.”

Canney added: “The department and Revenue are confirming that the legislation applies to the ‘concrete ingredients’ of precast concrete. I consider this to be a blatant reneging of the [Minister of Finance, Paschal Donohoe’s] commitment to exclude precast from the levy in the first place.

According to the Galway East TD, the levy will increase the cost of precast products and it will damage the competitiveness of Irish precast exporters on the UK market.

Canney also said that, as there is no levy on the precast product itself (as opposed to its concrete ingredients), there is no provision in the legislation to apply the levy to imported precast concrete products from Northern Ireland (as there is for imported readymix concrete imports).

“This obviously immediately confers a competitive advantage to Northern Irish precast manufacturers on the Republic of Ireland market. It’s worth noting that the two largest precast manufacturers on the British Isles are based in Northern Ireland.

“Precast concrete suppliers are contract bound on fixed priced contracts up until the middle of 2025 and therefore have no scope to recoup the levy despite assurances from Minister Paschal Donohoe that precast concrete would be excluded from the levy,” Canney added.

According to the TD, the levy will apply to products including bridge beams, cattle slats, roof tiles, paving, ornamental concrete, garden furniture, and several other products.

“Due to the conflicting take on the levy between officials, Revenue, and government, the only solution is a delay in the implementation of the levy and a change to the legislation…so that it can be implemented the way the government intended,” Canney said.

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A rural TD has called on the government to abandon plans for a concrete levy claiming that it would have a negative impact on the agricultural and construction sectors.

Deputy Michael Collins said that according to the Irish Concrete Federation (ICF), the proposed 5% levy on concrete products will significantly drive-up building costs for homes, infrastructure, and agricultural projects.

Speaking from his Cork South West constituency, Deputy Michael Collins stated: “The government’s proposed 5% levy on concrete products, intended as a half-baked measure to fund the Mica Redress Scheme, will significantly drive-up building costs for all homes, infrastructure, and agricultural projects.

“According to a new report by the ICF, the levy will add a staggering €1,285 to the cost of building a three-bed house and over €295 million in delivering on the target of 33,000 homes each year until 2030.

“The ICF’s report highlights that up to 80% of the revenues generated from the levy will come from ready-mix concrete rather than concrete blocks, which were at the heart of the mica issue.”

The independent TD said that for the last two years, the cost of ready-mixed concrete rose by 43% according to the Central Statistics Office (CSO), and concrete block prices rose 30% over the same period.

“Forging ahead with a new levy under these circumstances would be highly reckless,” Collins said.

Concrete levy

The rural TD said that the proposed government levy on concrete products comes at a time when construction costs have already risen dramatically as a result of the energy and international crisis.

“Farmers and agricultural projects will face even greater increases in essential structures’ costs, such as silage pits and wind turbines,” he said.

“The ICF report highlights that the levy will add a staggering €5,260 to the costs of building a single wind turbine.

“The lack of clear guidance and information regarding the levy’s enforcement raises serious concerns for cement producers, especially those in border counties. Potential competition from Northern Ireland compounds the worry, potentially leading to job losses and economic disruptions.”

The rural independent TD has now called for the government to scrap the concrete levy implementation and conduct a comprehensive impact assessment.

“Alternative funding sources for the Mica Redress Scheme should be explored, including going after those responsible, which should include banks and insurance companies,” Deputy Collins concluded.

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A suckler farmer from Ballyjamesduff in Co. Cavan has said he is lucky to be alive after surviving a fall into a slurry pit with over 5ft of slurry in it.

Speaking to Agriland, Adrian Fitzsimons said he hopes his near-death experience will serve as a reminder for all farmers to exercise extreme caution when working with slurry.

The part-time suckler farmer said the freak accident occurred while he was filling a tanker with slurry on Saturday afternoon (June 24).

“I was doing no different than I was doing with every other load of slurry,” he explained.

“I went to walk across the pipe, the tank lid was open and I had safety mesh down and I don’t know did it [the safety mesh] move, but I fell down in a shot into the tank.

“I fell down and the next place I found myself…..was below, on my hands and knees at the bottom of the tank and completely submerged with slurry,” he said.

“The tank was over three-quarters full. When I was standing up in it, [the slurry] was up to my mouth.

“So I swung round quick and found the pipe. The pipe at this stage was still connected to the tanker because I never even got to close down the sluice or do anything like that, it happened as I was going across to do that.

“I got a hold of the pipe and got myself fished up out of the slurry. I pulled myself up and got my head and shoulders and mouth above the slurry.

“I held on to the pipe. My eyes, my ears and my mouth were all full of slurry. I thought if I got a second, I would be able to climb up the pipe and get out,” he continued.

“I pulled and tried and pulled but I could only get up a few inches. I could not get up, I could not get myself out.

“I held onto the pipe as hard as I could because with the muck and everything I tried to just keep my mouth above the slurry, trying to get just a gasp of the fresh air from the manhole above.

“I thought I was gone. The emotion of it, the smell, the ammonia, it was out and out unreal. It was absolutely the scariest thing. I started dehydrating in the tank with the roaring and the shouting and with the slurry.

“I put my hand up and my lips were rock hard. I have a moustache and it was solid with the slurry that was on it and my mouth was dry because when I was submerged down in the slurry, it was up my nose and in my mouth. I was trying to spit it out and my mouth went dry.

“When I was below in the tank, I was slipping because the slurry was coming back up over my shoulders. The pain in my head was unnatural.”

Adrian was in the slurry pit for two and a half hours, from roughly 2:20p.m until 4:50p.m when a friend came.

“I had arranged to meet a friend later on that evening. My phone was in the tractor and he had rang and text several times wondering why I wasn’t replying back,” Adrian explained.

“He just by an off chance landed into the yard and he heard me shouting below in the tank and he got me.

“It’s one of these things you don’t expect to happen but it can happen very, very handy.

“There’s not too many that get the chance to tell the tale. If my story will stop a farmer from taking a chance, well then I’m a happy man.”

Adrian said the slurry tank has been closed and will not be reopened until all safety covers have been fixed.

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There has been a significant drop in the number of planning permissions granted for farm buildings in 2023 when compared to the figures from last year, provided by the Central Statistics Office (CSO).

Planning permissions granted for buildings for agriculture totalled 162 in the first quarter of 2023.

When compared with last year’s figures from Q1 2022, the total was 259.

This shows a decrease of 37.5% in the planning permissions granted for buildings for agriculture from Q1 2022 to Q1 2023.

There were 6,042 planning permissions granted for all functional categories in Q1 2023.

Dwelling units accounted for 60.8% (3,675) of all permissions granted. Of these 3,675 permissions granted, 1,734 were for new constructions, 1,353 were for extensions, and 588 were for alterations and conversions.

While the planning permissions for extensions and, alterations and conversions of agricultural buildings remained quite similar between Q1 2023 and Q1 2022, there was a significant difference between the planning permissions of new constructions during the same period.

There were 229 planning permissions for new constructions for agricultural buildings in Q1 2022, this figure dropped to 138 in Q1 2023, showing a 39.7% decrease.

Areas where planning was approved

Northern and Western: 30

• Border: 22;
• West: 8.

Southern: 97

• Mid-West: 41;
• South-East: 32;
• South-West: 24.

Eastern and Midland: 35

• Dublin: 4;
• Mid-East: 19;
• Midland: 12.

6 month comparison of planning figures

A side by side comparison of Q1 2023 and Q4 2022, a six-month period, shows there was little difference in the planning permission granted for farm buildings.

With Q1 2023 showing 162 permissions granted, these figures are slightly below the figures of Q4 2022, which totalled 169.

The figures for planning permissions granted for extensions and the alterations and conversions for Q1 2023 and Q4 2022 were identical.

Increased cost of construction products

The decrease in the number of planning permissions granted for farm buildings in 2023 may be as a result of the cost increase of construction products.

The CSO recorded the notable annual increases in construction products include:

• Plaster: 35.6%;
• Structural steel fabricated metal: 31.7%;
• Ready mixed mortar and concrete: 27.4%;
• Concrete blocks and bricks: 19.1%.

These figures were compared between April 2023 to April 2022, and showed that wholesale prices for construction products increased by 11.7% over the 12-month period.

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Many farmers may currently be considering applying for grants under the new Targeted Agricultural Modernisation Scheme (TAMS 3) to construct or improve buildings on their farms.

Details of the new €370 million five-year scheme, including eligible items, grant aid levels and reference costs, were recently published by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM).

The new TAMS consists of 10 different schemes which will be opened for applications on a phased basis over the coming weeks.

The Solar Capital Investment Scheme and Animal Welfare, Nutrient Storage Scheme are already accepting applications.

It is understood that the Organic Farming Capital Investment Scheme and the Pig and Poultry Capital Investment Scheme will open shortly.

The first tranche for all schemes is anticipated to close in mid-June with applications then undergoing a ranking and selection process.

Grant aid will not be paid where works begin without prior written approval from the department and the amount of investment eligible for funding will be calculated under the scheme’s terms and conditions.

TAMS

The DAFM’s National Reference Costs for the new scheme includes a valuation of a farmer’s own labour during construction of a TAMS-approved project.

The document states that direct constructional work by the applicant, or the applicant’s family member, should be valued at €15.52/hr. This has increased from €12.40/hr under the previous TAMS scheme.

Labour is not included in the rates for machinery under TAMS 3 and should be claimed under own labour as appropriate, the DAFM notes.

The department has also outlined “guideline rates” in relation to the use of an applicant’s own machinery on a project. These rates have all increased compared to TAMS II.

The department says that it is expected that rates per hour for own machinery use claims will not exceed the following:

The document notes that where two machines are used together, such as a tractor and post driver, then the cost per hour is the combined total per hour to the two machines (€20.80 + €5.50 = €26.30/hr).

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A total of €44,800 has been made available to carry out repairs on a number of historic farm houses and structures around Ireland under a new fund from the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage.

The €4.5 million Historic Structures Fund (HSF), which was announced by Minister of State at the department Malcolm Noonan today (March 28), will support 95 heritage projects including three farm complexes.

€10,000 has been made available for renovation and repairs to the vernacular farmhouse at Fennor House in Oldcastle Co. Meath.

Vernacular structures, which are widespread in Ireland, refer to those that were constructed by local people who had no formal trade or experience in building.

According to an outline by the department, the grant will cover the cost of stone repairs including stills, lintels and stacks.

It will also cover the repointing and replacement of the roof structure, the rain gutters, timber sash windows and the timber plank door.

An original farm dwelling in Peahill, Ballylooby, Cahir in Co. Tipperary will also receive a grant worth €10,000.

This funding will be used to carry out conservation repair works to reinstate the historically appropriate windows as well as refurbish the surviving windows from the original building.

Concrete walls which were built in front of the original west gable will also be removed and a French drain around the perimeter of the building will be completed with the money.

Meanwhile, €6,800 has been allocated to O’Hara’s farmhouse in Ballymacurly, south Co. Roscommon.

This funding will be used to refurbish the roof of the house, the rainwater infrastructure and to address lead issues on the complex.

Also in Roscommon, the Rockingham Stable yard will receive €18,000 to refurbish and repair 10 sash windows from the 1830s, and to replace a number of timber casement windows from the 1970s.

In addition, to support the owners and custodians of these protected structures, it’s also estimated that the funding will provide a boost to local economies by generating an estimated 11,250 days of labour.

This includes employment for those in specialist roles such as thatching professionals and stonemasons.

“I am delighted to announced [this] €4.5 million investment,” said Minister Noonan.

“Through this, the government continues to celebrate the value and diversity of our build heritage, while also supporting traditional building skills.

“These actions also continue to help us deliver on our commitments to built heritage under ‘Heritage Ireland 2030’, the national plan which launched last year,” he concluded.

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One of the big talking points among farmers this week has been the list of the items that are eligible for funding under the new Targeted Agricultural Modernisation Schemes (TAMS).

The list of eligible items and reference costs was unveiled by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) late last week.

The scheme aims to provide assistance for farmers who need to to upgrade their facilities in an effort to improve either the safety, nutrient storage facilities or efficiency of their farms.

Speaking to Agriland, Teagasc buildings specialist Tom Fallon offered advice for farmers who are considering applying for TAMS funding.

He said that farmers who are planning to make changes or improvements to their farm should first identify what it is they intend on upgrading, introducing, constructing or adding to their farm enterprise.

He noted that a lot of farmers (dairy farmers in particular) have work to do on constructing extra soiled-water storage on their farms.

Once these improvements have been identified, he said farmers should then meet with their agricultural advisor to see if their proposed improvements will be eligible for grant support.

He said: “There is a considerable bit of work in preparing a TAMS application. Where farmers plan on building, the first step is to get planning permission and apply for the funding once planning has been approved.”

“Farmers may have to go through a process of discussing what they’re thinking of doing with their advisor so they know exactly what’s involved.

“A lot of the TAMS applications are based on the planning permission drawings. They’re important to get right as they almost form part of the contract.”

The Teagasc buildings specialist emphasised the importance of ensuring the drawings are accurate.

“If there’s a silage pit being built and there’s no apron on the plans, that can cause problems down the line. Prevention is better than having to sort these things later,” he said.

“The best thing to do is sit down with your advisor and work out what you want and then incorporate TAMS-eligible structures into the plans.”

He emphasised that planning permission (where relevant) has to be approved before applying for TAMS but said that measures such as resurfacing a silage pit can be completed without planning.

Interest from drystock farmers

The Teagasc buildings specialist noted a large interest from drystock farmers looking to apply for TAMS funding for measures such as moving agitation points outside and converting existing cattle housing into organic-eligible housing.

“There’s a lot of drystock and suckler farmers who are interested in applying for TAMS funding for measures such as cattle handling and loading facilities, housing, and heat-detection collars,” he said.

“Things that will make life easier; every farmer has to look at those types of measures.”

Interest from dairy farmers

He also said that there is a high level of interest among dairy farmers in applying to TAMS for funding.

He said that underpasses, farm roadways, cow-drafting facilities and heat detection collars are some of the key areas of interest for dairy farmers. He said that for these farmers, “extra soiled water and slurry storage should be considered as well”.

Fallon added that after recent expansion on many dairy farms, additional cubicles and silage pit space may be required.

“Where pits are too high, additional silage storage facilities should be considered to help make the farm safer,” he said.

TAMS solar

The TAMS 3 solar scheme opened for applications on Wednesday (February 22).

The Teagasc buildings specialist believes this funding “will get a lot of traction” from farmers.

Grant aid under the solar capital investment scheme (SCIS) will be paid at a rate of 60% with a ceiling of €90,000.

He explained that farmers applying to install solar panels will have to undergo an energy survey first.

“It will depend on the Maximum Input Capacity (MIC) of the powerline coming to the farm. You can’t have a system that will be exporting more energy than the local transformer can take,” he said.

He noted that installing solar panels is a “no brainer” for farmers who intend to use the energy captured to heat water and cool milk

Concluding, the Teagasc buildings specialist said: “Really, there’s something for every farmer in it (TAMS 3). Every farmer doesn’t have to apply or it this year, but over a period, I think most farmers will take advantage off it.”

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For this week’s Infrastructure Focus, Agriland made the trip to Co. Galway to see a how a farmer is generating his own electricity through a solar photovoltaic (PV) panel system.

Farming in Milltown, Tom and his wife Niamh McWalter are in their fourth year of dairy production, having made the switch from sucklers and sheep.

This year they are calving down 160 cows onto two Lely Astronaut A5 robots.

Calving is well underway on the farm, with over 50% of cows calved down.

Taking time out of his busy schedule, Tom spoke to Agriland about the recent installation of solar panels on his farm and the benefits he is seeing from them already.

Speaking on his farm, Tom said: “With energy costs at the level they are and the amount of energy we use on the farm, we decided to look at our options.

“Due to converting to dairy, our electrical has gradually been increasing….so with the roof space on the farm, we thought going with a solar PV system would help save some money.

“In the Targeted Agricultural Modernisation Scheme (TAMS II), there was too much red tape with it in terms of getting a solar PV system set up and getting the most out of it.

“Regardless, we had maxed out my grant due to the move to dairy a few years back so we went ahead without any grant aid and funded it ourselves entirely as we wanted didn’t want to waste any time,” the farmer added.

Installing 85 solar panels

The task of installing the solar PV system on the McWalters fell to Joseph O’Malley and his team of WestQuay Energy based in Westport, Co. Mayo.

Joseph was on the farm on the day to explain exactly the system on the farm and how it is performing.

Speaking about the system in place on the farm, Joseph said: “We installed 85 panels (which weigh 22kg each) facing south on the roof of the cubicle shed beside us, with each panel having a capacity of 390 watts.

“Before any work is started, we surveyed the farm infrastructure to see if the roof is suitable.

“So the total solar array between the 85 panels is 33.15 kilowatts (kW) of power.

“They are connected back to two inverters, a 17kW and a 10kW inverter respectively.

“The reason for going with 85 panels here for Tom was that he will be exporting a lot of energy in the summer. It will mean he will get a better return for the energy he produces during the winter months.

“If he had put in a system that just matched his demand, he would end up having to buy in a lot more electricity during the winter.

“So with the way he is set up now, he’s going to be buying less in the winter and exporting more in the summer – which gives him a better return for his investment,” Joseph explained.

Tom was able to put that amount of panels on his roof because he increased his maximum input capacity (MIC) from 15KVA to 28KVA. For reference, one KVA is 1,000 volt amps.

This allowed us to increase the amount of panels we could put on his roof as well as being able to have access to three-phase power on the farm.

“The solar panels generate a direct current (DC) which we can’t use, so to make use of it in the fuseboard, this current flows into the inverter and changes it from DC current to an alternating current (AC),” Joseph explained.

“This current then flows into the fuseboard which supplies power to the entire building, which in Tom’s case is the lights, robotic-milking machines, automatic calf feeders and also the boiler up stairs for hot water via the EDDI.

“So basically solar energy is generated. It’s inverted from DC to AC.

“AC is fed to the mainboard and distributed to where the load [demand] is in the property at the time. Depending on the solar available, it will feed it with what’s available and the rest, if needed, will come from the grid,” he added.

The install period took five days to complete with the connection to the ESB straightforward in Tom’s case.

Getting a return from solar

Tom’s system is currently generating a substantial amount of energy during the day even during a dull period of the year, which sees some of the surplus solar exported to the grid.

Explaining how this works, Joseph said: “Tom is generating a lot of solar energy during the daytime which he is exporting.

“So because he is not using it, it goes back to the grid and he gets a rate for what he exports which is working out at 20c/kWh.

“So for example, if he needs 10kW of energy and the solar is only producing 5kW, it will take a further 5kW from the grid to meet the demand at that time of 10kW.

“Or, if he needs 10kW and he’s producing 20 from solar, 10 will be used to meet the demand wherever it is and the other 10 will be either exported to the grid or diverted to the hot water diverter upstairs in the shed.

“This system, known as an EDDI solar power diverter [or smart immersion] senses where there is energy going back to the grid and if [it] requires some of this surplus energy, it will take it – in essence.”

Speaking about the continuous need for hot water, Tom said: “It’s great that we can generate this renewable energy to heat up water that we need all day, everyday.

“We would spend up to €2,000 on oil fills to keep producing hot water, so hopefully in time we will see that bill get smaller and hopefully gone completely.

“Between the robots and the automatic calf feeders, we have a big demand for hot water and I’m looking at getting a second boiler and possibly EDDI in to ensure there is plenty of hot water available at all times with the oil being a backup if necessary in small amounts.

“Currently, the solar is doing the trick during the day, but at nighttime, because we don’t store any of our solar, the oil burner kicks in to ensure there is hot water there at night.”

Tom said that although he gets the 20c/kWh for the surplus energy he generates during the day, his night rate for buying electricity is 20c – which means he is breaking even.

Options for storing excess energy

Speaking about the options available to Tom to store excess energy on his farm, Joseph said: “The main options would be going with battery storage to store the excess energy.

“Or, put the excess energy into hot water which is the most cost effective,” he said

Tom said that down the road, if the new TAMS allowed for grant aid for battery storage, it would be something he would look into doing.

“We are set up here to take batteries. That is why we have two inverters. One of them (the 10kW) is suitable for holding battery storage,” he said.

“We have the capacity to store with this converted between 15 and 30kW of battery storage on the wall here under the inverter.”

For example, if Tom went with a 10kW battery and he is drawing 5kWh at nighttime, in two hours that battery will be empty, Joesph explained.

“Or if he had a 20kW battery and his demand is 5kW again, that battery will be empty in four hours,” he said.

“The battery will kick in once there is no energy in the inverters, to the fuseboard.”

During the summer, due to Tom having a large solar array of 33.15kW of power, he could potentially generate up to 25kW when the days are longer and have more light as a result, Joseph said.

At the moment, in one of the dullest months of the year, he is generating roughly 10kW, so he will have a huge amount of excess energy in the summer.

Due to having the maximum number of cows on the two robotic-milking machines, Tom says he will require a decent amount of energy as the robots are busy 24 hours/day.

He said however, that during that time of year (in the summer), he should be completely self-sufficient, as the amount he will be exporting to the grid should fully cover what he will be taking in at night-time from the grid.

This is as well as using excess energy to heat water on the farm, rather than having to use oil, as mentioned earlier, to heat the water.

Cost

The cost of the installing the system for Tom and Niamh came to €40,000 (including VAT of €5,000) with a 30-year warranty on the panels and a 10-year warranty on the inverters.

However, the duo hope to write off 20-40% in one year of the cost in tax they paid in 2022.

Joseph said that Tom should see a payback on his return in 3.5-4 years time.

Speaking about going ahead with installing the system, Tom said: “We are very happy we went ahead with it.

“We are already seeing the benefits of it.

“We generated 20% of our energy demand in the dullest month of the year, so we are excited to see how the system performs and the economical benefits it bring to us.

“There’s also no maintenance with the solar panels and they are out of the way as well on the roof of the shed – which is great.

“Furthermore, we can monitor what solar we are generating [on the phone] and so far we have been generating more than we need.”

The post Infrastructure Focus: 85 solar PV panels up and running on Galway dairy farm appeared first on Agriland.ie.

The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) has confirmed that dribble bars will not be included in the list of eligible items that will be grant aided in the new Targeted Agricultural Modernisation Schemes (TAMS).

The comprehensive new national reference costs compiled by DAFM for TAMS 3 outline what specific items will be eligible for grant aid from February 22.

The list includes in the region of more than 50 new items with a clear focus on key themes that have been heavily promoted by DAFM including organics, tillage, solar and women farmers.

Among some of the items listed in the new TAMS are cattle underpasses, farm roadways, and collars for health and fertility monitoring but there are also some contentious and unpopular exclusions from the new scheme.

As Agriland had revealed earlier this week, in relation to the Low Emission Slurry Spreading Scheme (LESS) there is no inclusion for dribble bars with only a trailing shoe and shallow injection attachment listed for attachment on slurry tankers with the same attachments (trailing shoe and shallow injection) also listed for umbilical systems.

Although the new TAMS 3 list outlines the list of items and costings that are available under the dairy equipment scheme (DES) it fails to provide the extensive details that farmers will be most curious about.

Some of the items in the DES include cluster units (for new and the extension of milking machines), robotic milking machine, backup PTO generator and milk recording equipment.

However as has been previously flagged there is no reference to rotary machines in the list of items.

As had been expected, there is a strong focus on organics and renewables, in the latest TAMS which reflects both DAFM’s ambitions in this area and a growing number of farmers moving in this direction.

There is also the introduction of solar electric fencing in TAMS 3 underlying the government’s continued commitment to promoting renewable energy sources where ever possible.

One particular area also emphasised in the TAMS 3 list is around the key issue of farm safety.

Potential investments under farm safety are a big element of the new scheme.

Farmers will be able to draw down grant aid on a number of items including in the previous TAMS II once again along with new investments.

In terms of the Pig and Poultry Capital Investment Scheme under TAMS 3, a big emphasis is once again, in the items listed, around energy efficiency across the various pig housing units.

A full list of the available items and reference costs for TAMS 3 are available on the DAFM website.

The post DAFM unveils new TAMS 3 list appeared first on Agriland.ie.

Qualifying farmers will be able to draw down 60% grant aid on slurry tankers and trailing shoes in the ‘new’ Targeted Agricultural Modernisation Scheme (TAMS), which will be known as the On-Farm Capital Investment Scheme (OFCIS).

Agriland understands that the 60% grant aid rate will apply to all farmers who are eligible to draw down payment under the scheme, regardless of age bracket.

Under TAMS II, young farmers under the age of 35 could draw down the 60% rate, however those aged 36 and older were only eligible to draw down 40% of costs.

Sources have also indicated that dribble bars will not be included in the list of items that are available under the scheme, which is due to open imminently.

The uptake of nitrogen (N) by soil is higher when fertiliser is spread with a trailing shoe as opposed to a dribble bar, however numerous farm organisations have called for their inclusion in the scheme.

The costings of included items are currently being revised ahead of the opening of the OFCIS, Jack Nolan of the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) confirmed during a recent webinar.

In relation to investment ceilings under the scheme, organic farmers will be eligible for a grant aid rate of 60% up to a limit of €90,000.

Meanwhile, the investment ceiling for pig farmers is set to be increased to €500,000, according to Minister of State at the DAFM Martin Heydon.

He stated during a national meeting of pig farmer members of the Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA), that the department is proposing to more than double the current ceiling of €200,000.

In his speech, Minister Heydon, who is the chairperson of the Pig Roundtable, said that the increased ceiling would help pig farmers plan for the future when the current challenges in the sector are resolved.

The post 60% grant aid for slurry tanker and trailing shoe in ‘new TAMS’ appeared first on Agriland.ie.

