Today, Brad and I started our day at an equine farm.  David and his wife raise show jumper horses for the European Market.  Ireland has a long history of breeding and working with horses.  Many jockeys for horse races are Irish.

We spent our afternoon at the BETTER BEEF FARM Walk on the farm of Richard Williams.  Richard entered the BETTER BEEF Program as he was transitioning from part time farming to full time farming.  Richard’s herd is unique as he has been using primarily angus bulls for many years.  Richard uses angus for their calving ease, but states he prefers limousine or simmental cows.  The BETTER BEEF FARM Walk is basically an open house with all financial records and everything being down on the farm being shared with the public.  Several advisors work with Richard to help increase his income and provide direction.  Richard has worked on decreasing his calving internal, improving his herd through AI, focused on spraying dock out of his fields, and finishing some of his own calves for slaughter.

Brad and I are both certified nutrient management planners, so we started our day with one of TEAGASC’s nutrient management, Michael Quinn.  Michael showed us the system that TEAGASC uses.  In Ireland, farmers who are want to intensive must have a nutrient management plan.  When farmers produce more then 179 kg of nitrogen per ha or when they have .81 cows per acre then they must have a nutrient management plan and they are regulated to follow it.  Farmers must have soil samples done with a sample done for about every 5 ha, turn in records for fertilizer and slurry applications, records for feed inputs, and they must also turn in receipts.  Farmers can be inspected at any time and receipts will be checked at that time to make sure they match.  Those farmers who produce less then 175 kg of nitrogen per ha are not regulated, but they must have a nutrient management plan.  They could be inspected if there is a problem or if their name is pulled out of the lottery system.

Brad and I then took some time at lunch to visit Mullingar Pewter Factory.

Then we traveled to the farm of Billy Small for a beef discussion group facilitated by David.  Billy is a full time farmer with his son Jason.  They have sucker cows, finish some of their calves for the factory, sheep, and grow spring barley.  The farm is about 200 acres with primarily ryegrass, but also some meadow grasses as well.   Billy has dominately saler cows with some crossed with charolais.  He has a charolais bull and a Belgium blue cross bull. The discussion group discussed the situation with sillage and rainy weather in recent weeks and the Euro Star reports that they all just received.  Ireland currently has a new scheme (program) for farmer to get a certain percentage of their herd genomic tested and also they have rated the farmers herd based on euro value each cow adds back to the farm.  This is very similar to the EPD of $BEEF in the U.S.   Through this report, farmers can make better management decisions.  Brad and I also talked about the Virginia’s cow-calf systems and the differences in our grazing heights.  Ireland’s grazing system is mainly based on perennial ryegrass and graze grass very tight.  In Virginia using tall fescue and orchard grass, we recommend grazing till about 3 inches is left as the plants’s carbohydrate storage is in that section of the plant needed for regrowth.

After the discussion group, we were able to see inside of the church beside the farm with his son Jason.  The church was built in 1659, but records show that a place of workshop had been at the site since 900s.

Today, we started our day at Imperial Tobacco! Yes, that’s right tobacco!  Spending my childhood and some of my adult life growing tobacco and working with tobacco farmers as an Extension Agent walking into the factory smelled like home!  Imperial Tobacco is based primarily in Europe and unfortunately does not use any United States tobacco.  However, they acquire their leaf from several different countries including Brazil, China, India, Laos, and many others.  The plant in Mullingar makes tobacco for rolling your own cigarettes and their most popular brand name is called Golden Virginia (Wonderful marketing name!).  The manager of the plant gave us a good tour of the facility and I enjoyed comparing the industry in Europe to the United States.

