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very time-consuming compared to other types of farming – the cows have to be milked twice a day after all – but it has been great to see what was once a small enterprise grow to the size it is today. “Following the removal of milk quotas last March, it’s an exciting time to be involving in dairying. There are new opportunities to be had and our aim is to increase our herd size further over the next few years.” John and Sylvia, along with their three young boys Sam (eight), Adam (six) and Isaac (three), farm 210 acres on the Clareen Road out of Birr and a further 125 acres in nearby Lorrha, Co. Tipperary. John, a native of Templederry, Co. Tipperary and Sylvia, from Newtowncunningham, Co. Donegal, met while they were on farm placements on the farm of John’s uncle, also John Powell, in Nenagh. They got married in 2001 and purchased the farm in Birr from another uncle of John’s, Reggie Abbott, the following year. The farm was then 100 acres, but the Powell’s have obviously expanded operations quite a bit since then. John holds a Green Cert and was a finalist in the FBD Young Farmer of the Year competition in 2000. Sylvia, meanwhile, has a three year Farm Management Cert. They are assisted on the farm by Michael O’Brien, who recently returned from Australia where he managed 700 cows, and Donegal lad Matthew Sweeney, who is a first year student in Advanced Dairy Herd Management. Over the past two years, John and Sylvia have invested in a new 237-cubicle cowshed and a state-of-the-art Boumatic Gascoigne Melotte milking parlour, which was supplied by main agent for Ireland Richard Kingston from Athy, Co. Kildare and installed by Oliver Peake of Peake Dairy Services in Mountmellick, Co. Laois. Established in Ireland since 1935, when the company traded as Gascoigne, Boumatic Gascoigne Melotte supplies the highest quality farm equipment, from herringbone, rotary and robot milking machines to herd management tools and dairy hygiene accessories. It is a worldwide leader in dairy innovation. The Powell’s have a 30-unit swing-over milking parlour with cluster flush. Cluster flush is a flushing system that washes out the cluster after every cow, keeping the cluster fully sanitised before going onto the next cow. This effectively eliminates the threat of cross contamination of mastitis between cows. The system is fitted in line and is operated by using electronic which are wired into the existing machine, meaning it can be fitted onto any type, size or brand of milking machine. It is fitted with a dosatron pump which mixes the parasitic acid and water that kills any bacteria in the cluster. “We are very pleased with the new milking parlour, which has reduced milking time to about one hour and 15 minutes. We installed it in 2013 and followed that by building a new cowshed last year. We have invested heavily, but hopefully it will pay off in the long run,” Sylvia says. IRISH TRACTOR & AGRI
The milking parlour was installed two years ago
Getting ready for milking
From left to right: John Cashen, assistant farm manager Michael O’Brien and advanced dairy management student Matthew Sweeney. John recently started up his own dairy herd after working with the Powell family for four years
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