Farm walk at Peter Hamm’s Dairy Farm.

On Thursday the 13th of October 2022, we visited Peter Hamm’s farm in Drumraney. He began speaking to us about the price of growing grass on a farm. He said it was 10 cents to grow a kilo of grass and €150 for 1 acre of silage. He explained to us that his cows could consume up to €54,000 worth of feed in a year.

Peter brought us into the parlour to talk about the standard price of milk and the fat and protein bonuses. After that, he revealed that the farmer gets paid for their milk solids, not per litre of milk, and an extra 20% for fat and protein. Peter’s parlour is a 20-unit parlour with an open feeder, automatic cluster remover and guillotine gates. He explained to us the benefits of an open feeder so that all the cows get the same amount of food. As well as that, he told us that a cow’s body temperature is 37.5 degrees but could increase by 1 degree due to the extra work they are doing. We were informed by Peter that for the milk to be kept in good condition, it must be stored at a minimum temperature of 3 degrees Celsius, and he explained the process of how milk cools before it goes into the bulk tank.

Finally, Peter brought us out into one of his fields where he explained the different grasses, such as tetraploids, which attract the cows to eat, and triploid which cover the grass and protect it. Both of these are needed for the superior quality of grass. According to Peter, the price of fertilizer has increased by 127 percent since last year. Peter also shared the reasons why he personally uses A.I. instead of a bull for his cows. We were shown how much land is needed for a 20-day rotation with the number of cows he owns.

Thanks to Peter Hamm for allowing the students to come to your farm and discuss the topic of dairy farming with us, and to our teachers, who organised and accompanied us on the trip. It was a very enjoyable and interesting trip for all.

Post Picture L to R: Keelan Blom, Adam Fox, Cody Parker, Joseph Hoyer, Freddie Moro, Hugh Flynn, Michael Bermingham, Kieran Watson, Kellie McLoughlin, Dervla Turley

 

 

Picture 2: Ella Mullarney, Peter Hamm, Michael Bermingham, Ben Murray, Keelan Blom, Cody Parker, Freddie Moro, Joseph Hoyer