A good rule of thumb for those going down the organic route is, in terms of space allowance for cattle, to have 1.0m² for very 100kg liveweight.

In fact, this is a requirement. Furthermore, all cattle must have access to a dry-bedded lying area. Up to 50% of this area can be slatted, but the remaining 50% must be a solid floor bedded with straw, rushes or woodchip.

This is what Teagasc organic specialist Joe Kelleher told farmers during a webinar on converting beef housing to organic standards.

Speaking on the housing requirement for cattle in organics, Joe said: “First thing a farmer needs to do when going down, or thinking about going down the organic route, is to measure your sheds by getting out the measuring tape.

“For example, the two things to measure if applicable to your farm is how much slatted area you have in your sheds and how much solid lying area you have.

“If you can get those two figures written down on a piece of paper, it will give you a good idea of how many cattle you can hold in your shed roughly and if the shed is too small, what you need to accommodate the number of cattle you want.

“So to show an example, take a standard slatted shed with lieback area. Let’s say, the solid lieback is 5m wide and and 4m deep, which gives us 20m² of a lying area,” he said.

“And then a further 4m of slatted area in front of that lieback we have another 20m² of area which gives us a total of 40m² of floor area.

“That’s our starting point. Then to know what space we need and the type of animals we might have on the farm, we need to look at this table [below].”

Joe added: “Dairy and suckler cows require 6m² of space.”

Example: Floor and lying space for 80 cattle

During the webinar, Joe was joined by Tadhg and Claire Halpin from Co. Clare who are making the conversion to organics and this year, are planning to convert existing accommodation on the farm to facilitate the move.

In the case of the Halpins, they intend to outwinter their 20 suckler cows and house the rest of their cattle, which is 80 head in total across three different sheds.

The table below gives an idea of age and weight groups of cattle in terms of overall and lying space required for the Halpin’s cattle.

As the cows are outwintered, they aren’t included in the calculations. So how much housing space do the Halpin’s need for 80 head of cattle they plan to house?

In total, they will require 360m² and, as is the case with organic regulations, half of this space must be of a solid lying area which in the Halpin’s case will be 180m².

The table below shows the space available on the Halpin’s farm.

From the table above we can see that the Halpins will have a total area of 439m² going off their existing shed space and the building work they plan to carry out this year to satisfy the requirements for organics.

Having known earlier that they would require 360m² of space to house their 80 cattle, the Halpins have more than sufficient room based off their combined existing slatted area and proposed solid floor area of 439m².

The post Housing: Calculating space allowances for cattle in organics appeared first on Agriland.ie.

For this week’s Buildings Focus, Agriland made the trip Co. Kildare to speak to John Culbert about recent building work completed on the farm including a new handling unit.

The beef and tillage farmer had previously kept 90 suckler cows, the last of which left the farm last year.

Along with his father, John used to manage the cows and had a split calving system in operation.

However, as his father got older he wasn’t able to help out as much as he wanted to and therefore, they looked at changing the system on the farm, moving to a weanling or yearling to beef enterprise.

The farm is currently home to 180 bullocks and heifers which will be brought to finish; however, recent building work in the form of an extension to the existing slatted shed with a lieback area has the capacity to hold up to 260 head of cattle.

Speaking to Agriland on his farm, John said: “I run both tillage and beef enterprises here so I’m kept going.

“I moved to finishing cattle in the last few years as before there was two of us here, my father and I, but sadly he passed away last Christmas and it’s now just me.

“We would have kept 90 suckler cows and had the place set up for calving cows and so on, and my father would have been a great help with the cows.

“But it was getting very heavy [the workload] between the cows and tillage and we began to look at moving to buying in cattle, predominately weanlings, and bringing them to finish.

“We had gradually been cutting back the cow numbers the last few years and last year the last cows left the farm.

“Now that it’s just myself on the farm, I wanted to house all the cattle I’m finishing in one shed and also to make handling cattle more safe and efficient, as this wouldn’t have been the case with the old facilities we had.”

What building work was carried out?

John said that the farm had a five-bay shed, with a slatted tank and lieback on either side of a central passageway which meant a total of 10 bays were available.

On one side of the shed, John had built the slatted tanks and one of the liebacks off of an existing round-roofed hay shed (seen below).

Behind the round-roof hay shed was where the old handling facility was, which John said did the job.

It was fine, he said, if cattle needed to go through the crush on the same side of the shed, but was quite labour intensive if cattle had to come across the feed passageway over to the other side of the shed.

John said cattle coming across that way was something he dreaded, as it involved a lot of setting up and organising so that different groups of cattle didn’t get mixed up.

Cattle on the other side of the shed had to be penned up and separated to free room for cattle from the other side of the shed to walk across the feed passageway out to the other side of the shed into the handling unit at the back of the shed.

The end goal for John wanted was to extend the length of this double-up shed from its five bays to nine bays to house all his finishing cattle, this involved having to knock mass concrete walls either side of the central passageway at one end of the shed.

And he wanted a new and modern handling facility that meant cattle from both sides of the shed could be managed and handled safely and more efficiently.

Four-bay extension

The extension of the existing five-bay double-sided shed involved knocking the mass concrete wall at the back of it and sacrifice some ground at the back of the shed.

Basically, John wanted a carbon copy of the existing five-bay double up shed, but wanted sliding doors at either end of the shed and at the back of one side of it to let cattle out and around to the new handling facility.

On the side of the shed where the round-roof hayshed is incorporated, 32 cattle can fit in each pen, while on the other side of the passageway, 22 cattle can fit in each pen.

Two tanks on either side of the passageway were erected with a further two lieback areas directly behind these tanks constructed.

To keep the slatted areas and dry bedded areas separate and more in the sense of preventing straw from being dragged from the dry bedded area to the slatted areas, concrete walls were erected to act as a barrier.

The passage for cattle between the slatted area and the lieback can be closed with a gate and a concrete lip was incorporated along the length of it to limit straw from being dragged into the slats.

However, in order for seepage from the straw-bedded area to run into the tank, an opening was left (seen below).

Moving back to the slatted area, water troughs were fitted here to ensure if there was any water leakages that the water would flow into the tank rather than soaking the straw-bedded area at the back of the shed.

At the feedface, in the old part of the shed, in order to artificially inseminate the cows, headlocking barriers were installed.

However, with no more cows residing on the farm, standard diagonal feed barriers were hung in the sides of the shed. Each pen in the shed is split by four-bar gates.

With two points of entry to the shed, John can drive from one end of the shed and turn around and come back down with the diet feeder. He can even drive down the centre of the shed and come back down around the side of it in between the shed and the new handling area.

Just outside the newly extended part of the shed, Joh laid a new concrete surface which gives him greater room to manoeuvre the tractor and diet feeder in order to come back down around to feed the cattle on the other side of the shed.

This new concrete surface outside the shed also makes for a tidier finish rather than a gravel surface.

Furthermore, in terms of ease of access, John fitted sliding doors leading into the pens at the end of the shed as well as on one side facing into the new handling unit, in order to let cattle out into the handling facility.

No cattle will ever have to be let into the feed passageway like they did before with the old set up.

Giving an example of how moving cattle out of the shed works, if cattle in the middle of the shed had to be handled in the handling unit, John would lock cattle into the dry-bedded area and close the gate behind them.

The he would run the cattle he wants along the slatted area and out of the shed by opening up the sliding door.

It works a treat, John said, with no stress on the animals or John himself in comparison to the old setup.

One element of the shed that hits you once you walk in is the freshness of it. For the number of cattle in it (180 head) and the capacity it could take (260 head), good ventilation is required.

To aid with airflow in and out of the shed, John replaced the vented sheeting in the original shed and along with the extension, fitted spaced boarding around the entirety of the shed.

The handling unit

As well as working on the shed, John wanted a new and modern handling facility to manage and handle his cattle safely and efficiently.

This was made possible with space between the existing and newly extended beef shed and grain store built in 2021, allowing for a modern and spacious handling area to be built.

The handling facility works hand in hand with the newly extended beef shed. If John wanted to let cattle out of the shed, he can do so at the far end where the extension was built.

Cattle can exit through a sliding door from either the slatted area or the lieback, whichever is handier, and then gather outside on the concrete surface area (seen below).

John can then drive cattle towards the handling facility and either pen them in one of three pens, or move them to the back of the facility where lies a circular forcing area.

From here, John can keep a safe distance from himself and the cattle while at the same time moving them forward into the race as this system has a spring loaded gate latch and angled notches which offer a non-return feature.

Any cattle that can’t fit in the race remain at the back of the unit, penned up close to the mouth of the race.

Once cattle are in the race, which is made up of Condon Engineering crush gate panels, John can make his way onto the stepped walkway which runs parallel to the race and close the sliding back gate at the rear to ensure that cattle can’t back themselves out of it.

At the front of the race, John went with a Condon Engineering Warrior Head Gate. The idea here is that John can open up this gate and allow one animal to be isolated on its own before being allowed into the Titan Cattle Master crush.

Once ready, John can slide open the back gate on the Titan Cattle Master crush and let an animal in to carry out whatever job he plans on doing.

This crush was bought when the Beef Environmental Efficiency Programme – Sucklers (BEEP-S) first came out at a time when there was suckler cows on the farm.

John said he bought it second-hand at the time and that it was the only part of the old handling facility to survive along with a few gates which help to make up the pens in the handling unit.

Once ready, cattle exit the front of the crush into a holding pen.

The entire surface of the handling unit is grooved and at the front of the facility, a slatted tank was put in.

Furthermore, two manholes were also incorporated near the tank. John said the idea here was for manholes to be opened up anytime there was any substantial rainfall to take the water away out to the nearby field through pipes rather than filling up the slatted tank with water.

From a safety point of view, a number of slip through access points – for a quick escape – were incorporated around the unit.

Cost

The job of extending the existing shed and building the handling unit was done without any grant aid.

The cost of the entire project came to roughly €228,000.

The excavating of the site and concrete work, including the tanks, was completed by Clive Guing Construction – this also includes the handling facility and other concrete work outside around the shed.

The shed itself was sourced and erected by Pat Deegan Engineering. The wiring of the shed was carried out by Eugene Byrne.

The handing facility itself was designed and erected by Condon Engineering.

Speaking about the the work completed, John said: “I’m very happy with it. The standard of the work carried out was excellenet.

“At the end of the day, everything I wanted I was able to get. For myself, I needed a one-person operated system of doing jobs around the yard.

“Mainly to be able to jobs safely but also efficiently. I did all the cattle in the shed for lice a few weeks ago in a few hours by myself without any issues.

“I wouldn’t have been able to to do that before. I’d be dreading doing it for the fact it was labour intensive and time consuming.

“I have far more comfort now and not only me, the cattle are very content and the stress of the old system is gone now.”

The post Buildings Focus: New handling unit and 4-bay extension to existing shed appeared first on Agriland.ie.

Costings in the upcoming and highly anticipated On-Farm Capital Investment Scheme (OFCIS) will be revised, the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) has said.

During a webinar held last night (Wednesday, February 8) by Teagasc on converting beef housing to organic standards, a number of questions came in from farmers on the new Targeted Agricultural Modernisation Scheme (TAMS), set to be known as the aforementioned OFCIS, which is due to be announced soon.

One question came in about costings in the new scheme and whether or not the DAFM has revised them in the OFCIS.

Teagasc’s organic specialist Joe Kelleher said that, from his understanding, the new TAMS will be opening in the “next month or two”.

In relation to costings, he then said: “We have been told it is in progress at the moment and it is being reviewed.

“Will the costings come up to the actual cost, I don’t know is the short answer, but we would hope that it would go some way in bridging the gap that was there in the previous TAMS.”

Later on in the webinar, Jack Nolan of the DAFM, who wasn’t speaking or presenting during the webinar, replied in the ‘chat box’, said that “yes, there will be revised costings when the OFCIS opens”.

Investment ceiling for organic famers

The webinar last night, as mentioned, was held to inform farmers around the requirements when converting housing for beef cattle, but also for dairy and sheep as well.

In relation to the investment ceiling under the upcoming OFCIS, organic farmers will be eligible for a grant of 60% up to a ceiling of €90,000.

The post Costings in ‘new TAMS’ will be revised – DAFM appeared first on Agriland.ie.

A survey carried out on a random selection of dairy farms has brought to light the issues on farms in relation to slurry and soiled water storage, and the barriers farmers face in implementing practices that are positive to water quality.

Reporting findings from Achieving improvements in water quality through targeted organic manure storage advice, Teagasc Walsh Scholar Róisín McManus disclosed the issues that cropped up on farms.

The aim of the study is to determine knowledge transfer methods to improve slurry storage on farms.

From the 40 farms surveyed, issues found from farmyard assessments included:

• Deficit in slurry storage capacity;
• Minimum storage but requirement for greater flexibility;
• Separate soiled water storage;
• Cow numbers increased but slurry capacity didn’t increase accordingly
• Feeding yards – produce slurry not soiled water;
• Structural deficiencies in silage bases;
• Leaking shoots and gutters;
• Clean and/or soiled water getting into slatted tanks.

Farmers were also asked what barriers they face in implementing practices that are positive to water quality, which included:

• Availability of help to carry out work (labour);
• Lack of knowledge or understanding;
• Financial constrains.

The results come after an event, titled ‘Future Proofing Farmyards’, that McManus organised in January.

At this event, tips on farmyard design and minimising the storage required by farmers, along with the costs, design options and common problems found in yards, were discussed.

Soiled water storage and management

For farmers wondering what the soiled water closed periods and the soil water storage requirements are this year, and in the following years, they are outlined below by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine.

Soiled water closed period for dairy farmers:

• Between December 10 and December 31, 2023;
• Between December 1 and December 31, 2024;
• Between December 1 and December 31, 2025 for winter/liquid milk.

Soiled water storage requirements:

• Three weeks storage in 2023;
• Four weeks storage in 2024;
• Four weeks storage in 2025 for winter/liquid milk.

The post Issues found from farmyard assessments appeared first on Agriland.ie.

The planned extension of slurry storage scheme, which was announced as part of Budget 2023, will need to be formally approved by the Dáil and Seanad.

The time-limited scheme for accelerated capital allowance for the construction of modern slurry storage facilities is expected to run from 2023 to 2025.

The scheme is designed to incentivise farmers to construct slurry storage facilities and to increase the volume of slurry storage at an individual farm level.

Increased slurry storage is aimed at reducing reliance on imported chemical fertilisers, improving water and air quality and working towards the country’s decarbonisation targets.

Extension of slurry storage scheme

The Department of Finance has confirmed to Agriland that while Accelerated Capital Allowance scheme for Slurry Storage Facilities is technically due to expire on June 30 due to a delay with the EU’s Agricultural Block Exemption Regulation (ABER), the “policy intention is to extend it, prior to that date, to at least December 31, 2025”.

According to the Department of Finance: “The taxation of profits from farming and market gardening are charged to tax under Case I of Schedule D and so any claims for relief on such taxes should be submitted to Revenue as part of the annual tax return process.

“Capital allowances for farm buildings are usually deductible at a rate of 15% per annum over a period of six years with the final 10% deductible in the seventh year.

“Plant and machinery are usually deductible at a rate of 12.5% per annum over a period of eight years. However this scheme provides that 100% of the capital expenditure incurred on the construction of slurry storage facilities and associated equipment may qualify for an accelerated rate such that the allowances may be claimed over two years.”

Where expenditure is qualifying, the farmer will be entitled to claim up to a maximum tax benefit of €500,000 per undertaking.

The Department of Finance is currently working with Revenue and the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) to examine the regulation in the context of a number of existing agri-tax reliefs and will draft appropriate amendments.

In terms of formally extending the scheme to 2025, the finance department spokesperson said: “A suitable legislative vehicle will be sought by which to implement these amendments.

“However, as with all primary legislation, before any proposed legislative provisions can be enacted, they must first pass through several stages of debate in both the Dáil and Seanad.

“An amendment to extend the relief will require the approval of both of the Houses of the Oireachtas [Dáil and Seanad].”

ICMSA

Meanwhile, the Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers’ Association (ICMSA) said that it had received many calls from confused and anxious farmers in relation to the Accelerated Capital Allowances (ACA) for slurry storage.

ICMSA farm business chairperson, Shane O’Loughlin, said that the scheme is “categorically” open for three years as first indicated in Budget 2023.

O’Loughlin said he contacted the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) to officially confirm that the scheme will not expire in June of this year.

The ICMSA is urging farmers who have plans for slurry storage to proceed with their building on the understanding that as long as the costs of the infrastructure is incurred in the three years from January 2023 to December 2025, they will be eligible.

The post Extension of slurry storage scheme requires Oireachtas approval appeared first on Agriland.ie.

The specification for calculating dairy washing storage on farms is outdated, with new advice and tests being carried out to update farmers on what storage they will need.

This is what farmers were told at an event titled ‘Future proofing farmyards’ which took place last Friday (January 13) in Co. Tipperary, where up to 80 farmers gathered.

Teagasc specialist Patrick Gowing spoke about solving dairy-washing storage issues on farms and advised farmers on how to calculate what dairy washing storage they will need.

He said: “In my opinion, the simplest way to solve dairy-washing storage issues, and the best way, is to put a tank in the ground.

“We could go off and do this and that, but putting a tank in the ground is the best solution.

“The problem is at the moment that a slatted tank, say for a 14ft six-slat per linear foot, is working out at €400 excluding VAT.

“So basically if you want to build a 100ft tank, it’s going to cost €40,000, which is a ballpark figure.

“If we go back to 2015, that same size tank was working out at €180/ft, so it has more than doubled in price.”

Dairy washings

Gowing said that farmers should not leave themselves short on dairy washing storage, highlighting that the strong milk price at present is leaving farmers milking longer than usual.

“The next thing we have to look at with the dairy washings is every farmer in the country, rightly or wrongly, when they were out in a field with a slurry tank had dairy washings, but had no dairy washing tank in the yard,” he said.

“New rules state that nothing can be spread in the month of December, so no dairy washings to be spread in the current regulations.

“We have to have at least a month’s storage for dairy washings. However, the reality is if you build it for a month, what will happen?

“So you all have slurry storage on paper. If you build it exactly to the specification you will still probably not have enough storage.”

Gowing explained that the specification was based on a dairy farmer drying off on around December 15, and returning to milking again one month later on January 15.

“However, with the way milk prices are now, most farmers have been milking right up until Christmas so storage is and will be an issue,” he said.

Calculating storage

As Gowing alluded to, the old specification on dairy washings was based on an eight-unit milking parlourwhich was up to Rural Environment Protection Scheme (REPS) spec, which is 30L/cow/day.

He said: “The specification is outdated. So what we are advising is, in order to calculate the amount of dairy washing storage you need on your farm, to multiply your herd size by the volume of water [30L] for six weeks, which will give you that extra bit of scope.

“That’s above spec – you don’t have to go home and do that but that’s what we would advise.

“At the moment, tests are being carried out; flow meters are being put into tanks to check that 30L/cow/day figure to see if it’s accurate.

“Flow meters are gone into tanks from various different milking systems, be it conventional parlour, rotary and robotic milking systems to see if that figure is right.”

Gowing explained that there is currently not enough data, but once more data becomes available, the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) will update those figures.

“If you know in your heart that you are using more water than what is on the spec, then the best thing to do is to put a flow meter in where the water is coming into the parlour,” he said.

“It can catch that and determine the figure, which is going to be 30L/cow/day or above that.”

The post Solving and calculating dairy washing storage on farms appeared first on Agriland.ie.

Collecting yards are the only exemption in terms of the requirement to cover (roof) slurry storage on farms under the capital accelerated allowance scheme announced in Budget 2023, farmers were told at a recent farm event.

The event titled ‘Future proofing farmyards’ took place last Friday (January 13) in Co. Tipperary where up to 80 farmers gathered.

Tips on farmyard design and minimising the storage required by farmers, along with the costs, design options and common problems found in yards, were discussed.

Organiser of the event, Róisín McManus, a Teagasc Walsh Fellowship Masters student, told Agriland that the event was a success, with farmers taking home plenty of information on the day on the above topics.

Talking to famers about the accelerated capital allowance scheme, Teagasc specialist Patrick Gowing spoke about what can be expected from it in terms of slurry storage.

“Within the literature, slurry storage has to be covered,” he said.

“If you want to get accelerated capital write down on a slurry tank it has to be covered.

“So basically you can’t have any open slatted tanks except in one instance. If you are building a tank for a collecting yard, it doesn’t have to be covered.

“Also, if you are putting in an overground tower it has to be covered,” he added.

“There is also a mention of geomembrane lined tanks [lagoons] and the slurry bags [which are fully sealed] that pump in very low dry matter slurry, both expected to be availed of too within the scheme. These both don’t require planning permission.”

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Figures revealed to Agriland by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) show that expenditure under the Targeted Agricultural Modernisation Scheme (TAMS II) has exceeded €391 million to date.

The hugely popular scheme, which closed in December 2022, has helped to accelerate farm infrastructure improvements over its duration – so the new TAMS is eagerly anticipated.

There are still some 7,094 approved applications with farmers who have yet to submit payment claims which amounts to approximately €107 million in outstanding commitments.

The DAFM has said that it will continue to process payment claims under TAMS II as they are received.

The scheme has been opened for applications in rolling three-month tranches. There have been 28 completed tranches to date. Tranche 28 closed on December 16, 2022, with the scheme now closed.

The following tables provide a breakdown of the number of approvals, number of payments and amounts paid to date under TAMS II under the seven schemes under TAMS II.

These include:

1. Young Farmer Capital Investment Scheme (YFCIS);
2. Dairy Equipment Scheme (DES);
3. Organic Capital Investment Scheme (OCIS);
4. Low Emission Slurry Spreading Equipment Scheme (LESS);
5. Pig and Poultry Investment Scheme (PPIS);
6. Animal Welfare Safety and Nutrient Storage Scheme (AWNSS);
7. Tillage Capital Investment Scheme (TCIS).

TAMS II breakdown

Here is a breakdown by number of approvals, number of payments and amounts paid by scheme to date for TAMS II.

Below is a breakdown of payments by scheme and county.

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For this week’s Buildings Focus, Agriland headed to Sligo to the scenic area of Strandhill to check out a new milking parlour and cubicle shed under the one roof.

The new dairy facility is on the farm of Philip Parke, who also runs an agricultural contracting business alongside the dairy enterprise with his father Richard.

Like many dairy farms in the last number of years, cow numbers started creeping up and the existing parlour and housing started to come under pressure.

Speaking to Agriland inside his new parlour and cubicle shed, Philip said: “We had been operating out of an eight-unit parlour and we had no real place to go with it, in terms of increasing the size of it.

“We are up to 100 cows now and milking time was taking to long in the old parlour and we had to look at doing something to improve that and cut the time spent in the pit.

“We were also at a stage where we needed more cubicles. We had converted sheds over the years and although they worked out well, just with the increase in cow numbers and replacement stock as well finishing some cattle, we were getting tight for space.

“So between the parlour and the housing situation we needed to look at doing something to take the pressure off and also to free up more time which this new building has done for us.”

Design

The shed, which contains the new cubicles and parlour, was built beside the existing sheds on the farm on a site which was once part of a paddock and also part of the yard which would have been used to store bales of silage.

The parlour

Philip opted to with a 18-unit swing-over arm Pearson milking parlour supplied and fitted by Jarlath Colleran of Ja Colleran Farm Services.

The Parkes went with a parlour consisting of automatic cluster removers (ACRs); an auto-wash system; milk indicators; a low-line wash system; dumpline; a batch feeding system with individual troughs; air gates, both at the front and back of the parlour; and a variable speed and vacuum pump.

Commenting on the parlour, Philip said: “It’s been a dream to work in. Getting the cows milked is quick and efficient and doesn’t take half the day like in the old parlour.

“It’s a well-equipped parlour and done to a fine finish. It’s light and day the difference between what we had and this parlour.

“Cow flow in and out is great and for myself, milking is just enjoyable again, because towards the end in the old parlour it wasn’t.

“Credit to Jarlath and his team, the parlour was in and up and running in no time.”

Philip mentioned the extra touches Jarlath and his team made to the parlour, for example making a steel frame (pictured below) for the pipes carrying the meal from the 12t meal bin to the parlour.

According to Philip the pipes are usually seen being held in the air by a chain and said small things like this added to the overall finish and service he received.

Milk is stored in a 6,000L capacity tank that came from the old dairy in the original parlour.

The cubicle shed

Housing on the farm was also getting tight, as was slurry storage, and having thought about originally fitting a new parlour into an existing shed on the farm, the Parkes instead opted to go with a new shed to house both the cows and parlour.

The cubicle shed, which is under the same roof as the parlour, consists of 104 cubicles.

It consists of two rows of back-to-back cubicles with feed space on two sides of the shed.

There is no break in either of the rows of cubicles, as the distance from one end of the shed to the next in order to get to the feed barriers isn’t that big so Parkes opted to have the extra cubicles.

With the parlour at one end of the shed, the other end of the shed, if it ever became a need in the future, could be further extended to accommodate more cubicles which then leaves room for further expansion.

Philip went with spaced sheeting on the roof – except for the area of the shed covering the parlour – and said that for a big shed it is airy, but not cold, and that cows are very content in the shed.

To keep the solid concrete floor passages between the cubicles clean, Philip opted to go with the Dairypower rope scrapers.

Ja Colleran Farm Services supplied and fitted the three rope scrapers and Philip said that once they were up and running they worked well and continue to do so.

He said the only issue that would possibly creep up was the motor for the scrapers possibly getting damaged by the cows scratching off it.

So to avoid this issue, Jarlath designed and made a barrier so that cows wouldn’t be able to do any damage to it (pictured below).