We then traveled to meet John Hardy, TEAGASC Advisor, who was holding a special discussion group focused  on grassland management.  Participants measure their field pre and post grazing and turn their numbers into John.  John loads them into a system TEAGASC designed call Pasture Base that keeps up with their yields and output.  Farmers meet on each other farms and discuss the issues they are having, review their grass wedges (Pasture Base print out), and make suggestions for each other.  While on farm, John has them eye ball or guess specific field’s grass yield standing and then measures it by using a .5 m by .5 m square cutting the grass and weighing.  He then coverts it to per ha yield.  This gives farmers a chance to calibrate their eye.  On that day, the group met on Gerry Falon’s farm who has a dairy and grazes 185 cows on 60 ha (148.2 acres).  Yes, his stocking rate is 1.2 cows per acre and they are not getting much outside feed sources.  Gerry focuses on good grassland management and making grass sillage.  He grazes the cows in 2 ha paddocks giving them one day or day and half before moving them again.  Gerry has determined he has to make 1.5 bales of sillage per cow to winter them from November till February.  He does have them dry off for two months and starts calving in February.

From John’s group, we traveled to meet the Lakeland Sheep Group that David Webster facilitates.  The discussion group that functions similar to the grass group only they focus on sheep production.  We met on Gordan and Yvonne Johnson’s farm who have Texel cross sheep.  The couple was the 2014 Sheep Farmer of the Year for Ireland and have a stocking rate of 10 ewes per ha (4 ewes per acre).  The farmers discussed marketing, weaning, status of sillage production, and several other issues that they were having.  Also, everyone in the group opened up about their situation and tried to help others having issues.  Discussion groups typically have 14 to 18 producers in them and in Ireland many have been meeting for almost 20 years.

This morning Brad and I met with Christy Jones, TEAGASC Drystock Advisor, to visit several local farms.  He works in the Mullingar Office with David Webster.  We started our day at the farm of Christie Tormey who buys heifers at around 470 kg (1,036 lbs) and grazes/feeds them till slaughter.  He is a Quality Assuarnce Producers and receives several premiums from Kepak.  He has divided his farm into 3 ha paddocks.  The heifers graze with little use of nuts (concentrates).  The heifers will spend 9 to 10 months on his farm.  In the U.S., we must slaughter under 24 months old with 18 months preferred due to Asian markets and concerns about disease.  Ireland animals need be slaughtered by 30 months old giving farmers the opportunity to finish them on grass instead of grain.  His heifers will finish out at around 760 kg (1,700 lbs) and have a 389 kg (855.8 lbs) carcass weight.  The grading system in Europe is less dependent on ribeye area and marbling.  They focus more on muscling, yield, and desire lean meat.  Most of Christie’s heifer will grade a U, which is the top grade for muscling.  Christie believes fully in using lime and reseeds some part of his farm every year.  Ireland uses perennial ryegrass has their dominant forage with many varieities breed by TEAGASC.  TEAGASC even uses something similar to a grazing stick, but it looks more like a ruler.  Perennial ryegrass does not get as tall as the forages we typically use in Virginia.  Christie has very good understanding of cattle handling and his heifers where the calmest cows I believe I have ever seen to only be grazing.

Next, we traveled to visit an intensive dairy.  Ciaran Seery and his father, Seamous, both operate the 118 cow dairy on 31 ha (76.6 acres).  Yes, that’s right they have stocking rate of 1.5 cows per acre!  The farm does it mainly on grass and uses Friesian cows.   Friesians are smaller then Holsteins, but are heavy millers.  It takes the family 1 hour to milk the herd in their new palor that they installed in 2009.  The cows do receive about 2 kg of grain during milking in normal weather and 4-5 kg of grain in the winter months.  The whole herd is turned off dry for two months and the they calve all in a 13 week time frame.  They artificially breed most of their herd, but use an Angus bull for cleanup.  The cows are giving about 23 liters of milk a day  with a season average of about 5,000 liters. The farm makes grass sillage and cure the sillage in a pit similar to Virginia.  They also make haylage and wrap bales.  In Virignia, we use white plastic to reflect heat, but in Ireland they use black to help keep heat in.  The family uses the official eid tags, but also freeze brand their cattle.  You can tell each cow as they come and go!

