13 hours ago
Sustainable gains: Clover success for Co. Limerick dairy farmer
Irish livestock farming is evolving and farmers are embracing solutions to drive both profitability and sustainability.
Niall Moloney is a multi-award-winning dairy farmer working alongside his father, Gerry, in Crecora, Co. Limerick. The 2018 Teagasc Young Grassland Farmer of the Year, Niall was then crowned Germinal Responsible Grassland Manager of the Year at the 2023 National Dairy Awards after showcasing his talent for sustainable dairy farming.
Having been farming on almost 97ha over three blocks, Niall and his father acquired an additional 15ha to bring the total area farmed to 112ha over four blocks. By September 2024, they had grown their herd to 170 cows on a 51ha platform.
Understanding soil fertility is foundational
For Niall, understanding and nurturing soil fertility is crucial.
He explained: 'We soil test every year, that's non-negotiable. Over the years, soil fertility will drop in some fields where you don't expect it to, and you can react a lot quicker and get those fields back to optimising growing grass again.
'I even pick grasses for different types of soil in different places on the farm,' he explains.
This meticulous approach ensures that every paddock is performing at its best, laying the groundwork for producing quality grass and forage.
Niall estimates that 60% of the farm is on dry, free-draining soil, while the remainder is on heavier, more peaty soils.
Clover supports self-sufficiency
Faced with increasing input costs and soaring fertiliser prices, and the uncertainties around the Nitrates Directive derogation, Niall turned to Germinal's Climate Smart clover mixtures to help him reduce chemical inputs and boost sustainability, while maintaining output and performance.
'We're trying to use clover as much as we can to reduce chemical nitrogen inputs, and it does work.
'In the past, when spreading first-cut silage, you were using an awful lot of fertiliser. With red clover silage, we've pretty much erased that.
'The results speak for themselves. You notice it straight away at the end of the year, especially when fertiliser was rising to €1,000 per tonne,' Niall said.
Germinal's technical director, Dr. Mary McEvoy, highlights the impact: 'Clover has a lot to offer. We can maintain our improved quality of the feed, but the real win is the ability of clover to fix nitrogen, reducing the need we have for nitrogen fertiliser.
'The Department of Agriculture in Ireland continues to prioritise reducing emissions and using clover on farms.
'Farmers are responding and we are seeing a major uptake in the number of mixtures we are being asked for with a higher clover content compared to the past.'
As part of the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) Red Clover Silage Measure, Niall sowed a Germinal mixture across 16ac in 2022.
Seeing the results, Niall sowed an additional 30ac in 2023. In a good year, he can produce 15t/ha of red clover silage.
When reseeding with a red clover mixture, Niall aims for early April to get a quicker turnaround time.
He completes two runs with the disc and uses a power harrow with a seedbox for sowing.
Sustainable grassland tips
When discussing the concept of performance plus sustainability, Niall explains that both are required if farmers are to be profitable and climate smart.
Here's what Niall is doing to reduce emissions on-farm:
Start from the ground up and soil test every year.
Maintain correct soil pH with a liming programme.
Only apply fertilisers where they are needed.
Reseed underperforming fields with clover to maximise grass growth.
Cut back on nitrogen fertiliser once clover is established, and particularly when temperatures rise and clovers are fixing nitrogen.
Low emission slurry spreading – once permitted, get slurry out early under the right ground conditions.
Use protected urea for an early top dressing of nitrogen.
Performance plus sustainability
Germinal has just launched five new Climate Smart seed mixture ranges designed to deliver on performance and sustainability for Irish grassland farmers.
Niall is using Germinal's Red Clover Silage mixture from the Climate Smart RESTORE range.
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