Also found on the other side of the parlour between where the cubicles are is a crush. The Parkes manually draft their cows after milking from the holding area.

Philip said: “We don’t have a drafting system but with the crush we have, it’s all compartmentalised, which means if we only need one cow out of all the cows in the chute we can open up any section of it and draft cows out that way.”

The area between the crush and the cubicles doubles up as a collecting yard for cows that are going into the parlour. This area is entirely slatted and has increased the slurry storage on the farm, something Philip said was needed.

The area directly behind the parlour is also slatted which helps to reduce the amount of water needed to wash down around the parlour post-milking.

To keep dry cows and cows in-milk separate, as the Parkes milk all-year round, there are six-bar gates at intervals in the shed.

All the cubicles, mats, diagonal feed barriers, gates and water troughs were sourced from Teemore Engineering.

Philip said that he wanted to be able to access each passageway in the cubicle shed easily, in case a cow ever went down, so he added three sliding doors at the back of the shed which allow access into each of the passageways.

For his and other’s safety, a number of these slip-through points are in the shed and Philip said he’s sorry he didn’t put more in at the time of the building the shed.

The concrete work was carried out by Norris Plant Hire. The shed was sourced and erected by North West Tool Hire.

Cost

The Parkes were eligible for a grant under the Targeted Agricultural Modernisation Scheme (TAMS II).

The cost of the entire build is standing at roughly €370,000. However, with the value of the grant and the VAT taken into account, the entire dairy unit is standing to the Parkes at €270,000.

Speaking about going ahead with the new cubicle shed and milking parlour, Philip said: “We have great comfort now.

“Between the milking and the cubicle shed it all came together nicely and you know the days of spending hours in the parlour and looking for space for cows and also slurry storage are behind us.”

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An event titled ‘Future proofing farmyards’ is set to take place on Friday (January 13) in Co. Tipperary.

Tips on farmyard design and minimising the storage required by farmers, along with the costs, design options and common problems found in yards will all be discussed.

The event is taking place on the dairy farm of Graham Harding in Borrisokane (Eircode E45vy58) and is set delve into common problems and find practical solutions for them.

Speaking on the day will be:

• Patrick Gowing, dairy expansion specialist, Teagasc;
• Fiona Doolan, sustainability advisor (ASSAP), Teagasc;
• Gillian Delahunty, agricultural scientist, Tipperary County Council;

Organiser of this event, Teagasc Walsh Fellowship Masters student Róisín McManus, is carrying out research for the Agricultural Sustainability Support and Advisory Programme (ASSAP).

The title of her study is ‘Achieving improvements in water quality through targeted organic manure storage advice‘.

As part of the research, she is holding this event this Friday at 11:00a.m to discuss all things related to farmyards.

The event aims to inform farmers of the common problems found as a result of farmyard assessments, the implications of insufficient organic manure storage and to update and prepare farmers for future storage regulations.

About the host farm

The host dairy farm is situated between Borrisokane and Ballingarry. It is ran by Graham Harding, as mentioned above, who is a new entrant to dairy post-quotas.

Graham is milking 115 cows on a 64ha milking platform. Performance on the farm in 2022 was described as exceptional at 560kg milk solids/cow on 1.2t meal fed.

Graham’s yard is built into the side of a hill which creates issues with yard design and run-off from roadways. Slopes create problems on many yards and how to solve these issues will be addressed at the event.

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For this his week’s Buildings Focus, Agriland made the trip to Boherduff in Co. Galway to speak to father and daughter Kevin and Ciara Callanan about their new cubicle shed.

The duo, which is a registered farm partnership, milks 200 cows, 70 of which were in-milk just before Christmas. In recent years the Callanans have invested quite a bit in infrastructure on the farm, such as a 24-unit parlour and a modern calf shed.

The father-and-daughter team supply 1.2 million litres to Aurivo, which Kevin is a board member of.

Ciara has also recently completed a Dairy Management course in Gurteen Agricultural College.

One other area of the farm that Kevin and Ciara said was lacking was cubicles. Some of their cows were being housed in slatted sheds and the Callanans wanted to move away from this.

Therefore, they went ahead with plans for a new cubicle shed which has came to a finish before Christmas.

Speaking to Agriland inside the new cubicle shed, Kevin said: “We had been improving the infrastructure on the farm in recent years.

“We had actually started by building a calf shed and then moved to building a new milking parlour thereafter, before then cracking into this cubicle.

“As cow numbers grew post-quotas we needed more cubicles. We had cows on slats which isn’t ideal, so we looked at building a new standalone cubicle shed, that would mean every cow [would be] on the farm.

“It would also mean that all youngstock on the farm would be able to be housed as well, as we have had to outwinter cattle on forage crops as well due a lack of housing.”

The cubicle shed

The site which the shed is on was part of a nearby paddocks closest to the yard.

The shed comprises of 124 cubicles, split in half by a centre feed passageway – which is 19ft wide – with 62 cubicles on either side of the passageway.

As the Callanans feed out baled silage and pit to their cows, having the extra width with the passageway will give them more room to manoeuvre.

Furthermore, given the width of the passageway, the option down the line of diet feeding is there, with an entry point to the shed at either end of the passageway.

And, there is still space to drive back down either side of the shed into the main yard.

Kevin and Ciara were not sold by the idea of having feed space on three sides of the shed, and rather have a centre feed passageway, with weather elements from the north posing a threat to a colder environment in the shed.

The shed itself is 140ft long and 100ft wide. The entire floor area where the cubicles are is slatted.

The slats are grooved to improve grip with a half a metre of a concrete lip left between the slats and the feed barriers.

Due to the sheer length of the shed, the Callanans incorporated a break in the row of cubicles so that cows wouldn’t have to walk to either end of the shed to get around to lie on the cubicles.

The Callanans have headlocking barriers on both sides the entire length of the shed.

Kevin and Ciara said this gives more control and allows for carrying out routine jobs, for example clipping tails, vaccinating and scanning.

In total, 60 headlocking barriers are on each side of the shed.

These barriers were sourced from Wilson Agri as were the the water troughs and gates.

At either end of the cubicles are two troughs, one at either end of the shed (four in total).

The pair went with the Aqua drain water trough for ease of cleaning and ensuring cows have access to fresh water at all times.

To empty the trough of water, a lever has to be moved from its locked position and turned to a point where it can be lifted upright in order to release the bung, so that the water can drain away at the bottom of the trough (as seen in the pictures below).

The Callanans went with spaced boarding along one of the shed and at one end of the shed, where its facing north, gates which allow for movement of cows in and out of the shed were sheeted with galvanise.

Although on the day of Agriland’s visit it was a calm, dry day, a biting wind was cutting from a northerly direction and Kevin said without putting up some sort of cover on two sides of the shed, it would leave it very cold for the cows.

On the other side of the shed, no space boarding was erected, nor any galvanise on the gates or a sliding door at the entrance of the feed passageway.

These two sides of the shed are facing into the farmyard where there are other sheds and as a result, there is no risk of substantial amount of rain coming in or a cutting wind like on the other side of the shed.

Increasing slurry storage

The main reason for putting tanks on either side of the cubicles, which equates to the entire floor area of the cubicle, was to increase slurry storage on the farm, which Kevin said was getting tight.

400,000 gallons, 200,000 gallons on either side of the passageway has been built to further increase slurry capacity on the farm.

Kevin said that this mean there is now more than enough slurry storage on the farm.

Heatguard roof sheeting

One element of the building that catches your attention is how bright it is.

This is helped by the fact that the Callanans went with Big 6 Heatguard (HG) 25 roof sheeting supplied by Greenhill Systems.

Kevin and Ciara said they opted for HG25 sheeting as the cows will only be kept in the shed during the winter so heat build will not be so much of an issue.

They said that the HG25 sheeting contains less alloy pigment, which lets more light through for longer during the day and it’s also non-drip, therefore no water gets on the cubicles.

By going with this sheeting, Kevin said it was similar in price compared to going with a traditional tin roof.

Cost

The cost of the shed is standing to the Callanans at roughly €280,000 plus VAT.

The groundworks were carried by Donal Hynes and the concrete work was completed by Packie Rooney; Mike Kelly Engineering stud the shed; Banagher Slats supplied and fitted the slats; Greenhill Systems supplied and roofed the shed; and the electrical work was carried out by Gerry Kelly.

Speaking about going ahead with the shed, the Callanans said: “We are very happy we went ahead with it.

“We are glad now we can put the cows in and make use of it. It gives us great comfort and obviously those extra cubicles we needed.

“Cow comfort is massively important and it’s something we though carefully about when designing and building the shed.

“Also, from our side, in terms of managing and feeding the cows, we learned from mistakes in other sheds, such as having tight passageways where we were restricted that we didn’t want to encounter again,” he added.

“Being an existing dairy farmer, we had built up cashflow over the years to improve the infrastructure on the farm – which was needed as we are at the 200-cow mark now.

“Cow-numbers wise, we are happy where we are and now we want to just build on what we have and continue improving.

“In terms of the time when we built it [last year], we didn’t get badly caught with the rise in price of materials and for what we have and paid for, we are very happy and it just got finished in time [before Christmas].”

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Last up in the Back In Focus series is a father-and-son’s journey in swapping a 12-unit parlour for two robots in Co. Cork.

Based outside Mallow in the Rebel County, Seamus and James Bourke milk 125 high-performing pedigree Holstein cows.

The duo opened up their farm to the public for a DeLaval open day, for people to have a look at their robotic milking system and hear about how it has been going for them so far.

The Bourkes made the move from their 12-unit parlour to robotic milking in early 2021 and in doing so, have increased cow numbers from 95 up to 125, with room to left to expand further also at their disposal.

Speaking to Agriland about the move to robotic milking, James said: “Once I came home to farm full time in late 2019, we continued to milk in the 12-unit parlour for another year before installing the robots.

“My father has been milking in a parlour since he was 13-years-of-age, full-time, and from his point of view he was looking at me and thinking he didn’t want the same for me.

“From my perspective, I would have continued milking in the 12-unit, I didn’t know any different and I was happy enough to do that but it would have had have to been upgraded, so both an upgrade on the parlour and robots were considered.

“However, we made the decision to change from a lifestyle perspective and go with robots. Once Dad was happy that robots were the way to go it was easy to get on board.”

Building work carried out

The task of changing to a robotic-milking system wasn’t simply done overnight. The Bourke’s had to carry out a fair share of building work to make the transition possible.

The Bourkes had been milking in a 12-unit parlour, with no drafting facilities and a small crush that could only hold five cows and house 95 cows.

So to facilitate an increase in cow numbers, an extension to the existing cubicle shed and an upgrade in cow handling facilities was carried out.

The new part of the shed was built by O’Keefe Bros in Cork. Two bays were added to the existing cubicle shed, with the Bourkes now having more than one cubicle/cow.

Within the cubicle shed, beside the robots, a buffer-feeding area was set up also.

They added a further 56 cubicles to the shed, the majority of which are in the main cubicle area, while the rest (15) can be found in two separate isolation areas.

Three new slatted-tanks were also constructed, two within the shed and one outside where the grazing gates are found.

Two 70ftx14ftx8ft tanks, one for slurry and one for soiled water, were constructed, as well as one 36ftx14ftx8ft tank which serves the area where the grazing gates are outside the shed.

Furthermore, building work for the two robots was completed, with concrete work also done for a third robot if the Bourkes wish to expand further.

James said the only regret that they have is not making the pits for both robots 600mm deep, having only done it for one of them. The crush was upgraded to hold 10 cows.

The robots and pre-selection gates

The Bourkes installed two DeLaval VMS V300 robots which were sourced and fitted by Tom Harte Farm Services.

The two robots take up residence in the new part of the cubicle shed and allow, currently, for 125 cows to be milked.

A new bulk tank was purchased as the old one was too small (11,000L), with milk being collected after five milkings before with the 12-unit parlour.

With the new 20,000L capacity bulk tank, the Bourkes are also capable of holding milk for a third robot.

Speaking about the benefits they find the robots offer, James said: “I suppose one great benefit of the robot is that each quarter is milked individually, so no quarter is under or over-milked.

“We were quite surprised when we started off, with the robots the amount of cows that actually were only producing 200ml from a quarter.

“So we’re able to dry off them quarters in those cows and sure those would have been high somatic cell count quarters.

“Another benefit would be the conductivity. You basically can catch cows 36 hours before the onset of mastitis.

“If the conductivity goes above six and there’s a drop in yield in the quarter, you’ll be fairly sure you’re going to find something off.”

“The feed-to-yield is a game changer for us. Any cows that were doing over 50L last year, that peaked at that, we pulled them back in days breeding wise, and as a result average 10 days extra milk, which pays for itself,” he continued.

“Cows are far less stressed in the robot than when we had them in the parlour. Everything is at their own pace. If any of them get lame, which is rare, they heal a lot faster we find,as they aren’t being driven around the place.”

In terms of having to hunt cows into the robot, James said he wouldn’t have to sweep paddocks that often to get cows and said that if you are having to do that it’s more your fault than the cows, as you probably allocated too much grass to them.

“I have to go out and move the strip wires anyway everyday, so when I’m out and if it happens that a cow is due to be in going in for milking I can just bring her in. But like I said, it’s rare that we have to do that.”

In terms of running costs, James said that the robots are about €25 more to run if you were basing it off milking in the old 12-unit parlour per day (twice a day milking), but said that is wiped out nearly straight away as cows are being milked more often.

James said that the two robots are doing roughly 160 milkings/day; “it’s doing 10 times more work than the parlour was”.

The servicing costs of the two robots together, excluding detergents and rubber ware is €4,300. James said that the rubber ware is €135/robot/5,000 milkings.

In terms of feeding concentrates with the robot, the Bourkes have it set up that they can feed two different feeds.

Cows can get a mineral carrier nut at a standard rate, so until autumn it’s at a 2kg rate and it may go down afterwards then to 1.5kg.

Furthermore, a second feed-to-yield feed is set up, which can feed from zero up to 8kg depending on the stage of lactation and litres being produced. Very few cows get the 10kg in total, James said.

In terms of the pre-selection gates, James said that they are a super job and were one of the key reasons for going with a DeLaval in the first place.

“The pre-selection gate option really caught our eye. It’s an extra cost but it makes some difference. Cows that aren’t due in for a milking but are trying to get in are turned away,” he said.

“It means that cows that are due to be milked get into the robot and cows that were in block B but are allowed into fresh grass in block C, the gate will allow them through if they have been milked.”

“Other than that, some other features is when the milk is being collected, cows that are in the robot being milked, their milk is diverted into a separate second tank – which is great and means the robots don’t shut down when the milk is being collected and as a result milk collection doesn’t upset the cows’ routine,” he added.

“We also have a back-up tank of water for the robots if, God forbid, a pipe burst somewhere on the farm. We have a 1,000L capacity tank that is there for the robots to continue working as usual. We also have a Calor gas heater for hot water.”

Grazing infrastructure

With any change in a system comes some readjustments and tweaks. Luckily, not a huge amount of work had to be done with the existing grazing infrastructure on the Bourke’s farm to get it set up for an ABC grazing system.

Two main roadways were already in place to serve the existing platform, so one more was needed, which the Bourke’s laid down using fill excavated from the digging out of the slatted tanks.

Other than that, small additions were made, such as: Installing four more water troughs; moving one; and changing the gaps in paddocks from having them in the middle of paddocks, to the corners in the direction of the robots in the yard.

It was a “fairly cheap” job to do, getting the grazing infrastructure in place and set up for ABC grazing, James said.

The transition

Speaking about the transition to robotic milking, James said that it wasn’t easy initially.

He said: “It wasn’t straightforward; the first three months were hard work. It was drawn out for us because we were calving the cows down onto the robot, rather than some who train them in one blast before calving starts.

“We had a few teething problems to deal with when we got started initially with the robots, but after a month when we got into the swing of it and the cows did, it has been extremely reliable and working well ever since.”

Freedom

“It has given us a lot more freedom. Once we have the morning jobs done, I take Saturday off and same again Sunday; Dad takes Sunday’s off.

“It gives us great flexibility that way. Of course we could organise it that way if we had a parlour too, but we feel it gives us more flexibility and you probably end up working less during the week as well.

“It’s different work too. You’re not tied. One example is, in the morning, at 7:00a.m you can go away and spread slurry for the day and stay at it until 7:00p.m that evening, and not have to worry about bringing in cows for milking.

“In my opinion, robots will milk cows on any farm. If it’s not working it’s the person’s fault rather than the robots or the cows’ fault, and for us, once we got the swing of it, it’s been the best decision we have made to change.”

Looking at the costs, the two robots, bulk tank, three-way gates, vaccuum pump and everything else that comes with the installation of the robot cost €340,000 including VAT.

The building work, James said, is coming in at north of €200,000.

The post Back In Focus: Swapping a 12-unit parlour for 2 robots in Cork appeared first on Agriland.ie.

The next trip down memory lane in Agriland’s Back In Focus series is a revisit to Westmeath to speak to brothers Ciaran and Enda Morrison about their new beef shed, handling facilities and dung stead.

The brothers have been working side by side, with their mother Mary for the past 10 years, and in that time have been operating a suckler-to-beef system. The Morrisons breed their own replacement heifers, with those not making the grade, finished on farm and all male animals are finished as bulls.

The Morrisons keep 30 suckler cows and have been housing them and their beef stock, mainly bulls, in their existing three-bay slatted shed along with renting other sheds.

However, Ciaran, Enda and Mary said that they wanted to have all of their stock in their own yard going forward.

Speaking to Agriland inside their new shed, Enda and Ciaran said: “We have been renting sheds the last few years and we wanted to move away from that and have all the cattle here around the home yard.

“We had an existing three-bay slatted shed with a lieback, but in order to keep all our cows and their progeny that we bring to beef as well any other bulls we’d be buy in, we needed another shed to accommodate them.

“It was a case where we either kept spending money on renting sheds or go for it and build our own one.

“It’s been in our head a long time to do this project and we have been, bit by bit, year by year, putting money aside to build what we have today.

“A lot of thought, research went into designing shed and handling facilities and also some great advice along the way from people involved in the build.”

Site

The Morrisons had been thinking about improving on what housing, handling and slurry/farmyard manure storage they had on their farm for a few years.

And, the brothers said that they just got started and finished in time before the “whole thing went mad dear”.

The area the new four-bay shed and dungstead is on was idle ground used mainly as a storage space for machinery.

The fact the existing three-bay shed was grant spec, the Morrisons were able to build their new four-bay shed off the back of it without any issues on this idle ground used for storage.

The duo got the help of Aidan Kelly of Agri Design and Planning Services (ADPS) to design the shed and dungstead area.

The four-bay shed

From the outset, the Morrisons wanted to keep their options open and every inch of the design was thought out and executed in such a way that the brothers can change up how they use or work in the shed, handling area and even the way the dungstead can be used in ways other than its main use.

The four-bay shed is planned to house finishing bulls, however, the Morrisons could calve down some autumn-calving cows and keep them and their calves in it as well if they so wished.

The Morrisons have 10 years experience finishing bulls and knew exactly what they wanted in their new shed.

First off, the height of the shed. Enda and Ciaran said that you can’t beat a high roof.

The Morrisons said: “We finish Charolais/Belgian Blue/Limousin-cross bulls that do a great thrive.

“The last thing you want is them getting a setback and having a low roof, with poor airflow throughout will see you end up having cattle with runny noses and then the likes of pneumonia then becomes a real threat.

“Some might say it’s a waste of steel going up high but we feel it’s the only job. Coupled with the vented sheeting and the gap between the eaves and the sheeting, gives adequate airflow in and out of the shed.

“That along with having four sliding doors and a swinging door at the front of the shed allows us to further keep the shed airy and fresh.”

The Morrisons wanted to have as big of pens as possible and as such went with 16ft 6″ slats. Furthermore, to increase slurry storage on the farm, they dug 1ft deeper than normal, ending up with a 9ft deep tank.

The new tank in the shed and the the one in the old three-bay are connected up which means they can pump slurry across to the new tank.

The way the pens are set up means that the cattle can be moved between pens, rather than being brought out to the passageway and turned into a pen that way.

All the gates and feed barriers are heavy duty. With bulls set to be finished in the shed, Enda and Ciaran wanted strong durable feed barriers, which are “4mm thicker than the standard barriers”. You’d know it too if you got to lift them!

There are two feeding passageways in the shed, one either side of the slatted pens.

Again, keeping their options open, the Morrisons can feed from both sides and they left enough room that a tractor and diet feeder, which is something they are thinking about using in the future, to swing into both feed passageways with ease.

The diagonal feed barriers at the back of the shed swing back to the wall which means cattle can be let out of the pen without either Enda or Ciaran having to go into the pen.

Also, because cattle can move between pens, two/three pens can be let out from the one pen by just opening the small five-bar gates found in between each pen and out through the feed passageway down to the handling facility for dosing or loading onto a truck for instance.

Leaving space to feed from both sides, the Morrisons explained, is to avoid the bulls from bullying each other; that there is plenty of room within the pens first of all, but also enough room for them to feed from.

Another nice feature in the shed is the incorporation of a swinging gate at the front of the four-bay unit. Here, e.g., cattle from the old three-bay could be moved up to the new shed by opening the sliding door in the old shed and opening the swinging door in the new shed.

Another feature is the incorporation of a ramp up from the level of the old shed to the new shed, for when the Morrisons bring a wheelbarrow full of meal for instance.

Handling facilities

Safety is one of the first words farmers mention now when they carry out any work on their sheds or handling facilities.

The Morrisons were no different and were at first unsure about what way to go about putting in a new handling facility.

They wanted a handling facility that involved not having walk around in close proximity to their cattle, particularly the bulls.

With the help of O’Donovan Engineering, the Morrisons ended up putting in a diamond penning setup, which is one of the few that can be found on farms in Ireland, the brothers said.

Explaining how it works, the Morrisons said: “We were kind of scared at first and didn’t know what to expect in terms of how it would work, but after a few weeks of using it, we would never go back.

“The way it works is, there a diamond shaped pen in the middle with four pens off of it.

“Just say we want to dose the four pens of cattle in the shed, we can let them down one pen at a time, without mixing them and have each bunch in one of the four pens off the middle diamond pen.

“Once you’re ready to let a pen of cattle into the crush, you can open up your gates through the diamond pen and funnel them around it until they have all gone through the crush.

“It takes the hardship out of moving cattle, splitting them up and most importantly being able to work with the cattle safely.

“Once we are set up, the gate from outer pen opens up so that cattle are faced down towards the rear of the crush. We fitted another gate halfway (below) down this area just to keep cattle pushed up so that they couldn’t turn back on us.

“Once cattle turn into the door of the outhouse they can see the light at the other end, where the crush leads back out to the open.

“Seeing the light is big thing and really helps getting cattle up the crush.

“All, bar one, of the gates in the crush can be opened if god forbid an animal got stuck or fell down in the crush.

“At the front of the crush then, we can lock in one animal at the front with the help of sliding gate, which cattle at the back of crush can’t see through, which means they are less stressed and don’t have a clue what’s going on.

“Here, at the front of the crush, two small gates are fitted, either side, so that e.g., if we are artificially inseminating a cow, we can open up one of the gates and it opens back closing off the back of the crush allowing for safe handling of a cow.

“We installed a headscoop at the front of the crush as well which, again, takes the hardship out of trying to dose cattle.

“Also, the whole handling area except for the crush is grooved. The reason for not grooving the crush is that cattle don’t have that grip on the ground to climb up on each other and start stressing each other in the crush.

“Lastly, one side of the front part of the crush can open out to allow for a truck or trailer back in to load a bunch of cattle.

“Again, no one has to come in contact with the animals from when they are let out of the shed, down to the diamond penning system, up into the crush and onto the trailer.

“It takes away the worry that if we weren’t here and a lorry from the factory came to take away a pen of bulls that they could safely, knowing they wouldn’t have to come in contact with them.”

Dungstead

As well as the shed and handling area, the Morrisons decided on building a dungstead to hold their farmyard manure.

This area at the side of the new shed, is set up in a way that any run-off is drained away through channels into the new slatted tank.

They also put sleeves into the ground so that if they ever wanted to set up an outdoor penning area they could, when there would be no dung in it or else just for extra pens.

Theses extra pens would be ideal, Enda and Ciaran said, if they were agitating the slurry in the tank, that they could let the cattle into these pens.

This, Ciaran and Enda added, could also act as an outdoor creep area if they were ever to house cows in the shed and let calves out the back passageway behind the slats and let them walk in and out of the shed.

Cost

The overall cost of the shed and handling facilities was coming in at €128,000 including VAT.

The Morrisons were able to avail of the Targeted Agricultural Modernisation Scheme (TAMS II) which saw them eligible for a 40% grant.

This along with reclaiming the VAT (roughly €20,000) sees the shed standing to them out of their own pocket at €70,000.

The Morrisons praised the quality of work completed in both the shed and handling area. The excavation of the site and concrete work was completed by Dowdall Plant and Agri. Meanwhile, Conaty Steel Structures erected the shed. The slats were sourced from Maxwell Precast.

All the gates and barriers for the shed and handling unit were sourced from O’Donovan Engineering with Ciaran and Enda fitting and hanging all the gates and barriers themselves. David Slevin completed the electrical work.

Speaking about going ahead with the project, the Morrison brothers said: “We have now what we wanted from the start and it’s better than what we had initially thought we’d achieve.

“First off we have a safe environment to work in. Safety is key.

“We didn’t cut corners when it came to safety. For the sake of putting in a few extra gates, if ourselves and anyone who comes on the farm can work safely, then it’s not an expensive job.

“We’d never look back, without a shadow of a doubt. Our old crush was no longer safe to use. It was built years ago by our father and it was of good quality, but it was time to upgrade it. The new handling facilities we have now are a dream to work with.

