Dairygold Paperless
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Award-winning farmers host Dairy Sustainability Day
On Friday May 3rd , farmers from across Munster attended a Dairy Sustainability Day which was hosted on the farm of award-winning farmers and Dairygold Milk Suppliers, Trevor and Olive Crowley of Lissarda, Co Cork.
The Crowleys milk 150 cows on a 68.8 hectare grazing platform. They were the winners of the Bord Bia 2018 Origin Green Award for reduced carbon footprint for dairy, achieving a reduction of 18% per kg of milk solids.
The award was achieved through a combination of a longer grazing season, a reduction in nitrogen application and reduced manure emissions and the Crowleys gave attending farmers an insight into the practices implemented on their farm.
Speaking at the event, Dairygold Head of Supply Chain, Billy Cronin said; “We were delighted with the turn out. It was great to see so many people wanting to learn more about sustainable farming practices. Day’s such as these are a great way for farmers to hear about and see these practices first-hand. With Trevor and Olive having won Bord Bia’s 2018 Origin Green Award for reduced carbon footprint for dairy, there is no better place to see best practice in sustainable farming at work than on the Crowley family farm.
Stuart Childs, Teagasc Dairy Specialist said; “The Crowley’s have embraced Low Emissions Slurry Spreading (LESS) technology to allow them increase the amount of slurry recycled onto their grazing platform throughout the grazing season, which in turn allows them to reduce the amount of fertilizer they are using to grow their grass. They have also installed a heat transfer unit associated with their bulk tank which essentially heats their water for free. These two investments have not only allowed them to reduce their carbon footprint but also reduce their production costs. The biodiversity on the farm and the emphasis put on it by the Crowley’s will be evident to all . This event was a great example of intensive dairy farming occurring in tandem with environmentally sustainable practices.”
Mary Morrissey, Senior Manager in Bord Bia’s Dairy Division said: “The generosity of the Crowley family in opening their farm and sharing their experiences with like-minded quality milk producers speaks volumes about the ambition of Irish milk producers to grow their enterprises in a sustainable way. This event also demonstrates to our international customers the openness of Irish farmers to constantly improve how they produce quality milk for the dairy industry.”
