2025 Dairy Summer Tour

The IGA Dairy Summer Tour, sponsored by AIB heads to the stunning Blackwater Valley in North Cork to visit the farms of Kevin & Margaret Twomey and Mike & Tina Bermingham this year. The event takes place on the 23 rd of July. It’s an all-day bus tour which starts in the morning with breakfast, followed by the first farm visit, then lunch and then onto the second farm before returning to base. This year, we will be convening at Corrin Mart in Fermoy, Co. Cork – just off the M8 motorway. There is always a good atmosphere and plenty of interaction during breakfast and lunch. This is a very popular IGA event, so book your place early to avoid disappointment.

We think that this year’s summer tour has something for everyone from the young farmer or student with no land or dairy experience embarking on their career, or existing dairy farmers wanting to hear how others are managing grass and staff or dairy farmers thinking about succession routes or maybe those at the latter end of their career and questioning the next step. And of course, the social aspect of our dairy summer tour is central to the day too. “You don’t need to own land to milk cows.” That was one of the quotes from Kevin Twomey on the day of our preparation visit. Both Kevin and Margaret are passionate about the next generation of young people entering dairy farming in Ireland. Twelve of their past staff are now milking cows successfully in their own right, with many of them having no land at home or not enough scale for them to be at home. This is one of the key elements we hope to explore with the Twomey’s. The Twomey’s have a very positive view on dairy farming and believe there is a place for everyone in dairy farming. In a comment aimed at young people Kevin said, “There is a rung on the ladder for everyone, you can choose the rung you want to be on. It doesn’t have to be leasing a farm.” The Twomey family have an exciting story to tell about their journey from agricultural college to milking cows across six dairy farms.

On the day we will also have the chance to experience a masterclass on grassland management from Mike Bermingham. Mike will showcase how he achieves high grass intakes while also achieving the grazeouts needed for high quality grass in the next round. We will be keeping it practical on the day, looking at how the system is set up to achieve this and what Mike does on a day-to-day basis to deal with grass. Another key aspect is the simplicity of this farm. It will have you going home questioning your own methods.

Mike & Tina Bermingham

Mike and Tina Bermingham farm outside Rathcormac, Co. Cork with their two daughters Sarah and Kayleigh overlooking a large swath of North Cork. They milk 90 cows on a milking platform of just under 40 hectares. Over the last five years the herd has averaged 540 kg of milk solids which is in the top 10% for milk production among Dairygold suppliers. This has been achieved on an average of 968 kg DM of concentrates and around 4,800 kg of forage dry matter.

Mike’s grandfather milked cows up until 1979 and in the intervening period, drystock was the main enterprise with Mike working full time off farm. However, Mike’s dream was to farm full time and in 2009 he realised this ambition. He started contract rearing for a dairy farmer and later he kept the newly assembled Newford Suckler herd before the project went live.

The decision to convert the farm to dairy was backed by a strong business plan and central to the plan was grass, which remains the same to this day. Investment was sensible and well prioritised – grazing and water infrastructure, pasture rejuvenation, genetics, parlour and cow facilities. Equipped with heifers from good herds and some new entrant quota, the first cow was milked in 2014. Cow numbers peaked at 108 and have since reduced to 90.
Alongside profitability, simplicity is to the fore. Work-life balance is key to the Bermingham’s with the family heavily involved in Bride Rovers GAA. Relief milkers are utilised every week to allow for this. This is a wonderful example of how 90 cows can provide for a family and offer the ultimate work from home job.

Kevin & Margaret Twomey

Kevin and Margaret along with their four children are farming in Renny, Ballyhooly located in the stunning Blackwater Valley in Co. Cork. In partnership with his family, as a young 21- year-old Kevin began farming in Renny, setting up an arable and beef farm. The dairy enterprise began in 1994 with 40 cows and grew to 70 within a few short years. Kevin and Margaret were married in 1999, and continued to grow the business to 130 cows based on a grass based system with a big emphasis on work-life balance as their young family grew. The home base in Renny has become the hub where the simple yet highly efficient system has been honed by focussing on repeatability, strict financial discipline and smart expansion.

Today Kevin & Margaret are milking 480 cows on the home farm and run five other dairy farms. Each farm is run as a separate farm entity with a manager, 2nd in command and a relief milker. At our event in July we will explore 3 key areas:
Developing the farm system: Kevin & Margaret’s journey
Working with People: communication, mentorship and identifying opportunities
Financial discipline: evolving business plans & goals

Beyond their own success, Kevin and Margaret are committed to securing the future of the dairy industry by mentoring young people who come to work with them. Over the years they have worked with many young farmers providing them with experience, structured training and valuable business insights, where they learn the skills central to technical farm management but also how to run a business thus equipping them with the skills and mindset that allows them to succeed beyond the Twomey’ mentorship and into farm businesses of their own. Pathways to a career in dairy farming that have evolved on the Twomey farms will be highlighted on the day and we look forward to a great discussion in July!

Sponsor’s comment
Donal Whelton, Head of Agri Sector in AIB said, ‘We are really looking forward to this year’s Dairy Summer Tour. The IGA has sourced two excellent host farmers and there will be something of interest for peoples at all stages of their journey in dairying. Both farmers are excellent grass farmers, and I have no doubt that all attendees will learn something from the day.