“The days of people getting hurt by cattle should be a thing of the past.

“It [the new crush and pens] leaves farming more easier every day and the shed then, we are just looking forward to filling it with bulls and getting them cycling through it.

“It would be a dear shed if we were to leave it idle for five or six months of the year, but we plan to make plenty of use of it and once we start expanding we’d hope to be running bulls in and out of it throughout the year and make it earn its keep.”

The post Back In Focus: 4-bay shed, with handling unit and dung stead appeared first on Agriland.ie.

Today’s Back In Focus is how former suckler farmer Edmond Ryan, from Newport in Tipperary, converted over to dairy farming using existing sheds on his farm.

The Tipperary native along with his father, Thomas, used to run a suckler herd comprising 30 cows.

However, since coming home from abroad, Edmond, who is also a fully trained electrician, was trying to come up with how he could make the farm more viable going forward.

Both Edmond and his father said that the sucklers “paid the bills” and that they “had a bit out of them” – but Edmond felt he could get more out of the farm and saw dairy as a way of making the farm more profitable.

Speaking to Agriland, Edmond said: “I’ve been planning for this change for about three or four years now. I’ve reseeded a lot of land and put in a new water system to serve the grazing platform.

“I was looking at what we were doing with the sucklers and although we were doing okay, I felt for me, in the long run, it wasn’t for me.

“I saw dairy as being a much more viable system to be involved in. I’m not coming from any dairy experience, and I’m under no illusion about how tough it’s going to be, but it’s something I’ve been working towards the past few years and I’m looking forward to my first year milking coming.”

Making use of an existing hayshed to house the new milking parlour

Looking back to four years ago, when his first thoughts of dairying came to mind, Edmond spoke to friends and sought advice on what would be the way forward to make his dream a reality.

Edmond said he asked anyone who came into the yard at the time if they could see him make the move to dairy farming with what sheds were on the farm, without having to complete any major building work.

They all came to the same conclusion: no, it couldn’t be done. But four years on, Edmond, who was the only one who thought it could be done, was proven right.

Edmond made use of an existing hayshed – which before was used to store peat and house some weanlings.

Now it is home to the new milking parlour, bulk tank and plant room.

A full layout of the converted farmyard can be seen (below) and was designed by Aidan Kelly of Agri Design and Planning Services (ADPS).

Looking at the parlour, the Tipperary man opted to go with a 14-unit DeLaval parlour – supplied by Brett Dairy Services – with automatic clusters removers (ACRs), an auto-wash system, feed mangers and batch feeders.

Over the last few weeks, Edmond said he has been training the heifers into the parlour and added that they have taken to it seamlessly.

With regards to what building work needed to be carried out to fit a parlour into this existing hayshed, all that was required was to dig out a pit for the parlour and lay down concrete and stand two precast walls – one for each side of the shed.

The concrete laid at the entrance and exit of the parlour was grooved to prevent any cows from slipping and due to there being a rise from the slats up to the level of the parlour, it could possibly have been a risk to have not grooved the concrete.

To the front of the hayshed, the 6,000L bulk tank can be found along with a plant room.

Furthermore, an 8t meal bin and two water tanks can be found at one side of the hayshed. The water tanks were installed so as not to be pulling water from the water system installed throughout the grazing platform.

This water will be used for the auto-wash system in the parlour and to wash down the parlour itself.

Converting a 5-bay suckler shed into 56-cubicles

Moving to the back of the hayshed, you will find the feeding area and collecting yard – which are all one – which then leads into the 5-bay slatted unit which has been converted into cubicles, with a solid lieback area behind this for calving cows.

Again, Edmond not only looked to make use of what buildings were in the yard, but he also went about connecting them up to allow for ease of management and overall, better efficiency.

The main grazing platform cows will graze for the foreseeable future is located behind the converted slatted unit.

The plan is to bring cows in from the grazing block through the lieback area of the shed, around into the slatted area where they will wait to be milked in the multipurpose feeding and holding area.

In terms of slurry storage capacity, Edmond laid down an L-shaped slatted tank that has enough storage for 105 cows.

Looking at work completed within the old slatted unit, all that was done was the laying of cubicle beds – which in total are 56.

All that was removed to facilitate the incorporation of the cubicles was the old feeding barriers that span across the five bays.

At the back of the shed is a lieback area which was left untouched. It will serve the same purpose it did when the sucklers were on the farm, and that is to act as a calving area.

‘Under no illusions’ about dairy farming

Edmond said he is under no illusion at to how difficult it is going to be for him transitioning from sucklers to dairy with no major experience in the latter behind him.

However, he’s looking forward to the challenge ahead and has turned to other dairy farmers for advice to prepare him for what’s ahead.

Edmond added: “I’m well aware it’s going to be a big change from what we were doing here before, but I’m looking forward to it.

“I was told by many that I wouldn’t be able to build/construct what I have here today in the yard, but yet I did.

“It’s going to be tough, especially the first few years getting started, but I’m prepared to take the challenge head on.

“I’ve been getting advice from dairy farmers I know; they’re probably sick of me ringing them all the time asking questions, but they have been great for me and have helped me along so far and with what is facing me ahead.”

Cost of converting to dairy

Only for being eligible for a grant under the Targeted Agricultural Modernisation Scheme (TAMS II), Edmond said it would have been near impossible to justify making the switch that he did and the money that he spent.

The price of converting for Edmond is standing to him at €150,000. This figures excludes VAT reclaimed and the value of the grant.

Speaking about how he justified convertinng over to dairy, Edmond said: “Only for the TAMS, I couldn’t justify what I did.

“The only other way I could have seen myself getting into milk was probably going with a second hand parlour and going from there.

“Most of the milk cheques will be going back into the farm at first, but I’m looking forward to having some stability, through those monthly pay cheques going forward in years to come rather than relying on a good beef price,” Edmond concluded.

The post Back In Focus: Converting to dairy with the aid of a hayshed and 5-bay slatted shed appeared first on Agriland.ie.

Up next in the Back In Focus series takes us to Co. Fermanagh to see a mono-pitched designed calf shed on the farm of Aidan McManus.

The Fermanagh native farms alongside his father Kevin, which sees them milk 200 cows all year round indoors, with the help of three robots.

Over the past decade, since returning to dairy farming having previously kept sucklers for a number of years, the father-and-son team had focused their attentions on the cows and getting the right infrastructure in place.

This included getting three milking robots up and running and getting two cubicle sheds built during this time.

So when the time came that Aidan and his father were happy with how the cow side of the farm was the way they wanted, they looked next at improving their calf-rearing facilities.

The journey to what they have today has been in the works for the last two years, but gathered momentum in the middle of last year before being completed in December.

Speaking to Agriland inside the new calf shed, Aidan said: “We have been thinking about building a new calf shed for a while, but we wanted to get the cow side of the farm in order before focusing on the calf accommodation – which some might say is the wrong way around, but it’s what we did.

“It was last year when we said to ourselves that we we’re happy with how the cow side of the farm is in terms of infrastructure, and said it was time to look at improving our calf-rearing facilties.

“Our original rearing facilities were outdated and not fit for purpose and we were using more than one shed to house our calves, so we wanted one shed where we could keep all our calves and basically streamline this side of the farm.”

Mono-pitch design: Optimising animal welfare and performance

The concept of the mono-pitch design or ‘calf mono’ was developed by Jaimie Robertson. In England and Scotland, this type of calf shed design is more commonly found but not to any major extent yet, whereas in Ireland it is a new concept.

The key features of the design of such a shed revolve around ventilation, both natural and mechanical – but with the idea of optimising natural ventilation i.e., the idea of having a big slope at the back and a small one at the front of the building – drainage and ease of cleaning out.

All these features together are to achieve the end goal of optimising animal welfare and performance.

Going with the mono-pitch design

Aidan said himself that he didn’t know exactly what sort of a calf shed he wanted at first and he flirted with the idea of calf hutches/igloos.

But, from talking to Teemore Engineering, he was sold on the mono-pitch concept and liked the idea of his calves being housed in such a facility.

Looking at the design Aidan landed on, it is a four-bay shed with a passageway to the front of the shed and a narrow and shallow slurry tank running the breadth of the shed just inside the front of each pen.

The building measures 19.2m long and 9.9 wide. Each bay is 4.8m wide.

The key features of the shed

Firstly, before even looking inside the shed, it catches your eye straight away with its long-sloping back and narrow front.

Looking at the front of the unit, it consists of four sheeted doors and above each door is a windbreaker, with each having a cord that allows for it either to be pulled down to the top of the gate or back up to just below the eves.

The idea of the windbreaker is in the name, but the fact it can fold up and down with the ease of the cord just makes life easier for the operator. For instance, if Aidan wanted to clean out the shed and drive in with the teleporter on warmer days, he could fold up the windbreakers to let more air into the shed.

Despite each door leading into the four spans being covered in sheeting, they are still quite light in weight.

Moving inside the shed, a passageway the length of the shed was incorporated and acts as a work area and a way to be able to go between pens without having to exit the shed and go in through one of the other doors.

In this passageway, a second-hand Lely automatic calf feeder can be found, which serves two pens. Also found along the passageway, attached to two of the girders, are water taps.

At one end of the passageway, a fifth sheeted gate can be found – which again just offers another access point into the shed.

Moving deeper into the shed, specifically into the four pens, Aidan said that 20 calves could fit in each pen comfortably.

At the front of each pen are feed barriers which are commonly found in sheep sheds but are equally adequate for calves. Built into each feed barrier is a small access gate which allows for quick entry in and out of the pen, without having to open out the whole feed barrier completely.

There is an adjustable rail on the feeding barrier which allows Aidan to adjust the height of it to suit the calves feeding from it.

Just inside each feed barrier is a narrow slat – which runs through the entire breadth of the shed – which is connected up to a slurry tower beside the calf shed.

The narrow tank is a mere 2ft deep and serves to keep each of the pens dry – by taking away any moisture from the bedding at the back of the pen.

To aid with the draining, a 1:20 slope is incorporated from the back of the shed, running down to where the tank is at the front of the pen. Also towards the front of each pen is a small JFC water drinker.

Again, the water trough is positioned where it is in case a leak was ever to occur so that it would not dampen the calves’ bedding and any water could drain quickly down into the tank.

In time, the plan is to put a plank of timber between the slat and the bare concrete at the back of the pen to stop straw from being dragged to the front of the pen and blocking up the slat.

Another feature of the shed which grabs your attention straight away is the polypropylene walls.

The idea behind the installation of such material – which is generally found in pig units – is for ease of cleaning when washing down pen(s) after use.

These polypropylene walls are also fitted along both sides and at the back of the shed.

These walls are fitted into channelled precast walls (as can be seen in the pictures below).

The idea behind the polypropylene walls fitted into channels rather than just being rested and fitted on top of concrete, is that when the operator is washing down the pen, the channels in the walls prevent water and any possible diseases from entering the adjoining pen.

Going around the sides and back of the shed is Yorkshire boarding. The Yorkshire boarding allows air to come in but prevents rain also blowing into the shed.

An important aspect of this design is where the shed is orientated. The back of the shed should be faced towards the prevailing wind. This is to maximise natural ventilation in the shed – which is the overall goal of a shed like this.

Another interesting feature of the shed is that at the back of it, there is a single sheet of galvanise going the entire length of the shed directly below the roof of the shed itself.

The idea behind this single sheet of galvanise is that when air comes in, it travels up the building. So, if the calves are lying at the back of the shed, the air is not coming in and hitting the first timber purlin – because if it did, it would drop and fall down on the calves and as such, create a cold environment for them.

The idea of the sheeting at the back of the shed is basically to drive the air up above the level of the calves and create a draught-free environment and yet still have air constantly changing in the shed.

Airflow in and out of the shed is further enhanced by a ridge at the apex of the shed.

Looking up at the ceiling of the shed, you will see a VentTube Cool system installed. The function of this system is to circulate air in the shed, but the idea is that you should not feel the air from the system 1.2m above floor level so as to avoid blowing cold air on the calves.

Aidan said that on calm days when there is no real wind and on the days when the shed could get stuffy, this system will really come in use to help keep air moving in and out of the shed. This system costs £1/day to run.

Other features in the shed include a single skylight sheet in each bay and a fixed light in the pen for when Aidan might be in the shed working after daylight hours. Fibre cement sheeting is also on the roof.

Cost

The cost of the shed came to £50,000, excluding VAT. This cost also excludes the second-hand automatic calf feeder that was installed.

The fact that Aidan and his father were able to do all of the building work themselves – with the wiring of the shed the only part contracted out – it has saved them £10,000.

The entire shed – with the exception of the wall channels and tank – were supplied by Teemore Engineering. B. McCaffreys supplied the wall channels and tank.

Speaking about his decision to build the shed, Aidan said: “Look, it was a case that we needed to build new calf housing.

“We only got into the new shed just after the Christmas but so far, I have been happy with it.

“There’s a pen of calves on the point of weaning there that have been housed since they were born and they have done a good thrive and so far, thankfully, we have had no health issues with any of the calves.

“The ease of which the pens can be cleaned out is also a huge plus. Before, you’d spend ages cleaning out the old sheds.

“Whereas now, all you have to do is open up two gates and straight in with the teleporter to clean it out and bed it again in minutes,” Aidan concluded.

The post Back In Focus: Mono-pitched calf shed for 80 calves in Co. Fermanagh appeared first on Agriland.ie.

Next up in the Back in Focus series sees Agriland revisit a trip down to Co. Kerry to check out a four-bay slatted sheep unit.

The shed, which was built in time to house sheep at the beginning of 2021, belongs to Claire O’Connor, who runs a dry hogget system on her 20ac farm.

Claire currently keeps a flock of just over 70 sheep, with 66 of those consisting of dry hoggets. A handful of ewes and lambs also reside on the farm.

Up until the slatted shed was erected, Claire was housing her sheep in sheds on her father’s farm that would have been home to cattle in the past. In recent years, she had also been outwintering her stock.

However, biting the bullet in 2020, Claire decided to streamline the farm and make the winters that bit easier by having a standalone shed that would house all her sheep, incorporating have handling facilities to carry out any routine jobs like footbathing.

Speaking to Agriland inside the new shed, Claire said: “I had been debating putting up a shed for a few years and in 2020 I decided to bite the bullet.

“Between housing the sheep up in my father’s yard and then outwintering them for a few years, I felt it was time to have a shed to keep them in and make my life easier during the winters.

“I run a simple system where I buy in ewe lambs, generally Texel-cross Cheviot ewe lambs, and sell them on as hogget ewes to customers in Cork mainly.

“I wanted a shed that I could obviously house the sheep in but have it set up that I can run them and carry out any routine jobs on them, such as dosing and footbathing, while having it big enough to store hay to feed the sheep with in the winter.”

Layout

The new sheep shed was built on what was once the site of a pig unit. Therefore, it meant that not a huge amount of digging work was required, except for digging out the tank for the new shed.

The new slatted shed measures 64ft long and 30ft wide. The two outer slatted pens measure 5.22m wide and 4m long, while the two centre slatted pens measure 4.62m wide and 4m long, respectively. The slatted tank measures 5ft deep.

Sheep can be moved between the two centre pens without having to exit at the front of the pen, as two gates fixed to a post were hung to allow Claire to move sheep between the two pens.

Moreover, sheep can be moved to the pens at either end of the shed at the back of the centre pens, which are also incorporated as part of the handling race.

The walkthrough troughs measure 760mm wide and 4.62m long. the handling race at the back, which covers the width of the two centre pens, measures 6.5m long and 600mm wide.

The feed barriers measure 3.05m long, while the small access gate into the pen which also double up as a feed barrier measures 940mm wide.

The feeding passageway measures 3.9m wide and 18.8m long.

Features of the four-bay slatted shed

Looking at the features of the four-bay slatted unit, it includes, as mentioned, four pens that have a capacity to hold 25 sheep each.

This winter gone by, however, Claire had roughly 16-17 sheep/pen.

As you walk into the shed, either by opening the sliding door or by opening a standard six-bar gate with mesh fitted on it to keep out any wandering dogs out of the shed, you are met with a feeding passageway that doubles up as storage area for the square bales of hay that the sheep are fed.

The entire inside of the shed was kitted out by O’Donovan Engineering based in Co. Cork, with Claire’s nephew Tadhg Ferriter fitting all the gates, barriers, drinkers and slats.

Each pen was fitted with horizontal feed barriers that are height adjustable andthat have stockboard fitted at the bottom. To gain easy and quick access to each pen, an access independent of the feed barrier next to it was installed.

This access gate doubles up as extra feed space as it is the same in makeup of the main feed barrier.

Sheep can be let out of each pen either through the small access gate or out through the main feed barrier (as can be seen below).

To increase feed space in the shed, Claire opted to install walkthrough troughs, which means each pen has two sides in which sheep can be fed from.

In order to feed meal to the sheep and also to be able to walk along the walkthrough without standing on the meal and dirtying the feeding area, Claire put another timber board on top of the already existing middle board.

Looking to the inside of the pens, plastic slats were fitted into each pen. Claire said that the sheep are very happy on the plastic slats and while they are being fed hay, they stay very clean. Hayracks can also be found in the pens.

At the back on each pen, a small water trough was installed, with each drinker hooked up to a water tank outside the shed.

The feature of the unit that caught my eye the most was the handling unit at the back of the shed inside, spanning across the two centre pens.

Claire, as mentioned already, wanted to have a handling unit incorporated into the shed, rather than having one set up outside the shed or even a mobile unit.

So, she decided on incorporating one at the back of the shed, that takes up very little space and connects up to all four pens of the shed.

Sheep can enter the race from any of the four pens. This is facilitated by not having the walkthrough trough spanning the length of the pen.

Instead, it falls short of reaching the back wall of the shed by 600mm. This allows for the sheep to access the race through either of the outer pens.

A wider gate, spanning 740mm, was hung in both centre pens for sheep to enter/exit the race.

Looking at the race itself, the gates where sheep enter and exit the race are operated using a rope pulley mechanism.

The race can be slit in two, with a gate fitted in the middle of the race which folds back to the wall.

One half of the race consists of a footbath and by having the gate in the middle of the race it prevents the sheep who are in the footbath from walking back towards the other side of the race, away from the footbath. The other half of the race is used to carry out routine jobs such as dosing.

Yorkshire boarding was installed on one side of the shed, while on the other standard galvanised sheeting was installed.

However, on this side of the shed, where the galvanised sheeting is, in order to increase airflow in and out of the shed, the sheeting slopes out from the eaves to the top of the walls of the shed.

Furthermore, skylights were installed in each of the four bays of the shed, in order to brighten up the inside.

Cost

Claire decided to fund the cost of the build herself, opting not to apply for a grant under the Targeted Agricultural Modernisation Scheme (TAMS II).

Having begun construction of the build in April 2020, and with it ready for sheep to be housed at the start of 2021, Claire managed to build a fine-spec shed just in time before the cost of building materials soared. She said if it was to be built now, it could have cost an extra €20,000-30,000.

The shed is standing to Claire at €49,150, including VAT.

Cost breakdown of the shed:

• Groundswork: €1,250;
• Tank and concrete floor: €7,800;
• Shed itself including shuttered walls and steel frame: €30,000;
• Gates, barriers, drinkers and handling race: €5,750;
• Plastic slats: €4,350.

Kennedy Plant Hire carried out the groundswork; Conor Hanifin Agri stood the tank of the shed and laid the concrete floors; and Diarmuid O’Sullivan of OS Engineering stood the walls and frame of the shed with Tadhg.

Claire gave a special mention to her nephew, Tadhg Ferriter, for getting the shed fully ready for sheep to be housed at the start of last year.

Looking back on her decision to bite the bullet, Claire said she is very happy she went ahead and built the shed.

She added: “It’s not just me who’s happy with the new shed, the sheep are very content in it, and now the days of feeding outside during the winter or having to move them up to another yard is over.

“It’s been a joy to work in and make use of since I got to move the sheep into it last year.”

The post Back In Focus: 4-bay slatted sheep shed with handling unit in Kerry appeared first on Agriland.ie.

First up in the Back In Focus sees Agriland look back to a trip to Co. Tipperary to speak to brothers Brian and Brendan Larkin about their new 30-bail rotary parlour.

The duo, who are in partnership together, milked 145 cows last year and this year plan to milk 160 in their new facilities.

The new parlour is quite the upgrade on the last, a sturdy facility which the farm’s rising cow numbers managed to outgrow.

At the the end of it’s tenure, the old 7-unit herringbone milking parlour saw 21 rows of cows enter twice a day. This meant an early milking time of close to three hours and almost two and a half hours in the evening.

At a stage where they felt it was time to upgrade, in 2021, the Larkin brothers got cracking on what they have today, and finally began milking in the new rotary at the start of March this year.

Speaking to Agriland inside their new milking facilities during the week, Brian said: “We had come to a stage where we needed to move out of the old parlour.

“The time it was taking to milk cows, it left little time to anything else that needed to be done on the farm, with the guts of six hours gone a day milking cows alone.

“We had a number of cows in our head that we felt comfortable with. We never and didn’t want to go mad increasing cow numbers and so decided on looking for a parlour that worked for us and the number of cows we had.

“We wanted a parlour that would obviously cut our labour demands but that we felt would be durable and at the end of day, enjoyable to milk in.”

Brian previously worked on a farm in Australia with a 50-point rotary parlour, and took a liking to it. He said that he and his brother looked at herringbone parlours but ultimately felt more drawn to the rotary.

“From visiting other farms and getting the advice of farmers, we landed on a 30-bail rotary that, so far, works well for the number of cows we have.”

Layout of the parlour, handling facilities and collecting yard

The new rotary parlour was built on a greenfield site beside the old milking facility. This resulted in a sacrifice on the Larkins’ part, as they lost what was once part of a nearby paddock.

The size of the shed needed to house the rotary itself is surprisingly small and yet still there is quite a bit of space at the sides and each of the four corners to work with.

Construction on the site began last July (2021) but it was a stop start process and it was a very hectic January and February for Brian and Brendan to get the the job finished for cows to be able to come in and be milked by the start of March.

The brothers did nearly all the work themselves, except for the shuttered walls – which were stood by Jamie McEvoy – around the entire building. Brian studied architectural design so he was able to draw up exactly what he and his brother wanted.

They then proceeded to getting the site ready before completing all the concrete work including building the concrete platform for the rotary along with the collecting yard and handling area. They sourced the frame of the shed locally and erected it themselves.

Looking at the dimensions of the shed, it measures 15m wide and 17m long. The shed enclosing the rotary measure 15m wide and 12m long, with the bulk tank room room measuring 8m long and 5m wide.

The radius of the rotary measures 4.3m. At each of the four corners of the shed, a plant/electrical room, washing area, office and AI platform area can be found.

Looking to the rear of the build a collecting yard and handling and drafting area can be found.

The collecting yard measures 24m long and 14m wide. While the handling and drafting area measures 24m long and 6m wide. A slatted tank can be found at the end of the yard and measures 4.8m wide and 20m long.

The 30-bail rotary

Taking a look at the rotary itself, the Larkin brothers opted to go with a 30-bail Waikato Orbit rotary parlour which was installed by Murphy Dairy Services.

The entry level rotary is equipped with automatic cluster removers, on-deck teat spray, cow retention straps along with a plant wash and a wash and rotate landing – which helps to speed up the washing in order to get in and out of the parlour faster.

Speaking about the 30-bail rotary parlour, Brian said: “I always loved the rotary parlours but when I came home we didn’t have the cow numbers to justify putting one in.

“Until then we moved to the farm we are in now, which is my wife’s home farm, we were able to push cow numbers on and start thinking about upgrading the milking facilities that were already here and the idea of having a rotary to milk our cows became an option.

“We went to see a 32-bail rotary actually and from speaking to the farmer, he said to us that a 30-bail rotary would be perfect for the number of cows we wanted to milk.

“We went with an entry-level machine that has everything we wanted.

“Currently, in the mornings, it’s taking us just under an hour to milk 130 cows and about 50 minutes in the evening.

And by the time we have the full complement of 160 cows going through it, I’d say an hour and fifteen minutes will get us through, including washing up.

Brian said the set up is simple and has made life significantly easier for him and his brother as well as the relief milker that also works on the farm. “It’s a joy to milk in,” he said

“We also looked at herringbone parlours but we would have been looking at installing a 24-unit herringbone parlour with a 60ft long pit and there would be a lot of walking up and down involved whereas, with the rotary, cows are coming to you, you don’t have to move and it’s just easier really.

“I’m 36 years of age now, in 20 years time, this rotary will still be easy to milk in and that came into our thinking, not just looking ahead short term but also long term.”

The handling and drafting area

The Larkins installed a drafting system that will come into use in May (2022), when breeding kicks off.

Cows that are drafted will be diverted into a large grooved holding pen, which is beside a standard crush at the other side of this area. At the opposite side of the crush and between the exterior wall is a raised walkway for the Larkins to handle their cows at ease for any jobs they may be carrying out.

At the end of this drafting and handling area is a slatted tank which also runs across the collecting yard.

Collecting yard

A sizeable grooved collecting yard was built to hold up to 200 cows. The Larkins hope to milk 160 cows through the 30-bail rotary and said they are happy at that number, as they are stocked at 4/cows/ha as it is.

The brothers said that they wanted to be prepared for a potential increase in cow numbers in the future, so they made the collecting yard big enough to hold an extra 40 cows on top of what they have currently

The collecting yard, similar to the handling and drafting area is served with a slatted tank at the entrance to the collecting yard to collect any dung and washings from the parlours.

A 3-bar gate with a wheel attached, located half way up the collecting yard, which can fold over to the other side of the yard was installed to keep cows pushed up close to the parlour as number start to get smaller as milking progresses.

