Dairy Events

3 Farm Walks and a social steak BBQ over 2 days 17th and 18th July 2023

The IGA are hosting another two day Dairy Extravaganza this summer. We will be based in Kells Co Meath and will visit three outstanding Dairy Farms in the North East. Due to very popular demand, we will host a social steak BBQ the night inbetween.

The first day of our Dairy Extravaganza is kindly sponsored by Yara and will incorporate a farm visit to the farm of Mark Cassidy in Kells eircode A82YP57 at 4pm, followed by a social Steak BBQ Night with music in the Headfort Arms Hotel Kells Co Meath. Mark Cassidy is farming in Kells, Co. Meath. The Cassidy farm has calved 390 cows in 2023. The farm is a spring calving crossbred herd which produced 509Kgs of milk solids per cow in 2022. The  farm is 153Ha, with a milking platform of 115Ha. The EBI of the herd is €207 and has
a 6-week calving rate of 83%. Heifer calves are contract reared and have been done so by the same farmer for the past 6 years. The farm can be best described as a labour efficient
farm. Good structure, defined roles and a recognition of the importance of work-life-balance are key to the farm. It was Mark’s time abroad, before he returned to full time farming in Ireland that shaped his farming philosophy and how he would set up his farm for the
future. Having worked on farms in the Netherlands and in New Zealand he got to witness first-hand the benefits of a structured work week and the importance of work life balance for staff, who would return refreshed after their weekends away from the farm

The second day we will host our traditional Dairy Summer Tour and cross over the boarder into Cavan by bus from Rockfield house Kells. This fantastic day out is sponsored by AIB. The event will be hosted by two excellent farms in the Cavan area, David Brady and Owen Brodie. Farms in this area can face a specific set of challenges from farm fragmentation to dealing with high rainfall and difficult soils. The day will focus on how our two hosts have adapted these principles to their own circumstances and we will be guided through the development of their family farm businesses, highlighting key milestones and what success means for them. Both the Brady and Brodie farm’s have had to deal with a number of challenges in developing their farms over the years, similar to other farms in the area. High rainfall, fragmentation and difficult soils to name but a few. However, they both have developed a farm system to suit their own circumstance built on maximising the use of grazed grass in the diet. Join us on the 18th of July to hear first-hand the story of this
year’s two host farmers.

Booking for this event will follow in a couple of weeks. Discounts will apply for those who wish to attend both days.