LOCAL farmer Denis O’Donovan has had a busy few weeks.
First up was a visit from RTÉ to his farm in Glandore, where the Ear to the Ground programme did a feature on how he adapted clover practices to help reduce nitrogen in the soil to improve sustainability.
The cameras visited after Owen Cashman, who farms near Cork city and did a PHD on lowering carbon and ammonia emissions for dairy farming, suggested Denis’ farm as an example of one adopting clover.
‘It was something new, something different. You wouldn’t be meeting them every day,’ Denis said. ‘Clover has a role to play – we’re going to have to reduce our use of nitrogen. So we have to make changes and clover is the obvious way around those new regulations that are going to come,’ he said.
‘The clover will fix the nitrogen for us and we’ll be able to grow the same amount of grass.’
After the excitement of RTÉ, another kind of energy descended on the farm – a group of students from local national and secondary schools who visited to learn more about modern dairy farming.
Denis and his wife Collette are part of the ‘Classroom to Farm’ initiative, which invites local schools to visit farms to get a hands-on learning experience.
The initiative, now in its second year, was set up by four farming families, representing each of the four West Cork co-ops.
Supported by Lisavaird Co-Op and Carbery, children from Leap National School and Maulthrane National School, as well as transition year students from Mount Saint Michael’s secondary in Rosscarbery, were given a hands-on learning experience about modern dairy farming.
During the tour, they had the opportunity to witness the daily operations of a working farm.
They observed cows grazing in lush pastures, experienced the milking process firsthand in the parlour and even got to feed baby calves.
Lisavaird Co-Op’s milk collection lorry was on-site, where the driver, Ger Hayes, explained how milk is collected and transported to the Carbery plant in Ballineen.
Declan Buttimer, agri advisor at Lisavaird Co-Op provided insights into the rigorous testing process that ensures milk quality and he demonstrated the California mastitis milk test for the group of students. Representatives from Carbery, Diarmuid Healy and Nicole Whelen, then explained how this milk is made into cheese, which is exported across the globe, highlighting the importance of Irish dairy products in international markets.
Denis spoke about the essential role dairy farmers play in feeding the world’s population.
He also highlighted the significance of sustainable farming practices and the responsibility of farmers in producing high-quality dairy products while ensuring animal welfare and environmental care.
‘It is crucial that children understand where their food comes from and appreciate the hard work that goes into dairy production.
‘These young minds are the future and educating them about farming helps to build a greater connection between consumers and food producers,’ he explained.
‘We hope to encourage more farms to welcome school groups, so we can expand this programme.’ he added.