Lastly, we went to the farm of Mike and Heather Scott.  They have 25 beef cows and 100 sheep.  The family has also been involved heavily in stud thoroughbred racing horses.  Their walls are covered in awards for horses.  Mike is also involved with Bothar, which is a group that raising money to buy bred dairy heifers to send to Romania and other similar countries.  Those who receive these animals must then pass another heifer on to someone else in need.  The group funds about 50 heifers every year.  He will be going to Romania himself soon to help with the project.  Mike is involved with several environmental schemes (programs) offered by the government.  He keeps his farm mainly in traditional meadow and does not use mineral fertilizers.  He gets a payment of 300 euro per ha for this.  He also has planted spruce on his farm and receives 250 euro per ha for 20 years.  Mike also has planted oats, barley, and linseed for wild birds and get 900 euro per ha for that project as well.  Mike loves his animals and one of his greatest sorrows was the lost of his herd to BSE (mad cow disease) about 12 years ago.  When the disease was discovered on his farm, he was not allowed to keep any of his stock.  He was able to buy back a heifer from a cow he sold to someone and he keeps her as a reminder of his old herd.

Today, we spent the afternoon with David and his family (Pam-wife, Johnny (oldest), Mark (second oldest), Sarah (third oldest), and Jessica (the baby).  We ate at Tyrrellspass Castle for lunch.  The castle is now a restaurant, but the castle itself dates back to 1411.

We then traveled to Killbeggan Distillery, which is the oldest licensed distillery in Ireland.  The original distillery is now a museum and new section does craft whiskey.  Brad wants one of the barrels to take home with him.  He is trying to work on the process to get that through customs.

Then we spent rest of the afternoon bowling with the family!!  Sarah is being recruited to become a Lee County 4-Her!!

Today, Bran and I travel to Dublin.  The train was packed and the city was full of people for a special parade.  We went to Guiness first and was able to enjoy lunch overlooking the city.

We then tried to go see the Books of Kell, but the line was huge and we would have missed our train!! Trinity College’s campus was lovely though.

After getting back to Mullingar, we ate dinner and David picked us up for a tour of his farms.  David has 170 ewes mainly Belclare (breed developed by TEAGASC).  He primarily uses Texel Rams.

David Webster, TEAGASC Advisor who visited us in Virginia, has now brought us to Mullingar to his area.  We woke up to the announcement that England voted to leave the EU and spent rest of the day listening to everyone being very concerned what this would mean for Ireland.

We had a busy and rainy day!  We started our day at a mushroom farm visiting Pascal Seery and his son Shane.  They have 6 tunnels and grow white mushrooms for primarily export market.  Most of his mushrooms go to the UK and due to the drop in currency he will immediately receive a decrease in pay.  In late 1980s and 1990s, a big push for mushroom farming took place.  At one time in Ireland, there was over 1,000 mushroom farmers.  Due to efficiencys and markets, now there is only 75 in Ireland.  The Seery Family employs 30 people for labor picking and they sell 10 different sizes of mushrooms.  The farm has to have four different adults including Global GAP.  They sell to TELSCO, Wal-Mart of the U.K. & Ireland, who require their own inspectors to come do inspections.  In addition to mushrooms, the family also finishes bulls for slaughter.

Next, we traveled to the Kepak Meat Processing Plant. In Ireland, slaughter takes places separately from the processing and packaging of meat.  The company has 4 different facilties for processing meat.  They work directly with farmers and have an excellent traceability system.  Animals will carry an identifation number with them from birth all the way to the packaging floor.  Growers receive feed back on how well their animals did in processing.  The company is focused on exports as 90% of the beef in Ireland is exported and 70% of the sheep.  Majority of their export market is the United Kingdom and one major buyers is TELSCO. The company is still family owned, but does 800 million euros of business in a year.  The company has had issues acquired skilled butchers and has been sourcing workers from Brazil and Poland.  To enter the facility, we had to dress into their clothing and boots, wash our hands, allow a machine put alcohol on our hands, and walk through a foot bath.  Unfortunately, I was not allowed to take pictures inside the plant!! However, the plant was amazing and has a wonderful set up.