Cost

The Larkins were able to avail of the Targeted Agricultural Modernisation Scheme (TAMS II) which enabled them to draw down a grant of 60%.

This along with reclaiming the VAT on top of completing the majority of the building work themselves, leaves the cost of the project standing at €240,000.

Speaking about the decision to go ahead and put in the rotary, Brian and Brendan said: “We are delighted we bit the bullet and went for it.

“It has cut our milking time hugely and it’s just a joy to milk in. It gives us great flexibility and options.

“It has now given us more time to go and do other jobs around the farm and allows us to crack on improve on what we are doing here.”

The post Back In Focus: A 30-bail rotary for a 160-cow herd in Tipperary appeared first on Agriland.ie.

Over the Christmas period, we are going to take a look back at six of the most popular buildings Agriland paid a visit to – based on our analysis of your engagement – over the last 12 months.

The Back In Focus series will be kicking off this weekend and it will continue right through until just after the New Year.

So as a reminder, Agriland is going to look back on some of the impressive new buildings that have gone up in recent times, that were reported on in 2022.

All of these new builds were located in many different areas of the country and give a good idea of the different farming systems that are in place right across Ireland.

The builds include herringbone and rotary parlours, a robotic milking system, along with a sheep, beef and calf shed – which shows the variety of builds covered.

So if you missed, or can’t find a new build we covered, fear not, as there is a good chance it will be coming to you once again over the Christmas period.

If you are interested in seeing more of the new builds Agriland covered in 2022 – and even going back further – be sure to check out the Buildings section here.

You will find just about every type of new build, whether it be a milking parlour, calf house, suckler shed, finishing unit or a sheep shed.

If you have a new and interesting build on your farm, enjoy the Agriland Buildings Focus series and would like to feature in it contact: michaelgeary@agriland.ie.

And finally, myself, Michael Geary, and all the team at Agriland would like to wish all of our readers a Happy Christmas and a prosperous New Year.

The post 6 of the most popular buildings Agriland visited in 2022 appeared first on Agriland.ie.

For this week’s Buildings Focus, Agriland made the trip south to Co. Cork to visit an eight-unit parlour on a farm that is new to dairy.

The family team that is parents John and Eileen Hurley and son William, residing in Derrynagasha, first flirted with the idea of going into milk in 2016.

Once they decided that was the path forward for the farm, the have gradually, bit by bit, been setting up the farm to convert to dairy, having run a successful beef operation prior to that.

However, the farm was no stranger to dairy cows, with John’s father, also named William, having hand-milked cows on the very spot where the new milking parlour resides today.

Speaking to Agriland, John and Eileen said: “We were, prior to the move to dairy, running a suckler and calf-to-beef system.

“We had, at our peak, up on 60 suckler cows and then we would buy in dairy calves from a neighbour dairy farmer and bring them to finish.

“However, William was doing a fair share of relief milking and enjoyed it.

“We all sat down together and looked at what we had and saw ourselves being able to work it and set up the farm to dairy, which the three of us would be involved in.

“We had already been reseeding every year before we made the changeover and from there, bit by bit, we got the ball rolling on making the changeover.”

The site

The site that the new parlour was erected on was, in its latter used, used as a storage area on the farm.

It consisted of a number of outbuildings, some of which are still there today.

The site wasn’t seen by many as the right location on the farm to have the parlour.

However, the Hurleys felt it was; with William being a qualified engineer – and working full-time as a process engineer for the renowned Johnson & Johnson in Cork city – he, along with John and Eileen, was able to visualise the dairy unit here.

William drew up all the drawings for the parlour and associated collecting yard and holding area. From his time doing relief milking on farms, he was able to bring home ideas from these farms that he felt could suit his own at home.

The Hurleys also sought help and advice from Teagasc’s Mark O’Sullivan throughout the process of the move to dairy.

In 2017, the first bit of work was carried out. It involved covering the old yard, bringing it up the required level – which required a lot of fill – and putting in a slatted tank. The Hurleys got Brendan Bouce Plant Hire to aid them with completion of this work.

The building of the shed for the parlour began in 2020. The steelwork was completed by Jerome Keohane Engineering, with John Keohane also supporting any issues that came up throughout the build.

 All other works including the shed cladding, all concrete work and plastering was completed by the Hurleys. 

The parlour

In 2019, they set out to find a milking parlour that suited their goals. The following spring, 60 high economic breeding index (EBI) dairy heifers were set to be arriving on the farm.

Many farmers who are thinking about buying a parlour shop around and the Hurleys were no different.

However, a chat with Paul Kingston of Boumatic Gascoigne Melotte at the National Ploughing Championships in 2019 set in motion the start of the family’s dealings with the Laois-based company.

William had milked on farms that had a Boumatic parlour and found them easy to operate and work with, and so he was happy to go ahead with the brand as the family’s parlour.

In August 2021, the new parlour was fitted by Cork-based dealer Shane Jennings. The electrical work was carried out by Donal Og O’Laoire and Michael White Pumps of Bandon completed the plumbing.

Looking at the parlour itself, the Hurleys installed eight units but have room to increase it to 18 if they so wish.

The parlour is kitted out with automatic cluster removers, an auto-wash system and GMI+ milk yield indicators.

The Cork natives went with the an air-star vacuum-pump system – which during milking enables a calm and quiet environment for cows to be milked in and also a variable-speed milk pump as well, to help keep the electrical bill down.

Also installed was a batch feeding system with cows having access to their own individual troughs, while operator control from the pit is enhanced with the help of the Tombstone Head-Hold system. John and William have said that this has been a great addition.

The flow of cows in and out of the parlour is further controlled with the aid of guillotine gates at both ends, with an air gate control box located in the pit to operate the gates.

At either end of the parlour, the Hurleys put their own touch to on the build by incorporating sliding doors where cows enter and exit.

To accompany the milking parlour was a 10,000L Liscarroll bulk tank.

In the picture (below) you can see two drainage points.

The idea of the second point, furthest away from the bulk tank, is that if the Hurleys ever installed a bigger bulk tank that this drain would be able to serve the bigger tank as it would naturally extend out further.

Elsewhere within the build a plant and bulk tank room, wash area, an office and a toilet can be found.

All of these areas were built by the Hurleys with all the doors and windows sourced second hand.

An 8t meal bin was also sourced to service the parlour.

Reusing water to wash down the parlour

One phrase that kept coming back into the conversation when speaking with the Hurleys was “doing our bit for the environment”.

This ethos be seen from the second you drive down the lane to the farm as hedgerows are planted in the paddocks.

However, in the milking parlour, the Hurleys are making sure no water is being wasted by reusing the water used to wash the parlour.

They do this by implementing one of William’s ideas; once they wash down the parlour, the water makes its way down towards the rear of the parlour where a pump – which can be turned on with a flick of a switch – pumps and directs this water up to a tank at the front of the building.

Also at the tank, water from the gutters is collected, filtered and directed into this tank where it is reused to wash the parlour again, as well as the collecting yard and holding pen.

The only fresh clean water that is used is for the cleaning of the milking machine.

The collecting yard

Just outside the parlour, a collecting yard you don’t see very often farms was designed.

It’s a circular yard that the Hurleys said aids with cow flow into the parlour, as the cows don’t have to make any sharp turns into the yard.

The entire yard is grooved to avoid any cows from possibly slipping.

However, the most standout feature here is the way in which the Hurleys can wash down the yard easily and quickly.

Eileen said that she does all the washing up after milking and to make her life easier, William designed the hose to clean out the yard in a way that took the ‘pulling and dragging’ out of it.

William designed it so that the hose can swing around the entire breadth of the holding pen and collecting yard, where it reaches out to the edges of the yard. A separate, easy-to-operate hose is also at the top of the yard where cows exit the parlour.

Eileen said it was a “genius” design by William and said it really makes her life so much easier.

The handling and holding area

The handling area also has some nice features that make it that little bit different.

In this area is the crush, which doubles up as the entry and exit point into the collecting yard and back out to pasture again. As you can see (below), the gates are interchangeable for whatever use they may be needed for.

The Hurleys incorporated a stepped walkway along the crush that they can stand on if they are handling cattle in the crush.

However, halfway up, one section of the stepped walkway was left out. John said this was done so that if a cow was to be drafted out, she wouldn’t have to lift herself over the step into the holding area.

This holding pen is grooved and could double up as a large collecting yard if the Cork natives were to increase cow numbers in a substantial way, although it is unlikely as the collecting yard they have already is quite big.

The crush is used twice a day by cows making their way to the collecting yard for milking and back out again if they are going out to the main grazing block, so it can get quite dirty quickly.

In order to keep this clean, water from the aforementioned sump is split into two, the dirty water coming from the pit floor is pumped out through a small pipe (seen below) at the top of the crush which flushes water down, cleaning it, and then flows into the tank at the collecting yard.

John said that if the crush was extremely dirty he would go along with a brush but in general, the water keeps its clean.

Safety

A safety element incorporated into the build was that of slip through points in various locations around the yard.

These are becoming very common on farms – and for good reason.

Delighted with the move

The Hurleys wished to thank everyone involved with helping them get to where they are today, including their other sons, Padraig – a chartered accountant in Dublin – for his help on the financial side and John and Cathal who were on hand to help when needed.

The Hurleys did a substantial amount of the work themselves, which William said helped to save money for other areas they could invest in building the parlour.

“We are very happy with our new enterprise,” they told Agriland.

“The transition to dairy was gradual and every inch of the build is done to the standard that we wanted it to be.

“We didn’t want to rush any step of it and we wanted to be able to do as much of the work ourselves and really put our own stamp on it.

“We are very grateful to everyone who gave us advice and carried out work on the build.

“We milked 60 cows this year and we have 10 in-calf heifers coming along this year which will see us go to 70 cows next year – hopefully,” they continued.

“We have no desire in going into big numbers as we feel if done right, the smaller dairy farm can be as profitable as any.”

Looking to the future, William is completing his Green Cert online through Kildalton College with the intention of increasing the units in the parlour to 16, with the hope that he will be able to qualify for a 60% grant.

The post Buildings Focus: 8-unit parlour with unique features on 60-cow Cork farm appeared first on Agriland.ie.

The current and final tranche of the Targeted Agricultural Modernisation Scheme (TAMS II) is coming to an end.

The closing date for lodging applications under tranche 28 is Friday week, December 16.

To date, total expenditure under the seven measures of TAMS II has reached in excess of €385 million. TAMS II payments are averaging €1.4 million paid on a weekly basis.

Tranche 27 of TAMS closed on September 23 with 1,766 applications received, which are currently being considered and processed for approval.

TAMS II applications

No applications were rolled over into tranche 28 the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) confirmed to Agriland.

Applications received under this tranche (tranche 28) will be considered when the tranche closes.

TAMS II applications will not be considered under the new upcoming On-Farm Capital Investment Scheme (OFCIS) as they are separate schemes, the DAFM said.

OFCIS

In relation to upcoming OFCIS, changes to the support for capital investments are subject to a Rural Development Plan (RDP) amendment and commission approval.

These proposed changes were formally submitted to the European Commission for approval on October 25, 2022.

The terms and conditions of the scheme and the investment list for grant-aided items are currently being finalised. All reference cost for new and existing investments are also being reviewed. 

Once the RDP amendment is approved by the commission grant rates, the DAFM said that investment lists and terms and conditions relating to schemes can be finalised and published.

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The mild weather this back end looks set to leave, with cold weather about to take its place, bringing with it severe frosts, icy conditions and possibly snow this week.

There has been a noticeable change in the weather already, with much cooler conditions seen the last few days.

With that in mind, here’s just a reminder of a few things that may be affected by the cold weather expected in the coming days.

Water troughs not in use

The obvious first thought is water troughs and associated pipes, particularly concrete troughs that aren’t in use.

If temperatures do drop as expected, there is a risk of water freezing in these troughs and possibly leading to them to crack.

So, emptying out these troughs should be a priority.

Water troughs in use

If a farm’s water supply is coming from a deep well, the deep submersible pump should not freeze. However, the pipes and fittings connecting the pump to the water tank (into the shed) are at risk.

Therefore, it is important to insulate any exposed pipes and if possible to have all water pipes underground. An option for farmers is to install a thermostatically controlled fan heater in the pump house.

If a pipe is frozen and cannot be thawed, having access to an alternative supply of water should be considered.

For example, if possible, tap into the underground supply outside the shed and attach a hose to fill the water troughs.

However, it is critical to ensure that the connection to the underground supply is well-insulated after use and to drain all the water away from the connecting hose after the water troughs have been filled.

Milking parlour

Milking parlours and associated equipment are at risk during the cold weather too.

To prepare for any affects, it is advisable to ensure that all doors into the parlour are kept closed.

Anywhere where water can hold and possibly freeze should be drained where possible.

Circulate a saline solution through the milking machine, having first made sure that all the detergent has been rinsed out of the plant.

The saline (salt) solution can be made by mixing half a kilo of salt in five gallons of water.

If circulating a saline solution, rinse again before milking to remove salt traces.

Let the machine run a little bit longer to ensure that all excess water is removed from the plant after the final rinse.

Thinking of yourself and your safety

Make sure to wrap up in the cold weather to avoid getting sick yourself.

If possible, get ahead of yourself and have bales of silage pushed in so that will you avoid driving the tractor and doing work that could be avoided in instances where there is snow and where roads and farmyards are icy.

A useful resource to have around the yard would be grit and salt to ensure safe access to sheds in the event of snow or icy conditions.

Always keep your phone charged up and at the ready in case it is needed, e.g. in the event of an emergency.

The post Preparing for the looming cold snap appeared first on Agriland.ie.

Agriland Media Group has been shortlisted in the prestigious Agri Guild Awards, organised every two years by the Guild of Agricultural Journalists in Ireland.

The awards aim to encourage excellence in the reporting of farming, food, agri-business and rural life on the island of Ireland.

Agriland has been shortlisted in both the ‘Rising Star’ category and the ‘Best Visual Report’ category.

Sponsored by FBD Insurance, the awards will be presented at a gala awards ceremony at Killashee Hotel in Co. Kildare on Friday, December 9.

Agri Guild Awards

The Guild of Agricultural Journalism Awards are open to journalists in national and local media and also to consultants in the communications sector.

Each entry was assessed and scored by an independent judging panel from across the industry.

In the ‘Rising Star‘ category, Agriland journalist William Kellett has made the shortlist. The ‘Rising Star’ award recognises an outstanding individual working in agri-media, under the age of 35.

William began his career in agri-media when he joined Agriland Media Group’s internship programme in 2020. He has a Journalism and New Media degree from the University of Limerick (UL) and secured a full-time role with the newsteam in Agriland.

The Meath native comes from a farming background on both sides of his family. During his time in college, William acted as digital editor of the Limerick Voice newspaper, an award-winning publication produced by the journalism department of the college.

William has written articles for Agriland, contributed to the digital publisher’s podcast offering, covered protests and even travelled abroad to report on the latest innovations in agricultural machinery.

Two other technical journalists from Agriland Media Group have also been shortlisted in the Agri Guild Awards.

Beef specialist, Breifne O’Brien has been nominated in the ‘Best Visual Report‘ category for his video and editorial coverage of ‘Viastar loading bulls for export overseas’.

He provided blow-by-blow detail in video format accompanied by an article and images, of a shipment of live animals being prepared at the port for export abroad, at a time when the industry faced much criticism in terms of animal safety.

You can check out the shortlisted video and article by clicking here.

Meanwhile, Agriland’s sheep and buildings specialist, Michael Geary has also been shortlisted in the ‘Best Visual Report‘ category in the Agri Guild Awards.

His video report on ‘Milking 285 cows through a 50-bail rotary parlour’ featured the farm of Jim and Tom Power in Co. Waterford – a sight not often seen on Irish dairy farms.

You can view the interesting Buildings Focus video on the 50-bail rotary parlour by clicking here.

The post Agriland shortlisted for prestigious Agri Guild Awards appeared first on Agriland.ie.

Farming on Derryscollop Road in Co. Armagh, alongside his son-in-law Glen Crooks, is Robert Martin.

Many might know Glen from Instagram as ‘@the_calfman’.

The pair run a calf-to-beef system and in recent times have breached out their operations into breeding Speckle Park cattle, an enterprise on the farm which is still in it’s early stages.

The purpose, however, of Agriland’s visit, was to check out the new handling facility on the farm.

In times gone by, the duo had been handling their cattle in a standard crush. However, the task of loading and unloading cattle into, and particularly back out, the crush got more and more tedious as numbers grew.

Speaking to Agriland, Glen said: “Tasks that involved having to load cattle into the crush in recent years had been put on the long finger because it was tedious, labour intensive and awkward.

“It was all three of those things [that inspired the upgrade], particularly when it came to unloading cattle out of the crush because rather than letting the cattle out at the front of the crush we had to force them out the back of the crush.

“This wasn’t too bad when numbers were small but as we got bigger and more cattle were going through the crush, it was a job you wouldn’t look forward to doing.

“So, we said we needed to look at building a new handling facility, one that tied in with the existing sheds and the new one we built last year so that it would take the hardship out of having to do jobs such as the herd test, for example.

“Furthermore, and most importantly, we wanted a safe space that we could handle the cattle. It’s designed in a way for that purpose also.”

The handling facility

The new handling facility was erected off an old existing building in the yard that had a lean-to off it.

However, this old lean-to was dismantled and a new one was erected by Allen Bros, a local contractor. The old handling facility was out in the open and as a result, the cattle, Robert and Glen, were liable to the elements.

So when designing the new handling facility, it was a no-brainer in deciding to roof it.

Translucent sheeting was also fitted on the roof to increase the amount of natural daylight entering the handling area.

LED lights were also fitted for when jobs needed to be done, for example at this time of the year early in the morning and in the evenings when it’s dark.

Looking at the facility in more detail, each of three sheds that cattle may be housed in can let cattle out into the holding area between the sheds and the handling area itself. (As in the pictures below of the new and existing shed).

They then can be moved into the smaller, grooved-surfaced holding area, under the roof, in the handling set up.

To the left of this area is where the crush is, which is separated by a four-bar gate so that any cattle that may be in the holding area can’t roam into where Robert or Glen are working and handling cattle.

Once cattle are moved into the holding area – to be ran up the race – they make their way and congregate in the circular forcing pen, where Robert and Glen can then direct them down the race by pushing the anti-return forcing gate around fully until it locks in when all cattle are loaded into the chute.

To aid with flow of cattle up the race, stockboarding was fitted around the circular forcing pen and the entire length of the race.

Also, if the need occurred to let an animal out of the race without letting all the cattle out, Robert and Martin can do that.

Half-way up the race, a gate was fitted rather than standard bars going the length of it to allow for an animal to be let out, or if one went down in the crush.

Cattle can be accessed from either side of the race, but on one side a raised walkway was incorporated.

This comes in handy, for example, in the instance of clipping the backs of cattle; you could run along the crush without having to stoop or reach in to get near the older cattle in particular.

The crush

One of the most impressive features of the handling area can be found front and centre: The Clipex HDX crush.

Coming with a range of features, it takes away the stress of handling an animal while also being able to do so in a safe manner.

Looking to the front of the crush, it is fitted with a headscoop. Beside the handle for the headscoop is a lever that opens and closes the front of the crush. This handle can be disengaged when not in use or left as is, in position, to be able to let an animal out quickly.

There is a place between where the headscoop is and the handle for opening and closing the head of the crush that allows Robert and Glen to reach to put their hands in.

One standout feature is the fact that both sides of the crush can be squeezed in, allowing for more control of the animal as it has less space to be moving around.

It can also help to slow cattle down coming into the crush; however, this is less of a concern as the crush comes with a guillotine gate as well.

Another feature found at the sides of the crush is that the bottom compartment (the blue doors) can open out. This is very useful if an animal happened to go down in the crush as it could be let out quickly.

Or, if you were having trouble with a calf sucking a cow, for example if she wouldn’t stand for the calf to suckle.

You could move the cow into the crush and open the side compartment for the calf to come from the side of the cow as they would naturally to suckle.

Furthermore, if the cow wasn’t standing or you just had animal in the crush that was excitable and was kicking, just above this compartment that opens up is a space for an anti-backing bar to be slipped in.

There are a number of different sections for the kick bar to be placed to suit different sized animals.

Cattle can also be weighed in the crush, which has a matted floor, something Glen will be making plenty of use of as readies cattle for the factory. The weight of the cattle can be seen at the side of the crush on the Quickweigh device.

By having the scales to weigh the cattle, Robert and Glen can track the performance across the various breeds of cattle on the farm in order to improve the genetics being used by the dairy farmers who the calves are bought from, in order to integrate dairy and beef better.

At the back of this crush is a guillotine gate, which allows for one animal to be isolated in the crush.

Once this animal is isolated, two further compartments can be opened in or out, to allow for an operator to stand behind an animal in the crush. For example, if a cow was to be artificially inseminated, she could be isolated and secured in the crush.

To the side of the crush on the other side, a tidy little cabinet and table were constructed to store antibiotics or any other items that would be in use while cattle are run through the crush such as a burdizzo when castrating.

Once an animal is let out of the crush they enter back into the yard between where the handling area and sheds are before being let back into the pens in the shed.

Gates were hung either side of the front of the crush so that cattle couldn’t enter at either side where Robert and Glen would be working.

Lastly, for any calves that go through the crush, a dehorning crate can be set up at the front of the crush also to run them into.

Cost

The entire handling unit was sourced from Teemore Engineering in Co. Fermanagh. While, Allen Bros, a local contractor erected the handling facility.

The cost of the facility is standing at roughly £30,000 all in (or just under €35,000).

Speaking about going ahead and building the handling unit, both Robert and Glen said: “Although the time it took for example to do the herd test lately took the same time as if we were to run them up the old crush, it was still light and day.

“The ease of moving cattle from the sheds into the yard and up the crush was easy and stress free for both the cattle and ourselves.

“It was far more relaxed and the days of putting jobs on the long finger because of the old crush are over with this new handling facility.

“It’s a far safer environment to work in which is most important. We would be dealing with bulls here and they can be excitable so having a set up that allows you to handle those cattle safely is critical.

“It will take the hardship out of routine tasks and any wet day that comes, at least we will have a roof over our head,” Glen joked.

The post Infrastructure Focus: Modern handling facility on Armagh calf-to-beef farm appeared first on Agriland.ie.

Much talk has been centred on solar panels and the installation of them on farms in light of the energy crisis being experienced.

At the Irish Farm Buildings Association Conference (IFBA) in Birr, Co. Offaly earlier this year, Dick Meaney of Solar Electric spoke about solar PV and the opportunities it offers farms across the country.

After Meaney’s presentation, a number of questions were posed to him regarding if there was any need to reinforce roofs prior to installation, orientation and maintenance of solar panels.

The first question posed centred around whether or not the roof in which a panel was to be fitted on needed to be reinforced. According to Meaney, they don’t.

“The panels themselves are really light, between the weight of the panel and bracketing system you’re talking about a combined weight of 21-22kg,” he said.

“They are stitched down onto the roof and also the panels are only about 50mm above the roof, so there are no worries with wind getting under them or anything like that.”

What side of the shed should I face the panels?

Another question from the audience was on what side of the shed the panels should be fitted.

Answering this question, Meaney said: “If you are a robotic farmer, you would be looking to face them east to west because you would have a flatter curve.

“By this I mean, you are constantly using energy. Conventional dairy farmers will get the benefits from them at the shoulders of the year with an east-west configuration as well.

“Because you are milking early in the morning, the earlier you get your energy the better and you will also get some energy in the evening as well.

“From a south-facing aspect, you will actually generate more energy over the course of the year. Roughly 10% more overall.

“The reason for that is because the sun will be highest come the afternoon, around noon to 1:00p.m coming from the south, and that is where you will get your highest generation of energy from.

“But, an east-west configuration would be absolutely fine. I would say going forward, it would be pertinent to look at the orientation of sheds being built going forward.

“If you are thinking about installing solar panels and you have plans to build a new shed, you should be thinking now about how where those panels will generate the most energy for you from.

“You want to be avoiding having your predominate facing roof facing north because you will lose a lot of potential energy generation.”

Is there much maintenance involved?

The last question aimed at Meaney on solar panels centred around their upkeep.

“There is almost no maintenance required with a solar PV system,” Meaney said.

“There are no moving parts involved with it.

“In the vast majority of cases, rainwater will keep the solar panels clean.

“Where you might see some build of dirt on a farm, is if you have a mill and have constant production of dust and you may see a scenario where an annual or bi-annual clean may be needed.

“I know one system that went was installed in 2015 and it got it’s first clean this year so that just gives you an idea.”

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The number of farmers to looking to make the move to dairy is on the rise again after a period of slowing down.

This is according to Aidan Kelly of Agri Design and Planning Services (ADPS), based in Co. Tipperary.

“It’s getting busy again on the dairy side of things,” he said.

“I’d be getting two to three calls a week from farmers looking to make the move to dairy, looking to see what options they have from a design point of view.

“There appears to be no issue getting a milk contract from co-ops down this part of the country anyway.”

Aidan believes that people were deterred from the sector “when they saw what was going on with one of the big suppliers in terms of restrictions on milk production”.

“It may have put them off originally but with that all changed now it seems to have got the idea of moving to dairy for some a real prospect,” he said.

“And despite the cost of building materials, the strong milk price currently is another factor in turning people’s heads towards dairy.

“On the cost of materials, many might say it’s a bad time to get into milk especially if you have a good bit of building work to do but is there ever a good time to get into it?

“At 60c/L for milk and production costs at roughly 45c/L, on a farm with a low level of debt, you have 15c/L left for yourself where other years you would have only been left over with a few cents for yourself as the difference between milk price and cost of production were much tighter.”