We then traveled to visit Willie Fox who participates in one of David’s discussion groups and his nephew Huge.  Willie has 300 ewes and 80 ewe lambs for replacements. He sells directly to Kepak and participates in their Quality Assurance Program.  In their program, he receives a premium, but does have to have inspections from the company.  Ireland has more regulations for farmers then compared to the U.S.  Growers must tag and register every animal born on their farm.  They also are not allowed to dispose of a dead animal themselves.  Willie’s paperwork and level of management for the premium is as much as vegetable and fruit producers in U.S.  Willie has to keep records on everything from where he bought inputs with copies or receipts, paperwork showing he took dead animals to proper disposal facility, paperwork showing he properly disposed of needles, vet records signed by the vet, and about anything else you can think of.  He also has to keep things  storage in a specific way with a separate refrigerator for medications, separate area and sign for any other medications that do not require medications, and proper running water.   Willie also has a fantastic trailer for his sheep that even has a compartment to collect all urine and manure when traveling.

Finally, we traveled to meet Frank Seery (Pascal’s brother) who raises bull beef very intensively.  Frank finishes 400 bulls a year at his farm that is 148 acres.  Bull beef is preferred in many European markets compared to steers due to leanness.  Bulls can be aggressive and the system can be hard to do correctly.  Frank has been doing bull beef for 10 years and sells directly to the Kepak plant.  He buys weaned bull calves and grazes the bulls for 120 days then finishes them inside his sheds for another 120 days.  Instead of feeding them sillage/haylage, Frank cuts fresh grass everyday to feed to the bulls in sheds.   They also receive a mixture of rolled barley, soybean mill, and disterllers grain in the sheds.  Frank keeps his bulls in groups of 20 to 25  and groups them based on size to lower the amount of aggression.  Frank also deals with inspections and intensive paperwork.

Today, we travel with additional EUFRAS participants to visit Killarney National Park.  The area is surround by beautiful mountains and look a lot like home!  We took a carriage ride to the ruins of the castle then got on a boat to tour the lake.  Our driver of the carriage informed us that “The park has two different types of deer. Males and females!”  I saw my first swan on a lake!!  It was awesome to get to talk more to other participants especially those from Germany.   Germany is probably the second biggest supporter of EUFRAS. They are hosting next years conference and brought around 85 people to the conference.

Brad and I spent the day at the EUFRAS Conference in various workshops.  I participated first in “Connecting with hard to reach farms.”  The speaker Jim Kinsella from University College Dublin presented some recent research from TEAGASC.  They have found that typically 1/3 of farms in their country are very active with advisory service, 1/3 of farms are moderate with primarily coming to open days and asking for a few things, and 1/3 who do not use the service.  The biggest groups found not to be using their services include elderly farmers, young farmers with off farm jobs, and women.  We shared experiences from our own countries then broke into groups to answer basic questions of how we in our own countries deal with similar issues.  One questions was should we try to reach the 1/3 that does not use services?  Some believed we shouldn’t and some pointed out that for the common good we had to for the health and strength of the industry.  Many countries charge for their services and proposed that free service would help their situations.  It was interesting to them for me to explain that Virginia Cooperative Extension is free to the farms and that taking an educated guess that the 1/3 estimate would be similar to us.

Brad and I both participated in the “Farm Succession Planning” workshop.  Thomas Curran from TEAGASC presented programs that he administrates for farm transition. The average Irish farmer is 57 years old (sound familiar).  In Ireland, farmers can enter into formal farm partnerships with a successor and receive many benefits.  The farm and operation is still owned by the orginial farmer, but there is a plan in place that in minimum of 5 years for the successor to slowly take on more responsibility and eventually make it completely legal.  They have 1,500 registered this year for the program.  The farms who participate can receive tax brakes and increase farm payments. TEAGASC organizes clinics to encourage succession planning and has a guidebook. We were broke up into groups to answer questions about how we are handling back in our countries and what common issues that we found.  It was amazing when an advisor from Italy described almost exactly what we have seen in Virginia.  He stated that in Italy the value-added farms with high in crops like vineyards, dairies, and produce often had no issue with succession as many family members could live off the farm income.  Those farms who are profitable, but not profitable enough for additional family to live off the income are the major area of concern.  The younger generation would have to wait till the parents could afford to retire leaving younger generation to find other opportunities.  The last group are farms that are not profitable and the younger generation was leaving to find other opportunities.  Additional, common issues found was that lack of certainty for older farmers (no retirement planning), limited understanding of tax issues, and that education often meant the younger generation didn’t return to the farm.  Brad was able to share the use of conservation easements in Virginia, which seemed to be a new concept to our group.

We spent our afternoon in the EUFRAS Group Meeting with representatives from each country there to discuss issues and decide groups of work.  One major issue in the European Union is the lack of advisory services to farmers, especially non private advisory services.  TEAGASC is one of the few in the EU especially with a research component.  The EU has put a lot of money into agriculture research, but without advisory services it is not reaching the farmers.  Therefore, the EU helped push for the development of EUFRAS 5 years ago and TEAGASC has acted has the leader of the project. EUFRAS is working toward creating more advisory services and group research projects throughout Europe.  Instead of each country conducting their own research, countries are now researching together.  TEAGASC has conducted several exchange programs for advisors including sending advisors to Bavaria, Finland, and now Virginia. Brad, Tommy, David, and I were asked to discuss our experiences.

Today, the EFARAS Conference took themed tours.  I was on the Renewable Energy Tour and Brad was on the Agritourism Tour.  For the Renewable Energy, we first travel to a landowner with forestry production.  John O’Connell focuses primarily on ash production.  He has a niche market for selling lumber for hurling (Ireland’s National Sport).  In addition, he also grows shiitake mushrooms.  HIs process is very similar to the United States with inoculating logs, but he receives about 9 years of production from logs. In addition, he has imported oak trees preinoculated with truffles and has set up an orchard to basically to harvest truffles.  One interesting fact that Michael Sommers, TEAGASC Forestry Advisor, shared was that prior to 1500 that Ireland was 60% tree cover.  He argues that the internal knowledge gained from many generations is all gone and that Ireland is just now gaining back its knowledge of forestry.

Next, we traveled to Gurteen College in Ofaly County.  Gureteen is an agriculture college that was started in 1947.  The college is hands on with students learning how to do and how to manage.  It’s degree is the equalivalent of a community college.  The college is privately operated by a board of trustees, but TEAGASC and the government pay the teacher salaries.  The college has places for the students to stay on campus and a little over 414 ha (1,023 ac) farm.  They have 150 dairy cows, 270 beef cattle, 600 sheep, few horses, and they grow several small grains. The enrollment of the college has doubled since 2008 with economic downturn.  Prior, the school had roughly 150 students in each year and now it has 300 student in each year.  The total entrollment around 600.  To save money, the school has moved to renewable energy sources with cost share assistance in the beginning from the government.  The school has a 50 kW wind turbine that produces about 25% of their electricity.  The school also has two wood chip broilers and the school grows its own willow to feed the broilers.  Willow is on about 8% of the school land based and heats the entire school.  The cost to the school for energy is about 1 cent a kW and if they where to use oil the cost would be about 7 cents a kW.

After Gurteen College, we traveled to see Birr Castle’s gardens.  The castle has extensive gardens with trees and plants from all over the world.  Many are very rare and even some like Giant Sequoia from the United States.  The castle also has a telescope that was built in the mid 1800s.  At the time, it was the largest in the world.