Despite the increase in drystock farmers thinking about making the move to dairy, Aidan said there has still been an increase also in the number of farmers looking to build beef sheds.

Aidan added: “Similar to the dairy, the number of enquiries had gone quite but in the last few months there has been an increase in farmers thinking about building beef sheds again.

“Some of [these] would be working off-farm and want to keep the farm going on the side and make life that bit easier for themselves and improve on what existing facilities they have.”

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For this week’s Buildings Focus, Agriland made the trip to Co. Meath to speak to dairy farmer Noel Burke about his new 24-unit milking parlour and handling facilities.

Noel re-entered dairy in 2015, having seen his father previously milk cows in between a period when the farm had changed systems to keeping sucklers.

In 2015, he was able to pick up where his father left off and start up the original five-unit double-up milking parlour.

For this he bought 50 heifers and 20 cows, starting him off with a 70-cow herd which he has grown steadily to reach 200 today.

“We started back into dairy in 2015 and we had a good base to start from since my father used to milk cows here at one time,” he said.

The only issue Noel had to contend with as cow numbers grew, was the size of the parlour. More pressure came on the parlour, as well as those inside milking the cows, and as such it came to a stage where plans had to be put in place for a new milking parlour.

“As cow numbers increased, so did milking time in the parlour and once we got to the 200-cow mark, we were spending seven hours a day milking,” he said.

“This left time for any other jobs to get done minimal and I always knew at some stage I would have to look at putting in a new parlour, it was just a case of when and that time came this year.

“We are just a week into the new parlour but already the difference is huge and once we properly get used to it and the cows do, we won’t know ourselves.”

Parlour and handling facilities layout

The new parlour and handling facilities were built on ground that once had old outhouses on it.

Noel said these small sheds were primarily used for housing calves at springtime and could hold up to 50 head at any one time.

Having conversed Aidan Kelly of Agri Design and Planning Services (ADPS), they came to the decision to build the dairy unit on this land. From there, Aidan did up the design and completed planning for the job.

By having it the dairy unit at this location, the bulk tank and meal bin used in the old parlour didn’t have to be moved and it tied in well with the existing buildings in the yard, namely the cubicle shed.

Also, cows would be coming from the same direction as they would have been into the old parlour.

The 24-unit parlour

When deciding on what make of parlour to go with, Noel had only one on his mind: a 24-unit DeLaval swingover parlour.

Having seen other parlours in action and after doing his own research, he felt a 24-unit parlour was the ideal size for him and his farm.

Then, it was a question of what brand to go with. Having a reliable and close by back-up service was a priority, and so he went with local DeLaval dealer Peter Brennan of Alfatech, who installed the parlour for him.

In terms of spec, Noel went automatic cluster removes and an auto-wash system, with the parlour coming with a variable speed and vacuum pump also.

After that he felt any other features he could have added to the parlour, in the grand scheme of things, wouldn’t be used as frequently as he would like but if in time, if he wants to add any extras he can do so.

Speaking about his first week in the new parlour, Noel said: “It’s early days, but already cows have taken to it very well.

“The first day we brought them in, we had plenty of bodies to help us and although it took a while, which was to be expected, once cows knew they were getting a bit of meal, they soon got used to going in and out.

“There during the week, all the cows, bar five, came in by themselves, which after a week is nothing.

“The big win for us has been the saving in milking time already. We are milking 200 cows in just over an hour.

“In the old five-unit double-up parlour it was taking three and a half hours. Even at peak next year in the new parlour, I’d be thinking we’d be able to milk 200 cows in just over an hour and a half.

“So, the saving in time we’ll be making will be huge and free up time to get too other jobs that need attending to.

“It’s also a far more inviting and spacious environment for both the cows to come into and also for myself or whoever is milking, even the clusters are a lot lighter and less tasking on the shoulders,” he added.

“I also put in mats as well to save on the feet.

“We have had two so far milking in the new parlour but I’d say once we get into the swing of it, one person will be fit to milk away themselves and have the run of the place.”

Other features in the parlour include air-powered auto entry and exit gates at either end of the parlour. Noel also went with a batch feeding system, with a straight trough that comes with an anti-jump rail.

Speaking about going with a straight trough rather than individual feeders, Noel said: “I didn’t see a need for individual feeders to be honest or to be giving certain cows extra feed.

“In fact, I find with the straight trough that the cows are nearly more content, they can turn their head around and having that bit more freedom seems to keep them happy while their in milking, compared to individual feeding systems.”

Zig-zag rump rails were also installed to angle cows nicely for cluster attachment in the pit.

A drain was incorporated on either row and at the front of the parlour for quick and easy washdown of the parlour. There are two hoses in the pit to wash down the parlour, along with one on the other side of the wall to wash down the handling facilities.

The handling facilities

Once cows exit the parlour, they have ample room to turn and head down one of three exit points, either back into the shed this time of year or out to grass during the grazing season.

For the majority of the year, cows will walk down through the exit race, which is fitted with a drafting system. The entire length of the exit race is slatted.

If, for example, Noel was scanning cows or cows were due for artificial insemination, they could be drafted right down into the herringbone crush or into the large drafting pen.

If a herd test was being carried out, cows could be drafted left, down a third route, bringing them down to a crush.

Speaking about the handling facilities, Noel said: “I haven’t had much use of it yet, but once I do, it should give me great comfort when I need to draft cows and take the hardship out of the job without needing to leave the pit when milking.”

A safety and ease of access feature seen in a many new builds is the incorporation of a slip through point (below) between the different sections of the handling area.

Collecting yard

A sizeable collecting yard, which can hold 250 cows, was also built. At the back of the yard is a slatted tank too.

The rest of the area is a concrete surface sloped down from the where cows enter the parlour to the tank. This is for ease of cleaning the yard.

Walls were stood either side of the collecting yard, with gates then at the end where cows enter through to the collecting yard, for milking either from the shed or from the grazing platform.

Cost

Noel was eligible for a grant under the Targeted Agricultural Modernisation Scheme (TAMS II).

Taking the value of the grant into account and also VAT reclaimed, the cost of the new dairy unit is standing to Noel at €346,000.

The concrete work for the build was completed by Tom Conaty, with the shed sourced and stood by Sean Brady Construction and Engineering. The entire handling area was sourced from Condon Engineering and erected by Matty Briorton

Speaking about going ahead with the new dairy unit, Noel said: “I’m very happy with it I must say.

“We are only in a week, but it’s already the difference in unbelievable. We had plenty of bodies here to help us on the first day to get cows through the parlour and it took time that day.

“But already, only a week later, out of 200 cows, I had to leave the pit for only five cows to get them into the parlour.

“They have taken to it very well and once they knew they were getting their bit of meal they were happy to come in.

“For myself in the pit, having 200 cows milked in just over an hour is compared to how long it took us before is just like night and day.

“And like I said, once we get fully accustomed to it, I feel as if one person in the pit would be more than enough, meaning more free time for other jobs to attend to outside of the parlour.”

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It is proposed to reset the investment ceiling to €90,000 for dairy equipment and include proposed increased grant rates for specified investments that will form part of the new Targeted Agricultural Modernisation Scheme (TAMS) in 2023.

Although there is no mention of a dairy equipment scheme like there is in the current TAMS II, in the Common Agricultural Policy Strategic Plan 2023-2027, it has been confirmed that “dairy farmers will continue to be included in TAMS schemes from 2023 onwards”.

This is what the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) confirmed to Agriland, as interest builds around the new On-Farm Capital Investment Scheme (OFCIS) set to be launched in 2023.

The DAFM said that the terms and conditions of the scheme and the investment list for grant-aided items are currently being finalised.

These proposed changes are subject to approval of the Rural Development Plan (RDP) amendment by the European Commission which was formally submitted to the commission on October 25, 2022.

Furthermore, under the OFCIS, livestock underpasses and farm roadways are some of the items under consideration for inclusion on the investment list from 2023 onwards, the department confirmed to Agriland, but nothing has been set in stone.

The OFCIS’ aim will be to provide farmers with the capital needed to invest in precision farming equipment and technologies, which will lead to efficiency gains and will reduce inputs (energy, labour and machinery).

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The new Targeted Agricultural Modernisation Scheme (TAMS) is set to open in January 2023 and is braced to see a number of changes to the current format of the scheme.

The new TAMS, set to be known as the On-Farm Capital Investment Scheme (OFCIS), will focus in on a number of areas – organics, farm safety, and optimising environmental practices on farms.

It is expected, under the new scheme, to see an increase in organic farming investments along with investments to support improved environmental outcomes such as low emission slurry spreading (LESS equipment, nutrient storage and energy efficiency.

Supports for investments that provide clear benefits to water quality, emissions and the environment will also be granted at a higher rate.

These include investments in precision grass measurement; rainwater harvesting and storage; solar panels; heat recovery units; heat pumps, and more.

Moreover, an increased focus on investments for animal welfare and farm safety is also expected to address issues in those areas.

Support for investments in a select range of farm safety items will also be provided at a higher rate, such as: Replacement slats and safety rails/fences; solid covers for slurry stores; livestock handling facilities; crushes and enclosures and associated works; calving and isolation facilities; aeration systems; and some upgrading works, including rewiring.

Investment ceilings

For the general on-farm investments, the investment ceiling is set to be €90,000 at a 40% grant rate.

Areas of target under general on-farm investments will include improving animal welfare and nutrient storage.

For tillage and dairy farmers it will also include investments to aid with precision farming equipment and in the case of the tillage sector specifically, low disturbance tillage equipment.

Investment ceilings for pig and poultry look set to reach as high as €200,000 if specific animal welfare-related projects are undertaken, while general investment under pigs and poultry is to see a maximum grant ceiling of €80,000.

Young farmers (aged 18-40) and women farmers (aged 18-66) are to be given a ceiling for investment of €90,000 at 60% grant rate.

Meanwhile, for organic farmers, farm safety equipment/investments that deliver specific environmental/climate benefits, the maximum is €45,000 based on an indicative investment ceiling of €90,000 at 50% grant rate.

For a partnership, the maximum is €96,000 based on an indicative investment ceiling of €160,000 at the young farmer rate of 60% for two young farmers in the partnership.

For LESS, the maximum is €16,000 for a tanker; the umbilical pump; reel and pipes, based on a grant rate of 40% and indicative investment ceiling is €40,000/holding.

The maximum is €20,000 for LESS spreading attachments based on a grant rate of 50% and indicative investment ceiling is €40,000 per holding.

However, in the case of a joint application by two or more eligible partners under a registered partnership, the maximum grant is €24,000 based on an indicative investment ceiling of €60,000 grant aided at a rate of 40%.

This increases to a maximum potential grant of €30,000 if the partnership qualifies for LESS spreading attachments grant aided at a rate of 50%.

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This week’s Buildings Focus saw Agriland make the trip to Co. Offaly to check out a new 5-bay slatted unit with a loose area on the farm of Jamie Carroll.

Jamie, in partnership with his mother Breda, operates a calf-to-beef system, with predominately Hereford and Angus-cross calves bought-in and eventually brought to slaughter.

Jamie bought the farm, which the new shed is built on back in 2020. This came about after he took the decision to sell a smaller holding that had a dry bedded shed to fund a move to the new farm which was just a few miles down the road.

The Offaly native said they had been in a position where there was no suitable rearing or housing accommodation for cattle either on their old farm or new farm.

This meant that a new shed was always going to be needed.

Speaking to Agriland outside his new shed, Jamie, who is a mechanic by trade, said: “We had always struggled for winter accommodation and when we moved to this farm after purchasing it in 2020 one of the first tasks was to look at building winter housing.

“In 2020 I outwintered the cattle and last winter [2021] I actually built a multi-purpose shed first. It’s a 4-bay single that I housed the cattle and it has become the machinery shed.

“Just last week, after a lot of work and time, I housed cattle in the new 5-bay shed we have built.”

320 hours to build new shed

But it was not all smooth going for the mother and son team initially when it came to their plans for the new shed.

Back in 2020 and 2021 there was a lot of disruption to building projects because of the impact of the pandemic and at the time building contractors were also inundated with contracts for sheds.

Because of possible delays to the new 5-bay shed and a few snags that they ran into Jamie ended up taking on the job of building the majority of the shed himself.

He said: “When we bought the land it was during Covid-19 and just the way it fell, a contractor I had lined up to do the shed in the end didn’t have the time to get to me.

“And with building materials on the rise, I took on the job of building the shed myself so that another year didn’t slip by without having it up.

“Excluding the digging out and standing of the tanks, walls and floor of the shed, although I was there to give a hand for all of that, I did the rest of the shed myself with a few friends giving me a dig out when I needed it.

“I stood the girders, sheeted the entire shed and hung all gates, feed barriers and doors, except for the roller doors which the company I bought them from fitted them.

“I calculated roughly that I put 320 hours into getting shed to the finish it is today, with just a few small bits here and there to tidy up.

“Looking back on it, I’m happy I did the work I did myself, as not only is it a nice achievement, but I worked out I saved myself €20,000 by doing the job myself.”

Design

Jamie had a good idea of what layout of a shed he wanted because he had spent a lot of time researching and visiting farms over the last few years to gauge what would work for him.

He enlisted MP Engineering to help him get is ideas down on paper and take the lead on the planning process for the new build.

The new shed was built on a greenfield site in the corner of the front field of the new farm.

The design includes a five-bay slatted unit with five loose pens at the back and a feed face at the front.

The building is 24m long and 18.1m wide. The unit stands 7.24m high to the apex and 4.1m to the eave gutters.

The concrete walls of the shed stand 2.0-2.3m high, with a fall incorporated from the back to wall to the slated tank meaning a height difference in the side and back walls.

The slatted tank is 26.5m long, 4.7m wide and 2.4m deep. Agitation points are located at either end of the tank.

The five slatted pens are 4.8m wide and over 6.1m deep, with 16ft 6 slats installed. The five loose pens directly behind the slatted pens are 4.8m wide and 9.1m deep.

There are two roller doors in the shed. One on either side of the shed, which gives access into the loose pens. One which gives access to the middle section of the loose area and another one that gives access to the back section of the loose area.

Shed features

One key aspect that Jamie specified for the new shed was a concrete surface which joins up with the other shed facing it on the other side of the yard – he said this was important to keep the area clean and tidy.

At the front feed face, Jamie opted for standard diagonal feed barriers.

Because the plan for the future is to install a crush at the back of the shed Jamie said he was not tempted to also put in headlocking barriers. He felt he would loose one or two feed spaces per pen if he opted for headlocking barriers over diagonal ones.

Just inside the feed barriers in the pens are four galvanised water troughs which serve the five pens.

The five pens are separated by heavy duty 4-bar gates which stretch the length of the pen.

A big element of the design of this shed is the depth of it – both the slatted pens and loose pens. This will in turn support the Carrolls’ move to organic farming with a larger lying area needed for farms who want to qualify for organic status.

Jamie chose to install 16ft 6 slats with the option if he wishes in the future, to install mats as he has left a lip in the slats in order for the mats to slip into.

Currently there are two-year-old bullocks and heifers in the shed, with eight cattle comfortably residing in each pen.

At the back of the slatted pens, rather than fitting a gate at the back of the pens to divide the slatted pens from the loose pens, Jamie installed another set of diagonal feed barriers. There is a small gate in each pen which doubles up as a feed space but also as a gate for cattle to move from the slats to the loose area.

At the back of the shed there are loose pens and this area can be adjusted and set up to suit a number of different systems.

As the move to organics a key goal for the Carrolls their plan is to feed the cattle at the front feed face as they are doing now and then let them access the loose area which will be bedded with straw.

In order to control the area of the loose area cattle can access, this area can be split in two.

Jamie left sleeves in the middle of this area with heavy duty 4-bar gates locking into it from both sides to accommodate this.

By doing this cattle can access one pen while the other pen could potentially be used as storage for example.

In terms of suiting different systems the shed could be turned around to house sucklers with the loose area acting as a creep for calves. Or the inner feeding barriers could be used to feed meal to finishing stock with silage continuing to be fed at the outer feed face.

In order to keep this loose area dry when bedded with straw, a one in four fall was incorporated for any moisture or runoff from the bedding to seep off into the slatted tank at the front of the shed.

Because the posts in this area are in sleeves, it will make cleaning out the sheds easy and efficient as the poles and gates can lifted out for a tractor and loader to come in and clean it out.

This loose bedded area can be accessed from either side of the shed through two roller doors. Jamie opted for roller doors because he felt they would be more secure than sliding doors.

Furthermore, because the two roller doors are staggered it means the posts and gates don’t even have to be taken out when cleaning out the shed either.

If cattle are given access to the area where the roller doors are hung, gates have also been fitted to swing across the doors to protect them from the cattle damaging them.

At the back wall of the shed, there are three small doors, which Jamie made himself.

His plan in the future is to have a crush at the back of the shed. The plan is to make a pen just outside where the back roller door is.

This is where cattle will run into from the shed and funnel into the crush before entering the shed again through the small door at the back wall of the shed (furthest right in the picture below) which was made wider than the other two doors to give cattle that bit more space to turn back into the shed.

The shed is set up to ensure cattle could be moved around the shed from pen to pen when a crush is installed allowing one person to handle and move cattle safely.

As with any grant specified shed, vented sheeting was installed at the back of the shed from the top of the wall to the eaves.

Two sets of LED lights were fitted in each bay of the shed, with lights also installed at the sides of the shed.

There is also plenty of translucent sheeting fitted onto the roof to bring natural daylight into the shed.

Cost of the build

The Offaly natives were eligible for a grant under the Targeted Agricultural Modernisation Scheme (TAMS II).

The total cost of the build stands at €148,000 including VAT.

Taking into account the value of the grant and VAT reclaimed, the shed is standing to the Carrolls at €55,000.

ELM Plant Hire carried out the excavation work on the site. The tanks and walls of the shed were stood by Buckley Sand and Gravel. The slats were sourced from Longford Precast. The shed was supplied by Midland Cladding and erected by Jamie.

The entire inside of the shed, including gates, feed barriers and troughs were purchased from Coyle Agri.

Speaking about the decision to go ahead and build the shed, Jamie said: “We needed to build the shed and I’d hoped to have it up sooner than I did.

“But in saying that looking back on it I’m glad I was able to do as much of the work I did on it with the help of friends and neighbours as well. It was a lot of work but it’s something I look back on with pride.

“I’m really happy with how it turned out and now the next thing to do is fill it with cattle. It will, hopefully, take a lot of hardship out of winter feeding.

“It gives us great flexibility in terms of what we can do with it. It could be switched around to suit a number of different systems but for now the plan is to make the move to organics so we will see how that goes.”

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A farm building in Drumkeerin, Co. Leitrim, dating back to the 1890s, has been repaired to great effect under the GLAS Traditional Farm Buildings Scheme.

The two-storey building comprises a traditional cow byre underneath and a storage loft overhead. The loft has a fireplace, which suggests it may have been designed for use as a granary.

The construction material is local sandstone with lime mortar. The sandstone, with its flat layers, almost gives the building a cut-stone appearance.

Storms through the years took their toll on the 1890s building. Water ingress around the chimney and loft door areas damaged timbers.

The loft floor was unsafe in places and consequently, it was becoming increasingly unusable.

Slates from the exposed gable area were displaced and a lot of the original lime mortar was missing. Sections of the cast-iron guttering and downpipes were missing or broken.

Overall, the building was relatively intact but in need of intervention to prevent further deterioration.

1890s farm building

The owner, Bríd Fallon, was anxious to repair the 1890s building in the traditional manner, in keeping with the wishes of her late husband, Dermott, who had it on his ‘to-do list’.

In recent years, the loft had become cluttered and the byre was used for storage more than for housing cattle. The restored building will provide much-needed additional space at calving time and the loft will house farm tools, veterinary supplies and general equipment.

The Heritage Council administers the GLAS Traditional Farm Buildings Grant for the conservation and repair of traditional farm buildings in partnership with the Department of Agriculture, Food and Marine.

An online application was submitted on February 21, 2022. Only farmers approved in the GLAS scheme are eligible to apply. Notification of shortlisting was received in late March.

In May, a conservation specification, outlining essential repairs, was drawn up and submitted by Thomas Flynn, an architect and conservation consultant. Final confirmation that the application was successful was received on May 30.

A requisite of the scheme is that a bat/bird survey be undertaken and that was carried out by Caroline Shiel. Presence of bats was undetected but it was noted that swallows were nesting in the downstairs byre.

Work could not start until their nesting season was over in September and vents had to be left open to ensure that the swallows had easy access.

Before work could commence, Liam Mulligan, an architect and expert in historic and traditional buildings, visited on behalf of the Heritage Council.

“He made some valuable suggestions regarding repairs which would retain the integrity of the building,” Brid said.

Repairs

Charles McLoughlin, a local building contractor, enthusiastically took on the task of carrying out the essential repairs.

“The Heritage Council places huge emphasis on minimal intervention and on the reuse rather than replacement of existing materials,” Brid said.

“Charles was diligent in his approach to this. Slates were carefully removed and reused and lime parging which was traditionally used under slates was applied to the repaired area.”

Only unsound and rotten segments of timbers were removed and replaced. Lime mortar was used in all the repairs and Charles used sand sourced locally from Corry Strand on the shore of Lough Allen.

A traditional style sash window, which had been stored in the loft, was modified by Charles and used to replace a temporary, single-pane, window on the gable.

“Repointing of the walls and steps to the loft was carried out meticulously by Charles and his brother-in-law Francis McGovern. Lime mortar which is more breathable was used throughout. Cast iron gutters and downpipes were sourced to replace damaged or missing segments,” Brid said.

A requirement of the scheme is that the work is monitored by a conservation accredited architect.

“Thomas Flynn, of TGF Architecture, inspected the work at intervals and was always on hand with valuable advice and support and made sure conservation guidelines were adhered to,” the Leitrim woman added.

“He ensured that intervention was kept to the minimum. Thomas also submitted an interim report on the agreed repairs to the Heritage Council at midway stage and he submitted a final report on completion,” she said.

“Without the 75% grant and the invaluable support of Anna Meehan, project manager and Amanda Ryan, grants officer with the Heritage Council, cheaper and less traditional repairs might have been carried out and consequently this vernacular building would have lost some of its integrity.

“The building now stands as a testament to the amazing skills and design ability of our ancestors who used locally sourced materials and achieved such a high standard of finish without machinery or technology,” Brid said.

“By availing of the grant, we are preserving this heritage for future generations. The project also gave our local builder the opportunity to upskill in traditional building methods and in particular on the use of lime mortar.

“We are all proud to see this lovely building restored to such a fine finish by a local tradesman,” said Brid.

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“It’s all a bit mental, but fun,” Kate Carmody told Agriland as a project to repair a 200-year-old stone barn on her north Kerry farm enters its final weeks.

The organic dairy farmer has lived in Beal with a stunning vista of the Shannon estuary and the coast of neighbouring Co. Clare for 38 years now.

The cheesemaker and hemp grower, who holds a qualification in biochemistry, has been a participant in Green Low-Carbon Agri-Environment Scheme (GLAS) for the past seven years.

“Being an environmentalist, I’ve always liked GLAS,” she said.

GLAS

The barn at Beal Lodge appears on a map dating from 1840 and also shows the stone stable and coach house still standing in the farmyard today.

The holding, then part of the estate of Lord Listowel, included a single-storey hunting lodge later replaced in 1939 by a two-storey stone house where Carmody lives.

This year, she was successful in securing funding of just under €10,000 in the GLAS Traditional Farm Buildings Grant Scheme.

Issues with labour hampered two previous attempts to repair her beloved barn.

“This year, it’s third time lucky. I actually have some brilliant stonemasons helping and it’s really working out well,” she said.

“It’s about repair of farm buildings and not restoration. I think that’s important because you have to use the building for farming purposes.”

‘The Beal barn’, as she calls it, was converted into a milking parlour many years ago.

“I produce top-quality milk out of that milking parlour and it’s a very old milking machine. I think we don’t need ‘toys for boys’ and modern facilities. You can produce top quality with old buildings.

“It’s about keeping the functionality of the building as a milking parlour but repairing so it’s back to its glory, which is where its headed at the moment,” Carmody added.

Barn repair

Changes over the decades had taken a heavy toll on the barn.

“The building had been butchered a bit because two back doors were made for letting in cows and they were all built out of concrete and the stone was removed. Other doorways and windows were blocked up.

“For the repair, we’re keeping the two entrance doors where the cows go in because we have to. We’re plastering the concrete blocks as it would be too big a job to take out the concrete and put in stone.

“But we’ve taken out all the concrete above and put back stone, so it will have its character there,” she explained.

The team is also working to reincorporate doorways which had been blocked up including one which had caused a large crack in the main wall of the building.

This was a “big worry” and among the main reasons for Carmody wanting to repair the barn.

“We took out all the stone there and it’s been rebuilt from the ground up and the crack has been repaired using hydraulic lime, a traditional mixture, so it looks really good,” she said.

The project has also seen the reinstatement of an arch which had been demolished to allow for the installation of a bulk milk tank in the 1980’s.

The farmer is not afraid of hard work and has helped with the repairs along with the two French students.

The stonemasons, who she learned of through word of mouth, work on the farm at weekends.

“They fell in love with this building as much as me I think.”

The farmer previously repaired the storm-damaged roof of the barn with Bangor blue slate and brass screws “to make sure it would last another 200 years”, she said.

Although grateful for the GLAS grant aid scheme, which funds up to 75% a project’s cost, Carmody feels it could be made more attractive.

“It makes it feasible but like everything you have to pay out the money before you get it back,” she said.

“This is one of the big problems in Ireland at the moment and maybe this is where the Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland (SBCI) should actually step in and offer bridging money to farmers and all our heritage projects.”

Delayed start

The start of the project in Beal was delayed due to swallows nesting in the loft of the barn.

“They had a great year. They had three clutches and with five fledglings each time. In fact, I thought at one stage they weren’t going to move out they were so happy,” the farmer said.

With the arrival of a “cold, wet, miserable day”, the swallows took flight and the repair work could begin.

Carmody is planning to have the project completed within the next two to three weeks.

“Officially, I have to be finished by November 4, but I’m hoping for a week of grace because of the swallows. If not, we will be working day and night to finish it.

“It will look fabulous. All the violation of the building will be invisible,” she said.

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For this week’s Buildings Focus, Agriland made the trip to Athenry in Co. Galway to check out a new suckler shed on the farm of Aidan Cahill.

Aidan, who runs a herd of 30 suckler cows alongside a flock of 50 mule ewes, also works full-time off farm.

The Galway native had existing housing on the farm, including six bays of slats, three bays either side of a centre passageway alongside a four-bay straw-bedded shed, with one bay used solely as storage for straw.

Aidan felt that he was tight for housing. On top of that, he ws looking to streamline the farm in terms of making the feeding of cattle in winter, as well as calving and lambing at spring, less time consuming and stressful.

So, he looked at putting up a new shed to alleviate these issues.

Speaking to Agriland on his farm, Aidan said: “We were tight for housing on the farm.

“I kept the majority of the cows in the straw-bedded shed during the winter but had to put the rest in the slatted shed, which already had weanlings and also bulls that we finish under 16-months-of-age.

“Big pressure came on in the farm in spring when cows would be calving in February and March but once April came, I needed it for the ewes to lamb them in.

“So, I was left in a situation where, regardless of ground conditions, I’d end up having to sacrifice one field to let the cows and calves out to because I needed to free-up the straw shed for the ewes.

“As well as that, I needed a new crush, as the ones on the farm were an ordeal trying to get cattle into,” he added.

“So between needing more space and taking the hardship out of winter feeding and calving, and just making the farm work a lot smoother, I decided to look into building a new shed.”

Layout

To suss out the best way forward and what type of shed would suit Aidan and his system, he got in touch with Carroll Consultancy Agricultural & Business Consultants in Co. Mayo. The team there gave him a few options to look at and mull over.

The new shed was built on a greenfield site beside the existing sheds and yard on the farm.

The design includes a four-bay slatted unit with four loose pens and an outer and indoor feed passageway which includes a crush.

The building is 19.2m long and 18.9m wide. The unit stands 7.2m high to the apex and 4.1m to the eave gutters.

The concrete walls of the shed stand 2.4m high. The slatted tank is 21.9m long, 4.1m wide and 2.4m deep. Agitation points are located at either end of the tank.

The four slatted pens are 4.8m wide and 5.1m deep, with the slats that are 4.4m long. The four loose pens directly behind the slatted pens are 4.8m wide and 6.7m deep.

The feed passageway at the back of the shed is 4.2m wide and 19.2 long, while the feeding passageway in front of the slats facing out to the yard is 4.7m wide, with the canopy protruding 2.7m out from the feed barriers.

There are three sliding doors in the shed. Two on one side of the shed, which gives access into the four loose pens in the middle, and one that allows access to the inner feed passageway on the other side of the shed.

Inside the shed

At the front of the shed, where the main feeding passageway is, Aidan left a substantial concrete surface to allow him to leave and push feed in with the loader.

The entire shed is fitted with diagonal feed barriers, both at the front and back of the slatted pens as well as in the loose pens facing out onto the inner feed passageway.

The slatted pens themselves are currently holding six cows/pen comfortably. Two troughs serve the four pens, with two pens being able to access one trough each.

Aidan wanted to give himself options and that’s exactly what this shed offers. He can feed cows that are in the shed from both sides of the slats. The idea for this is for feeding silage on one side and meal on the other side, which would suit him feeding his bulls for finishing this way.

Each slatted pen has a small gate fitted beside the diagonal feed barriers which also doubles up as a creep gate.

The idea here is that when a cow is due to calve, she can be moved into the loose pen and calve down there.

After a day or two, the cow can be let into the slatted pen again and the creep gate can be opened to allow the calf to move between the slatted pen and the loose area that will be bedded in straw.

The four loose pens, similar to the slats, are served with two troughs, with two pens being able to access one trough each. The troughs in both the slats and loose pens are back-to-back and it is evident that the cows like to go between the two.

The pens are split up in four by two five-bar gates that lock into a pole in the middle of the pen which is fitted into a sleeve, meaning that the gates can be swung back and the pole taken out to clean out the pens at ease, rather than having to manoeuvre around them.

Cows can be fed silage in the loose pens from the feeding passageway inside the shed.

This area can also double up as a creep area as the feed barriers along the four pens, similar to the ones dividing the slats from the loose pens, are fitted with a small gate that can double up as a creep gate.

The back of the shed where the inner feed passageway is, also contains a crush, something Aidan said he was badly in need of.

The hardship experienced with the two crushes on the farm ensured that Aidan wouldn’t be making the same mistake again.

Cattle should be able to be loaded into the crush much easier with the way it’s been designed.

Similar to the loose pens, sleeves were made, this time, two, at an angle from the corner of the last pen to the gate at the back of the crush.

The hope is that when cattle need to be loaded into the crush, once they are moved into the loose pen and head out towards the small gate beside the feed barrier, they will funnel into the chute of the crush.

The hope is that this will prevent the cattle turning back as they have less space to do so compared to if the gates were hung straight across, which would give them larger area to manoeuvre in, rather than at the angle at which they are at now.

Another feature of not is the slip through between the gates and the crush. This allows Aidan, once he has the gate at the back of the crush closed, to slide into the passageway without the need to open or even climb the gate.

A water trough was also installed in this space.

The crush itself is compartmentalised, meaning each section can be taken apart with ease or opened out.

The beauty of the design of this shed, which is incorporated in many sheds like it, is that cattle can be in any pen of the shed and moved around from pen to pen, up through the crush and back into the same original pen they were in by one person.

It makes management and handling easier and safer for the farmer, while also getting any jobs needed, such as a herd test or dosing, more efficient.

The sliding door on the side of the shed where the front of the crush is allows Aidan to back the trailer in and load up cattle onto it, if needs be.

This passageway where the crush is, like the loose pens, offers Aidan a number of options, whether it be feeding cattle along it, using it as a creep area or as it is now, a set up for the crush to be used.

Other features, typical of a grant-spec shed, include a translucent sheet in each of the bays of the shed to increase natural daylight coming through; and 12 LED lights.

At the back of the shed, a gap was left between the eaves and the galvanised sheeting too.

Cost

Aidan was eligible for a grant under the Targeted Agricultural Modernisation Scheme (TAMS II) which enabled him to claim up to 40%.

This, along with claiming VAT back on the build, leaves the shed standing to Aidan from his own pocket at roughly €55,000.

The entire building from start to finish was completed by Damien Ryan Contracts based in Co. Mayo, with the job starting in April of this year and finishing in August.

The only other work carried out was the electrical work, which was done by a local contractor, Gerry Kelly.

Speaking about the decision to go ahead and build the shed, Aidan said: “I’m very happy with how it turned out.

“It was a stress-free process as Damien and his team did all the work and had it done in no time and to a top finish as well.

“The cows are only gone into it a week, but already the ease of feeding is unreal and now less time will be spent bedding cows with straw and cleaning it out during the winter.

“It frees up more time for me and also frees up other sheds on the farm and takes the pressure off all going well during the pinch point of the year, at calving and lambing.”

The post Buildings Focus: 4-bay slat, loose area and handling facility in Galway appeared first on Agriland.ie.

Farmers that have spaced sheeting on the roofs of their sheds will be able to fit solar panels onto them if they wish.

This is according to the Department of Agriculture, Food and Marine (DAFM), which recently outlined a number of updates made under the Targeted Agricultural Modernisation Scheme (TAMS II).

Speaking at the Irish Farm Buildings Association Conference (IFBA) in Birr, Co. Offaly, the DAFM’s Dr. Robert Leonard said:

“There has been an update to S198, the minimum specification for the installation of solar PV systems.

“The one change we have brought in here is to allow solar panels be fitted onto roofs with space sheeting and what is required in relation to that.”

What is required?

According to the DAFM, where a solar panel array is to be mounted on a roof with spaced sheeting, the array shall be mounted so that the outlet ventilation of the building is not compromised in any way.

This shall be done by ensuring that the array is mounted so that there is a minimum unobstructed gap of 150mm between the lowest part of the underside of the array, including mounting frame, and the top of the ridges of the roof sheeting.

There shall be a minimum unobstructed gap of 50mm between the edges of each solar panel that make up the solar array. The array shall be mounted using steel sections securely fixed to the purlins or rafters of the building.

The steel sections shall be suitably sized to support the solar array, taking into account all site-specific structural and wind risks and the size of the solar array.

Where necessary a qualified structural engineer should be consulted to design the array support.

The following categories of mounting systems are acceptable, according to the DAFM.

• Roof Mounted – Pitched or Flat Roof (excluding curved roof e.g. haybarn);
• Wall/Cantilever;
• Ground Mounted.

If an installer is uncertain if a mounting system is acceptable, they are advised to seek approval from the department in advance of installation.

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All buildings will be required to be emissions-free by 2050 under a new revision to the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive, which was agreed by EU energy ministers yesterday (October 25).

They agreed that from 2028, all new buildings owned by public bodies should be zero emissions, while all other new buildings should be zero emissions by 2030.

In relation to existing buildings, member states agreed to introduce minimum energy performance standards which would be linked to a maximum energy allowance per m² of the building.

The aim here is to encourage rennovations which will ultimately lead to a gradual phase out of the worst-performing buildings in energy terms.

For existing, non-residential buildings, member states agreed to set maximum energy performance thresholds, which would be based on primary energy use.

A first threshold would draw a line below the primary energy use of 15% of the worst-performing non-residential buildings, while a second threshold would be set below 25%.

Furthermore, the ministers agreed that member states would bring all non-residential buildings below the 15% threshold by 2030 and below 25% by 2034.

Exceptions will be made to these rules for certain structures however, including historical buildings, places of worship and buildings used for defense purposes.

To mark all buildings that are zero emissions, the ministers also agreed to introduce a new energy rating which will be known as A°. As well as this, another new category A⁺ will be introduced, which will correspond with all buildings that, in addition to being zero emissions, also contribute renewable energy to the national grid.

Jozef Sikela, the Czech minister of industry and trade who chaired the meeting, said:

“The building sector is crucial for achieving the EU’s energy and climate objectives. The agreement reached today will help citizens make substantial energy savings.”

Meanwhile, it has been reported that gas prices in Europe have fallen below €100MW/hr for the first time since mid June.

On Monday (October 24), the Dutch Title Transfer Facility (TTF), Europe’s leading trading hub, futures contract for November closed at €99.17/MW hour.

Reports have suggested that mild autumn weather, coupled with the fact that many storage facilities have neared their capacity, is believed to be behind the drop in price.

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The use of creosote to treat wooden fencing posts in agriculture is not included in an extension being granted by the European Commission.

An extension for the use of creosote for certain products has been extended until October 31, 2029, having previously been set as October 31, 2022.

However, the use of the oil to treat fence posts commonly used on farms is not included in this extension, meaning it – as originally dated – cannot be used for this purpose after October 31.

A document published by the European Commission this month stated that from the information collected and the views expressed by member states, it appears that creosote, and wood treated with creosote, are still needed in many member states for railway sleepers and for utility poles for electricity and telecommunications.

Alternatives to creosote

The document also stated that there are alternative biocidal products to treat wooden railway sleepers and utility poles for electricity and telecommunications.

However, time is needed to test and have a sufficient return on experience of those alternative products, and to ensure that they can meet the long service life expected of railway sleepers, according to the commission.

Therefore, it appears as if the time needed to test these alternatives is required by member states and as such, an extension on the use of creosote for the treatment of railway sleepers and utility poles has been extended by seven years.

The document did not mention fence posts in this extension or any other timber products that use creosote as a treatment, apart from those specified uses.

Last week at the Irish Farm Buildings Association Conference (IFBA) the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) said that the purchase of creosote fence posts would be permitted up to April 30, 2023.

Speaking to attendees at the conference, Dr. Robert Leonard of the DAFM said: “Creosote will no longer now be used as a treatment for fence posts as EU regulations are set to change on it use.

“Creosote posts can be bought to be sold on the market up to November 30, and a use-up period for any posts on the market to be sold will be up to April 30, of next year.”

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Only 18% of afforestation licences have been granted within the timeline set down in the Farmers’ Charter of Rights, according to the Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA).

IFA deputy president Brian Rushe was speaking after a recent Charter of Rights meeting with the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, in which he noted that approval of forestry licences is “in complete contrast to other schemes which have high rates of compliance with agreed timeframes” under the charter.

Apart from the afforestation licences, only 7% of tree-felling licence applications were granted in the timeframe set down in the charter, Rushe said.

“The ongoing fiasco relating to forestry licensing has eroded all confidence of farmers in the sector.

“The massive delays in issuing licences are unacceptable. Unless it’s addressed, we are not going to see any meaningful level of planting take place in future years,” Rushe commented.

However, the IFA deputy president also welcomed the timely manner in which scheme payments were made.

These include the 70% advance payment on the Basic Payment Scheme (BPS), which was paid out to 115,000 farmers last week.

Rushe went on to say that the Areas of Natural Constraint (ANC) Scheme advance payments last month “was vital to farmers, given spiraling input costs”.

Rushe said that the IFA received assurances from the department that payments under the Fodder Support Scheme are on schedule to commence in November, and that the department has sought additional documentation from some farmers.

“I would urge any farmer who has received this request for evidence to submit the required documentation to the department as soon as possible in order to avoid any delay in payments being issued next month,” he added.

IFA rural development chairperson Michael Biggins said that the department has committed to review the reference costings under the Targeted Agricultural Modernisation Scheme (TAMS), which will be implemented as part of the opening of the new TAMS next year.

Biggins said: “Farmers have been forced to work with out-of-date reference costs, which are not reflective of the soaring cost of works and associated materials.

“It’s essential that the new costings keep pace with these changes to allow farmers receive a grant relative to the cost of investment incurred.”

The final meeting under the current Farmers’ Charter of Rights is due to take place in early December.

Rushe called for negotiations to establish a new charter, taking into account the schemes under the new Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) for 2023 to 2027, to commence as soon as possible.

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A number of updates to the regulations around agitation points have been made by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM).

Delivering these updates at the Irish Farm Buildings Association conference this week was Dr. Robert Leonard from the DAFM.

“There has been a number of updates to s123 which can be seen in red text in the document on the DAFM website,” he said.

“The changes to regulations in agitation points is going to have the biggest impact in terms of a design point of view, and even from a construction point of view.

“Agitation points cannot be located under the overhang of a shed. We have always said that they [the agitation points] must be outside the building and we are clarifying that now in the specifications.

“The overhang is part of the building so it can’t be located underneath it.”

Agitation/extraction points shoul be located so that the slurry tanker does not have to pass over any slats while the tank is being emptied, Dr. Leonard explained.

“You shouldn’t be driving over slats with a slurry tanker, even on heavy duty slats, on a regular basis. They aren’t going to last very long in that case and it’s a safety issue as well,” he said.

“Where an agitation point is located between the sides of two buildings, there shall be a minimum of 6m clear space between the two buildings, including between any roof overhangs.

“This is to ensure good air movement around where you are operating when you are agitating and extracting slurry from a tank.

“Agitation points shall, as a general rule, not be placed in an unroofed animal area. This has come a up a bit for example where there are large unroofed slatted areas, such as an outdoor slatted cubicle area.

“If there is an agitation point in these areas it is not going to last. If there isn’t a strong reason for one to be located inside one, we aren’t going to accept it.”

This follows up on regulations that are already in place which say that there should not be any access points installed inside any houses and that full external agitation shall also be provided for in all designs involving the conversion or extension of existing buildings.

Furthermore, where an existing building is being extended or converted and there is an internal agitation point, then this should be removed. All necessary work shall then be done to allow for full external agitation of the existing building.

The DAFM said that if it is deemed absolutely necessary for an agitation point to be placed in an unroofed animal area, full details of the reasons for this should be submitted to the DAFM for acceptance before grant-aid approval can be issued.

The documentation submitted should include a detailed farmyard plan showing the dimensions of all buildings, the location and dimensions of all tanks and the distance between all buildings.

Further, the documentation should include a detailed written explanation of the reasoning for the agitation point to be included in the unroofed animal area.

External agitation points are defined as being outside of the roofed area, including outside of any canopy or overhang of a building.

The post New department guidelines on agitation points appeared first on Agriland.ie.

With the time set to go back one hour next weekend, now is a good time to have a walk around the yard and sheds and check all light fixtures to see if they are working.

The second time-change of the year will happen next Sunday (October 30) which will see shorter daylight time and mark, for many, the start of winter.

Light checks

The evenings are already noticeably shorter and some may have checked their light fixtures already.

Those that haven’t done any light checks around the farm, should now make it a priority.

Whether it be checking or feeding stock first thing in the morning or last thing in the evening, a well-lit yard and shed is needed for ease of work as well as for safety.

For part-time farmers, who have jobs off-farm, these jobs will be done morning and evening, when it’s dark, and so properly working lights are crucial.

Prioritise any high-traffic areas on the farm that have lights, especially walkways, along feed passageways and areas directly outside the entrance to sheds.

These areas will be where the most time will be spent in the mornings and evenings, walking to and from the shed, feeding stock.

To prevent yourself from tripping and falling, make sure that all walkways are well lit. This is not just for yourself, but for anyone else that may be on the farm too.

If you are unable to replace lights on the farm yourself, either because you don’t have the time or the capability to do so in a safe manner, then get an electrician to carry out the work.

An electrician can also test your electrical residual current device (RCD) to see if it is working properly.

If a large number of lights need replacing, taking into account the rise in energy costs, making the move towards LED lights as more of an energy-efficient way of having lights in yards and sheds this coming winter may be wise.

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Creosote stakes will no longer be available to buy on the market after spring of 2023, the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) has said.

Speaking at the Irish Farm Buildings Association Conference (IFBA) in the County Arms Hotel in Birr, Co. Offaly this week, was Dr. Robert Leonard of the DAFM whose presentation was based on recent and planned updates to the DAFM specifications, in which fencing is set to see some change.

A popular choice of fencing posts on farms in the last few years for their “long life” over untreated posts for example, the change in regulations regarding creosote posts will come as a disappointment to farmers.

Speaking about the upcoming changes, Dr. Leonard said: “There are changes coming for S148, which is due to be updated.

“Creosote will no longer now be used as a treatment for fence posts.

“Farmers will not be able to purchases creosote posts after April 30, 2023. So that is a change that will be coming in which will affect fencing.

“It’s effectively going to be removed as being allowed to be used from November 30 of this year when the European Union regulations will be changing.

“So it means creosote posts can be bought to be sold on the market up this date [November 30] and a use-up period for any creosote posts on the market to be sold will be up to April 30, of next year.”

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The government’s changes to the rate and introduction of the concrete levy have been welcomed by the president of the Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers’ Association (ICSA), Dermot Kelleher.

Revealed in Budget 2023, the proposed 10% concrete levy was due to come into effect on April 3, of next year, and was expected to raise €80 million per annum to contribute to the cost of the mica redress scheme.

However, it was announced on Tuesday (October 18), that the levy is to be halved to 5% and its introduction will be delayed until September 1, 2023. The levy will also be removed from pre-cast concrete products.

Following its announcement, the concrete levy was met with fierce criticism from farming organisations including the ICSA, which urged the government to reverse the decision.

Kelleher has now described the U-turn as an acknowledgement that his organisation was right to strongly oppose the move.

“Imposing a 10% levy on concrete blocks and mixes was a bad idea from the start, particularly when government policy is to support farmers to increase slurry storage; not to mention the housing crisis,” he said.

However, he added that the halving of the rate and the delay does not go far enough and said that the entire concept should be forgotten about.

“The only thing that makes sense is to scrap this levy entirely,” he said.

A separate measure unveiled in the budget will provide accelerated capital allowances to farmers for the construction of more modern slurry storage facilities, which will have a positive environmental impact.

Kelleher said that the introduction of a concrete levy undermines this concept and stated:

“It makes zero sense to penalise farmers looking to rise to the climate challenge or those needing to build or acquire a house because of defective blocks sold by certain companies.

“We are in the of middle of a cost-of-living crisis and nonsensical financial penalties on those who have done nothing wrong can have no place.”

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In Ireland, 25 people lost their lives as a result of farm construction work between 2010 and 2019, according to Dr. Robert Leonard from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM).

Dr. Leonard was speaking at the Irish Farm Buildings Association (IFBA) conference at the County Arms Hotel in Birr, Co. Offaly this week (Monday, October 17).

Although his talk was based on an overview of recent and planned updates to DAFM specifications, he reminded those in attendance of the risks associated with construction work on farms, and the need to take every safety precaution and guideline when carrying out building work.

Dr. Leonard said: “One of the big specification updates has been on safety. Farmers have an obligation under the Health, Safety and Welfare at Work Act both under the construction regulations and general regulations.

“As do those involved in designing and constructing a building. If designing a building, they must be designed in a way that they are safe and for contractors, to be able to build in a safe manner.

“And farmers must ensure contractors can work in a safe manner. There are requirements in the safety section reminding farmers that they must appoint a project supervisor for the design and construction stages.

“If they don’t appoint those people then they [the farmer] become those people by default,” he added.

Deaths related to farm construction

The conference heard that in terms of safety, between 2010 and 2019, 25 people lost their lives while undertaking building work on Irish farms.

“There are accidents happening and this is why it is critical that the full safety guidelines are followed,” Dr. Leonard continued.

“Just looking at some of the causes of these fatalaties, the number that fell through skylights was six, and [the number] that fell through a roof was four.

“A question was brought up recently on the use of nets and if they should be used when building work is taking place. The answer is yes, they should when carrying out building work.”

Dr. Leonard told the conference that it is good practice to have nets, regardless of whether the work is grant aided or not, as it could prevent serious accidents from occurring.

“Two also fell from a ladder, bringing the total number falling from a height to 12,” he explained.

“The regulations are there to keep people safe and they all apply to farms so as to ensure people get home safe at the end of the day.”

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For this week’s Buildings Focus, Agriland made the trip to Tubber in Co. Offaly to check out a new suckler unit on the farm of Ken Fox.

Ken, alongside his father Declan, wife and three kids runs a herd of 25 sucklers alongside buying in some dairy-bred calves at springtime.

The father-and-son team, up until this year, had been outwintering their suckler cows, with any drystock housed in a dry shed.

Looking to streamline the farm and have a shed that would house all of the stock on the farm, Ken, back in 2020, started to do some research into building a new shed which came to completion in spring just gone.

Speaking to Agriland on his farm in the Faithful County, Ken said: “My father works full-time on the farm and I work-full time off farm.

“We wanted to become more efficient on how we do things, particularly on the winter-feeding side of things and just make life that bit easier for ourselves.

“We had been outwintering our cows and when they were due to calf, we’d bring them into a small dry shed we have and calve them down there.

“But having cattle out on land in winter just ruins it and the cost of putting it right again. It did work well for us in saying thatm but really wasn’t a long-term solution.

“As well as being more efficient, being able to work in a safe environment was at the forefront of our thinking and going out to a field putting in bales in a ringfeeder brings its risks that we no longer wanted to take.”

Design

Ken took time to visit other farms and speak to friends about what would work best for him and his farm, taking on advice and ideas which he said were crucial, as it was the first shed he had ever built on the farm.

The new suckler unit was designed by Carroll Consultancy Agricultural & Business Consultants in Co. Mayo, which also completed the planning for the project.

The design includes a four-bay slatted unit with a calving/creep area and a crush against the back wall of the shed.

The building is 19.2m long and 14.9m wide. The unit stands 6.8m high to the apex and 4.4m to the eave gutters.

The concrete walls of the shed stand 2.4m high. The slatted tank is 21.9m long, 4.1m wide and 2.4m deep. Agitation points are located at either end of the tank.

The four slatted pens are 4.8m wide and 4.4m deep. The four pens in the calving/creep area are 4.8m wide and 4.7m deep.

The sliding doors at either end of the creep area are 4.7m wide. Two of the four pens are served with a calving gate, with a creep gate serving each of the four pens from the slatted pens.

The crush at the back of the shed is 9.7m long and 0.9m wide. The feeding passageway is 19.2m long and 5m wide and can be accessed by sliding doors at either end.

Feed passageway

The Foxes opted to have the entirety of the shed under one roof, which includes the feed passageway.

Just outside at the front of the shed, the yard, spanning the width of the shed, was finished with a concrete surface.

The feed passageway can be accessed through two sliding doors, one at either end of the shed.

It’s of ample width that the Foxes can store some straw in the passageway too, for when it’s need when cows are calving down next spring.

The pens and crush at the back of the shed can also be accessed through sliding doors at both ends of the shed.

This gives the Foxes ample access and room to back in a trailer to load cattle for example, as well as being able to do so in a safe environment.

Cow comfort

As the shed was intended to house the suckler cows on the farm, Ken put cow comfort as one of main priorities when building the shed.

To achieve this, he opted to put in mats in each of the four pens of slats which he sourced from Cow Comfort Ltd. (Mayo Mats).

“I just felt with having cows that it can be a long winter for them on bare concrete and felt that mats would not only give them that bit more comfort but also hopefully reduce or keep the incidences of lameness at bay,” he explained.

“I said while I was doing the shed, I’d do the four bays with mats and have it done with so I’m curious to see how I get on with them.

“I’ve heard good stories about them and when I had the cows in the shed when I was putting them through the crush, they appeared very happy on them.”

The slatted pens

Looking at the slatted pens, at the front of each of the pens, Ken went with diagonal feed barriers. Because he went with a crush at the back of the shed, he felt no need to put in headlocking barriers.

Each of the pens are divided up using a five-bar gate which can contract and swing back against the back gates of each of the pens, thus allowing Ken and Declan to let cattle have the run of two or more pens of the shed.

Ken was told he would be able to fit eight cows/pen but believes himself that seven would be a more realistic number so as to not have the pens to crammed.

Two stainless steel troughs were fitted at the back of the pens which serve the four pens, with each one being accessible to two pens.

The creep/calving area and crush

At the back of each of the slatted pens are two gates, a smaller five-bar gate than the ones dividing the slatted pens which can also be contracted as well as a creep gate.

At the back of each of the four slatted pens are dry bedded pens, two of which are served with a calving gate. At the back wall of the shed, lies a crush.

In both the end pens, a five-bar gate is hung across where the sliding door is in order to protect the door from damage. It also acts as extra security by ensuring that if the sliding door was open in some way, cattle couldn’t get out.

The gates dividing up the four dry pens can all swing back to allow for the Foxes to clean out this area after calving with ease.

A slope was incorporated into the concrete floor at the back of the shed in this dry area to allow for any runoff from the bedding to flow into the slatted tank.

A major part of the design of the shed was being able to move cattle from pen to pen around the shed.

Ken wanted to be able to funnel cattle from each of the slatted pens down to the back pen of the shed to the rear of the crush and let them back out through the crush into the slatted pens again.

The only use the shed has had so far was for a Tuberculosis herd test, which Ken said worked a dream in terms of moving cattle through the crush around the shed.

The floor of the crush is stepped and below that of the floor are the concrete-floored pens. There is a point towards the front of the crush where any dung built up in the chute of the crush can flow away down through a pipe connected to the slatted tank of the shed.

The gate dividing the two middle pens can swing back, allowing Ken – or whoever is handling cattle in the crush – to walk up and down uninterrupted.

The front of the crush leads into one of two pens that the calving gate can be used in and as mentioned already, this pen can act as a loading area for cattle to be loaded onto a trailer.

Cost

The overall cost of the shed stood at €100,000 plus VAT. However, having been eligible for a grant under the Targeted Agricultural Modernisation Scheme (TAMS), the shed is standing to the Foxes at €60,000.

Ground first broke in November 2021 and the shed was completed in April 2022.

The excavation of the site for the shed and all the associated concrete work was carried out and completed by Farrell Concrete Ltd. in Ferbane, Co. Offaly who Ken praised for the quality of their work. The slats were sourced from Banagher Slats.

The shed was sourced and stood by a Tipperary-based agriculture shed manufacturer. All the internal fixtures, gates, barriers, water troughs, crush and calving gates came from Coyle Agri, which Ken said was very helpful.

The electrical work was carried out and completed by NES Ltd.

Speaking about the decision to go ahead and build the shed, Ken said: “It turned out very well and we are very happy with it.

“The timing of the build wasn’t ideal just with the way the price of everything shot up; however, going forward, we will have a lot more comfort and the shed gives us options.

“This will be our first winter in it so we are excited to see how it goes and really should be light and day compared to how we used to operate before.”

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For this week’s Buildings Focus, Agriland made the trip to just outside Clones in Co. Monaghan to speak to new entrant to dairy, Tommy O’Harte.

Tommy, who up until last year ran a well-known suckler enterprise made up predominately of Limousins, decided that after a period of the farm recording a loss, the next move for the farm was to switch to dairy.

The process of making the move to dairy came about in spring in 2021 and despite being told he would not be milking cows by autumn of last year, within the space of two months, the building work required to get the farm up and running – and cows milking – was completed.

Speaking to Agriland on his farm, Tommy said: “It got to a stage where it wasn’t making sense to continue how we were operating and as such, we made the decision to move to dairy.

“Coming from heavy ground, there were times when the sucklers, as they were big cows, that they would be indoors during the summer months some years if any wet weather came.

“So, taking into account the land type and the type of cow we wanted to milk, we decided to go with a predominately indoor system, calving all-year round.

“Even though we are milking currently, we are still expanding. We are currently milking 70 cows but plan to push that – all going well – to 190 once we have completed all the necessary building work, and once we can start getting out own-bred stock into the system and milking.”

Converting the existing slatted shed

In order to make the move to dairy, Tommy had to re-jig his five-bay existing slatted shed.

What once were 10 pens split five each side of a centre-feeding passageway now consists of three rows of back-to-back cubicles, with a feeding passageway at either side of the shed all under the one roof.

The feed barriers mostly consist of diagonal ones, which originated from the old shed, while one bay of the shed has headlocking barriers fitted in it.

Rather than going with concrete beds and a mat on each of the cubicles, Tommy beds his cattle with peat which he sources from his main off-farm business.

The cost of keeping the cows on peat per week is roughly costing €150-160/week. However, Tommy is looking at the idea of using chopped up straw which he believes might come in cheaper at in around €100/week.

Recently, Tommy got the concrete floors in the shed grooved and at the front of the shed, where cows go to milk is where the slatted tank is, the slats are fitted with rubber mats that came from Belgium. In this area, water troughs can be found along with a robotic scraper.

The shed currently has the capacity to hold between 350,000-450,000 gallons of slurry which Tommy says is spread using low emission slurry spreading (LESS) equipment on the farm and is readily available to use with the help of a slurry aeration system.

Robotic milking

The move to robotic milking was one Tommy had his mind made up on from an early stage and to get a greater insight into not only how robots worked, but also what cow type would also suit him and the farm, he visited a number of farms, particularly in Northern Ireland.

Originally, the idea was to potentially go with a herd of Holstein Friesian cows. However, through further research, Tommy’s head turned towards Fleckviehs.

From here he went about importing Fleckvieh cows and heifers from Austria. These cows are being milked through two Lely Astronaut A5s sourced from Lely Center Mullingar, who Tommy also sourced his Lely Vector from.

Of 104 cows milked over the last year, 92 were first lactation and the herd is on target to produce 7000kg of milk and over 500kg of milk solids.

Tommy has been impressed with the cows’ temperament, robustness and most importantly, their performance to date. He said he is excited to see how the cows perform in the future as the herd matures.

Cows at the time of Agriland’s visit were averaging 2.7 milkings/day and producing, on average, 24L and currently 242 days, on average, in milk.

He added that the move to robotics for the cows and his team has been seamless.

Tommy said that of the cows on the farm, only 10 had seen a robot before and the rest of the mature cows and heifers have taken to the robotic system well.

A nice feature of the build is actually behind the robots where two footbaths, one for each robot, were constructed that are actually outside the shed – which cows can walk through when diverted by the robot and enter back into the shed.

While in his office looking over the entire shed, Tommy spoke about the information he can get from his cows from the robots.

This information not only tells you about how your cows are doing he said, but also that robotic milking frees up time for the team to focus on other jobs – which is a massive benefit.

Tommy said that the farm manager, Eddie, spends 20 minutes every morning on the computer, checking on the cows and making sure everything is okay.

Eddie said that the time he has now to focus on jobs and ensuring the system is running at 100% is so much more that he said that when the sucklers were on the farm that he was busier and “constantly chasing his tail”.

Automatic feeding system

When speaking about what he is doing on the farm, Tommy spoke about consistency and importance of it.

One area he said was key in having consistent was that of his cows’ diet.

This saw Tommy invest in an automatic feeding system, the Lely Vector.

This machine has its own shed designated to it on the farm and is like another employee on the farm, carrying out a vital job on what is already a high-output dairy system.

The Lely Vector is set up to the side of the main cubicle shed. In order to take feed from the pits, Tommy invested in a silage cutter which takes almost inch perfect cuts from each pit.

Once feed is taken from the pit it is left in the kitchen, with individual sections in the shed for different feeds.

For example, in Tommy’s kitchen he has a section for grass silage, maize silage and straw as well.

In Tommy’s case, the task of filling up the kitchen with feed takes 25-30 minutes, twice a week. The robot then does the rest and is on the go 24 hours a day, seven days a week and makes its rounds around the unit every 40 minutes.

Before getting a feed mix ready, the vector scans the shed to see what animals need feed and if there is any feed leftover from the last deposit, it pushes it in closer to the feedface for the cattle to finish it up.

Once it knows it has to get a mix ready it stations itself in the ready area where a feed grabber takes up the required amount of bulky feed – by moving side to side across the various feeds – from the kitchen and loads it into the robot.

In this ready area where the robot is being loaded, augers are connected here to add any concentrate feed or, minerals to the mix.

From then, the feed is mixed and ready to be fed out. The vector is able to move from its loading area around the shed where the cattle are using tracks which are basically metal strips that go where the farmer wants the robot to go.

With cows in milk, on the point of calving and also dry cows, the vector is able to make up different diets to meet the requirements Tommy and farm manager Eddie have set out for the cows.

When the robot is feeding out along the passageway it is able to recognise and adjust its positioning when depositing feed to avoid coming into contact with the cows or even a person or vehicle.

Storage for 2,500t of silage

As well as expanding the accommodation on the farm, Tommy also looked at increasing his winter fodder storage.

Up until last year, two pits side by side were on the farm to hold winter fodder for the suckler cows.

However, as the farm has now moved to a predominately indoor system, more feed storage was required and as such, three more silage slabs, built side by side were constructed.

The farm has now capacity to hold 2,500t of across the five pits.

Existing handling and calving facilities

Tommy didn’t have to convert all of his existing sheds and facilites to make the move to dairy.

Right beside where the cubicle area and robots are is a fine handling setup based off Dr. Temple Grandin’s work on cattle handling facilities.

The handling area consists of a number of pens, a 360° circular forcing pen, a curved shute leading to the front of the crush, which is covered on both sides by stockboarding. The head of the crush was fitted with a cattlemaster iDRAFT system.

On the other side of the passageway from the handling facilities are six calving pens fitted with calving gates, slip through points between each pen and headlocking barriers.

On the opposite side of the wall to the calving pens are where the dry cows are housed on solid concrete floors that are bedded with peat.

There is also a calf shed on the farm, located just off the main shed where the cows in milk and dry cows are.

Further expansion

As mentioned, Tommy had to re-jig his once suckler shed to accommodate his Fleckvieh cows in order to have cubicles for them.

However, the plan is to recreate the cubicle shed he has now and to end up having 200 cubicles and space to house his youngstock.

At the time of Agriland’s visit, work had already started on adding more cubicles, while the site where the slurry will be stored had begun, with the next task being to start pouring concrete.

The end goal between the existing shed and once the extension is complete to the new one (which will be a carbon copy of the exisitng shed) is to have all stock on the farm under the one roof and have slurry storage for nine months of the year.

Tommy said the plan is to have slurry storage for 1.1 million gallons of slurry when all the building work is completed.

By the time the building work is completed, Tommy believes the overall project will stand to him at €1.6 million.

Consistency and work-life balance

Tommy is a big believer in technology and in his move to dairy is aiming to be the most automated farm in the country.

The reason for this is not to just show this is the case, he strives for perfection in what he does and doesn’t do anything without ensuring he can justify doing it, that the end result will be one that is merited.

Two of the main points Tommy made when it came to placing such faith in technology on his farm was, in terms of the farm’s performance, was having consistency and optimizing what they are striving to achieve.

The second was ensuring a proper work-life balance where those working on the farm work 8:00a.m to 6:00p.m, Monday to Friday, and have only to come in at the weekend to check to see is everything okay.

Tommy said: “I do everything by the book here, always did and I don’t leave no stone unturned in achieving that. I saw a farm that was making a loss of a period and told myself I had to change something.

“In the space of a year, the farm has turned on its head and is performing very strong financially which is being helped by a strong milk price currently.

“The team here are much more relaxed and happier since the change and I myself am over the moon with how it’s going so far.”

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The interest in smaller rotaries is on the rise, as the labour situation on farms worsens, and to combat this farmers are looking to improve on what they have already.

This is what Paul Geaney, sales manager for Waikato, told Agriland at the National Ploughing Championships (NPC) in Ratheniska, Co. Laois last week.

Speaking to Agriland, Geaney said: “It’s been a great year for milk prices, and we have seen at here [at the NPC] and we’ve had a number of people coming in asking us about price of stuff and if there’s big changes.

“The big thing we have noticed over the few days [is] people coming into us enquiring about smaller rotaries. There’s been a massive increase in interest around them.”

Geaney believes that labour has a large part to play in this trend.

“The biggest issue out there at the moment is getting labour on farms,” he continued.

“At the minute, many are weighing up what to do with the price of everything gone up, but with the milk prices being positive, in the next year or so we feel, sales will improve.

“There’s a shortage of labour out there, especially skilled labour and it’s becoming a massive issue.

“This has led to an even greater uptake in technology. Over the few days at the NPC, there’s been farmers looking for prices on upgrades such as milk meters, herd management systems, feed-to-yield.

“Farmers want to know what they’re cows are doing when they off-farm themselves.

“Before, the only customers we would have seen for the larger projects would have been commercial farms with two or three herds.

“But at the NPC we have seen an uptake in a lot of family farms coming in, with herds in size of 150 cows, where they are a bit tired of milking cows and can’t get help and just want a bit of a break from it.

“The smaller rotaries are definitely growing in interest. The walking is a big thing for farmers, up and down a pit and cows standing around a yard for too long.

“Most will price the highest-spec rotary, but depending on their budget, it might not suit and as a result will start basic and gradually add on to it in the future.

“In terms of sizes of rotaries 40-50 bail ones would be the most common in Ireland.

“For a herd of 150 cows say, a 34-36 bail rotary would be the most common and back to a 30-bail, which we are seeing a lot of moving.

“At the minute, with TAMS [Targeted Agricultural Modernisation Scheme] running out, farmers are trying to maximise what they have, because the last few years, the availability of these grants has been huge and brilliant.

“But now they are looking down the line in five years’ time what will future potential grants entail and if they will consist of such as upgrades in milking technology for example.

“Expansion seems to have levelled and farmers are now looking more towards how they can make their lives easier.”

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At the National Ploughing Championships (NPC) this year, there was a little something for everyone to feast their eyes on.

Coming into the back end of the year now, although it’s while away yet, interest tends to rise in calf-rearing facilities as calving time gets closer.

On a walk around of the site, Agriland spoke to UK-founded company Buitelaar about its mobile calf unit as calving edges closer.

Speaking to Agriland, Myles Fitzgerald of Buitelaar Group said: “The mobile calf unit standing in front of us is known as ‘high health unit’.

“It has been developed over six years on a development farm in the UK.

“The 6m front x 4m depth size allows for 8-10 calves/bay to be housed up to 12 weeks of age.

“We have been getting feedback, beyond belief, with daily liveweight gains of 1.15kg/day and a reduction in antibiotic usage based on trial work carried out from it.”

The shed itself consists of polypropylene walls, panels and a non-drip insulated steel roof with a gap between the eaves and the wall partitions at the back of unit, to increase airflow in and out of the unit.

It has a galvanised steel framework offering an angled roof with an overhang to create a stack effect and consists of easy-to-clean panelling.

At the front is a feed barrier with a feeding trough incorporated onto it.

The cost of the three-bay unit on show at the NPC is standing at €16,500 plus VAT.

It’s bolted down on a hardcore or concrete base with two people able to fit it within a day, Myles said.

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Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue has today (Tuesday, September 27) announced details of his department’s 2023 budget, which includes an increase in the Targeted Agricultural Modernisation Scheme (TAMS) budget to €90 million.

The 2023 Estimates provide an agreed gross funding package of €2.14 billion for the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM).

The minister has said that this is the highest ever level of funding for the department, and represents an increase of €283 million on the 2022 provision, or a 13% increase overall, to support farmers, fishers, and rural and coastal communities.

Speaking this afternoon, Minister McConalogue said: “This budget supports farm families dealing with the immediate and ongoing fallout of the illegal invasion of Ukraine.

“It also lays the groundwork for strategic supports for the sector over the next five years, through the new €10 billion CAP [Common Agricultural Policy] Strategic Plan. 

“The budget delivers large-scale funding to drive the sector’s environmental ambition, helping improve both on-farm sustainability as well as farmer incomes.

“I have secured up to €500 million in 2023 to support farmers in their efforts to tackle the challenges in climate, biodiversity and water quality. This is real money for real farm families,” the minister added.

TAMS, solar supports and anaerobic digestion

The measures in Budget 2023 include funding for 30,000 places in a new flagship Agri Climate Rural Environment Scheme (ACRES).

“This is largest ever agri-environment scheme ever run by my department. Using a habitats-based approach, delivered through both prescription and results-based actions, ACRES will contribute to improving biodiversity, climate, air and water quality outcomes,” Minister McConalogue added.

The agriculture minister also referred to a range of other measures to support environmental action at farm level.

The minister continued: “I am introducing an €8 million grant aid scheme to support the spreading of lime as well as an enhanced Multi-Species Sward / Red Clover scheme. These will help farmers deal with rising fertiliser prices and move towards the reduction of chemical fertiliser.

“I have also secured an increase in the TAMS budget to €90 million, to fund the proposed large-scale investment in on-farm renewables for farmers, subject to the approval of the European Commission.

“This will help fund the proposed increase to 60% grant rate and a standalone investment ceiling of €90,000 for solar installation. As an immediate step, farm dwellings are now eligible for inclusion for solar panel investments,” he added.

An amendment to the Rural Development Programme (RDP) is also expected to be submitted to the European Commission for approval in the coming weeks.

The minister also said that he would be allocating €3 million in Budget 2023 for each of the next four years, a total of €12 million, to kick-start a farm-based anaerobic digestion sector in Ireland.

Referring to this initiative McConalogue said: “The establishment of a renewable heat obligation will be critical to the success of this initiative, and I am working closely in partnership with the Minister for Environment, Climate Action and Communications to realise the potential of this sector.”

BEEP-S, organics and forestry

Separately, the minister said that he would be seeking EU Commission approval for a new scheme to continue the beef welfare measures which were previously funded under Beef Environmental Efficiency Programme (BEEP-S).

This new scheme will sit alongside the new €150/cow Suckler Carbon Efficiency Scheme, and a €20 million Sheep Welfare Scheme, to support farm incomes and encourage improved environmental and animal welfare outcomes.

Minister McConalogue continued: “I continue to stand by our beef and sheep farmers. I am pleased to maintain the budget for targeted beef and sheep supports of over €100 million.

“This funding will help to alleviate the impact of increased input costs, while also supporting animal health and welfare, and further improving the carbon efficiency of our grass-based and quality assured beef and lamb.

“Beef and sheep farmers will also be well placed to benefit from the enhanced supports for fodder aid, for environmental measures and the supports available for farmers transitioning to organic farming.

“I am also excited about seeing the continuation of the €10 million Tillage Incentive Scheme in 2023. The tillage sector is one that I believe in and I want to see it grow in the time ahead,” he added.

Commenting on the allocations to her areas of responsibility, Minister of State with responsibility for land use and biodiversity, Pippa Hackett said:

“In my own areas of responsibility, I am delighted to have secured the largest-ever budget for organic farming. Funding for this scheme has been increased to €37 million – an 80% increase on last year as we work towards our target of tripling the area of land under organic production by the end of 2027.

“I’ve also secured increased funding for forestry, so that we can build on the ongoing work to reform our forestry system since this government took office.

“This work is by no means finished, and we are currently finalising a new Forest Strategy and a new Forestry Programme for Ireland, which will see supports for a closer-to-nature model of forestry.

“We have also secured a substantial increase in funding for locally led environmental schemes, to just under €18 million. This will fund a large-scale water quality scheme on farms, as well as a new call for new EIPs [European Innovation Partnership] in Q1 2023 on biodiversity, climate, rural environment, and farm safety.”

€13.3 million has also been allocated for an extension to the Farm Environmental Scheme, as well as funding for the Soil Sampling Scheme for another year.

Minister of State with special responsibility for farm safety, Martin Heydon added: “I have prioritised extra resources for farm safety, increasing the dedicated budget to €2.5 million.

“In addition to a further rollout of our farmer health and wellbeing programme On Feirm Ground, I intend to focus on getting more physical safety investments onto farms,” he continued.

Agri-taxation in Budget 2023

Referring to the agri-taxation package that complemented his department’s spending, Minister McConalogue added:

“I am delighted that we could agree a new Accelerated Capital Allowance for Slurry Storage.

“This will help drive further improvements in slurry storage and management as water quality coupled with improved nutrient-use efficiency and reduce dependence on expensive artificial fertilisers.

“Ultimately, this will help reduce emissions. This measure is a strong signal of this government’s commitment to supporting farmers in improving environmental sustainability; and I urge farmers to make use of the three-year window agreed for this initiative, which will be available from 2023 to 2025.”

The government has also agreed on the renewal of tax reliefs including Stamp Duty Relief for Young Trained Farmers and Stock Relief.

“I want to continue to facilitate the transfer of land and holdings on to the next generation in a manner than works for all parties,” McConalogue continued.

“The renewal of Capital Gains Tax Relief for Farm Restructuring and Stamp Duty Relief for Farm Consolidation encourage the consolidation of farm holdings, reducing fragmentation and improving the operation and viability of farms.

“The government has provided welcome supports in response to the current cost-of-living crisis. The continuation of the reduction of excise duty on agricultural diesel to nil is merited and will alleviate costs for the sector.”

Budget 2023 energy and business support

The Temporary Business Energy Support Scheme (TBESS) is aimed at providing important support farmers and food businesses.

Qualifying businesses, whose average unit gas or electricity price has risen by over 50% compared to their average unit price in 2021, can apply to Revenue for a cash payment, which will be calculated as 40% of the excess of the 2022 bill over the 2021 bill, capped at €10,000/month/business.

Minister McConalogue added: “Access to finance is a crucial business need and, as well as liaising with the main banks on issues relating to the agri-food sector, I have worked closely with the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment and Minister [for Finance, Paschal] Donohoe on this issue.

“I am happy to announce with the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment (DETE) the development of a new long-term lending scheme.

“The agri-food sector has a demonstrated capacity to plan for the long-term even while grappling with more immediate challenges and the new proposed €500 million ‘Growth and Sustainability Loan Scheme’ (GSLS) will facilitate strategic investment by farmers, fishers and food businesses which will ensure their continued viability and sustainability into the future,” the agriculture minister added.

The minister added that the government is also working on a Ukraine Credit Guarantee Scheme to assist businesses, including farmers, fishers and food businesses in meeting their liquidity and investment needs.

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News of a levy on concrete, and a scheme which will aid farmers in the construction of slurry storage, which were announced by Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe as part of Budget 2023 today (Tuesday, September 27), will be of most interest to farmers across the country.

The one which is provoking the most concern is the levy on concrete, which is expected to be rolled out next spring, coming at a time where the cost of building materials is already deterring farmers from investing in new builds.

Speaking in the Dáil today as he announced Budget 2023, Minister Donohoe said: “Earlier this year the government agreed a comprehensive redress scheme for those homeowners who have been affected by the issue of defective products used in the building of their homes.

“This redress scheme comes with a significant cost and therefore, I am bringing forward a levy on concrete blocks, pouring concrete and certain other concrete products.

“The levy is expected to raise €80 million annually and will be applied from April 3, 2023 at a rate of 10%.”

The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) has not yet clarified if this levy will apply to materials for all new buildings, or whether agricultural infrastructure will be exempt.

Slurry scheme

On the other hand, some positive news for farmers was the announcement by the Minister for Finance of a “time limited” scheme to aid farmers in the construction of slurry storage.

Commenting on this, the Minister Donohoe said: “I am making provision in the budget for a time-limited scheme of accelerated capital allowances for farmers for the construction of modern slurry storage facilities.

“This will assist the sector in further adopting environmentally positive farming practices.”

Agriland has sought clarity on the timeframe for such slurry storage building and whether the funding support could be applied to projects which has just been initiated.

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With the National Ploughing Championships behind us now, and the dark evenings firmly setting in, thoughts should be turning to preparing for the winter ahead.

Although housing might be a while away yet for some farms, others will be soon nearing that point, particularly those on heavier ground.

Despite winters the last few years being that bit milder, the sight of cattle in sheds in October is still a frequent sight.

Therefore, thoughts should be centred towards getting the farmyard, in particular any housing, ready for the winter period.

Preparing for winter

One job to get done, which is often put on the long finger, is power washing sheds. This helps to eliminate any diseases that may still be present from last year.

It is also a good way of identifying any damage in the shed, in particular showing any slats in the shed that may be damaged.

Ensuring all water troughs are working properly is another job to complete. Ensuring there are no leaks is a must, and the best thing to do is to clean out troughs, especially those that haven’t been used since cattle were in the shed last, and examine them for damage.

Those with automatic scrapers should at this time, ensure they are working properly and that all fixtures in the shed are in good working order, including gates, feed barriers and cubicles, as well as lights.

Outside the shed, ensure manhole covers are in suitable condition and if damaged, replace them.

Also, look to any eve gutters and down-pipes that may need to be repaired or replaced or if there are any blockages.

More and more farmers are making use of this rainwater and as such, are setting up a rainwater harvesting system with simply one or two intermediate bulk container (IBC) tanks and a few pipes and connecting them up to the troughs inside the shed to supply water.

The list of jobs compiled above may seem a lot, however not all will need to be done on every farm.

Therefore, one of the evenings, sit down, make a list of what needs attention and get a start before it’s too late and cattle are in the shed.

An untidy farmyard is asking for trouble. A safe, tidy farmyard will help to reduce the risk of farm accidents. Always think: Safety first.

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