Barry tops the UCC awards

To list all the awards that a Virginia farmer won at a recent UCC Teagasc ceremony would take up a fair chunk of this article.

Of the four prizes we’ll skip to the top accolade that confirms much of what you need to know about how Barry Stratford performed in his studies: ‘FBD Trust Best Overall Student Award’. The title comes with a gold medal plus €1000; the other awards came with silver and gold medals and smaller purses.

“It was well worth going down to Cork that night,” Barry quips before adding, “It’s nice to get all the awards, there was a right bit of work that went into the studies and all the projects.”

As part of his course, Barry enjoyed a 17 week placement on a large dairy enterprise in Cork milking 300-plus cows over a couple of farms, which formed the basis of his project - and also secured him an award.

“I was looking at the whole farm in terms of the key performance indicators - grass, genetics, reproduction, finances, the environmental side of the farm.”

Evaluating the farm system he assessed the aspects the farmer did well, and where improvements could be made.

“It was a good farm so the improvements weren’t massive,” he asserts.

Aside from the weather being “a little bit warmer than ours”, Barry observed there was very little difference between the Cork system and that operated in Cavan, and therefore any learnings would be transferable to his family farm. He has undertaken a few months’ milking on dairy farms both in New Zealand and Australia.

Barry was tempted to study in Cork due to the collaboration between UCC and Teagasc Moorepark making it the elite course for dairy farmers in Ireland. He laughs off the Celt’s suggestion that having done so well in his Agricultural Science degree he could have a future in academia.

“I’ll stay and farm at home,” he assures.

The Stratfords are milking cows in Eighter, between Virginia and Oldcastle.

As his farm is in nitrates derogation Barry admits he is keeping a close eye on developments.

“Ireland’s grass based system is so different from your general EU indoor system, because we’re milking in such a different way and it’s derogation which allows us to produce it efficiently and stock the farm at the required level to get lots of grass into the cows.”

Asked how the removal of the derogation would impact the farm, a rough calculation sees him suggest they would have to reduce their stock by about 50 cows out of a herd of just over 200.

“It would be massive,” he says of the prospect of losing derogation.

“You have to keep a certain number of cows to pay for all your fixed costs, so it is the last few cows where you make your profit.”

He volunteers that removal of the derogation would reduced inputs.

“You would be spreading much less fertiliser, but you would have a lot less milk going out the door.”

Despite any concerns over the nitrates directive, Barry is optimistic looking to his future in farming.

“The average age of the farmer in Ireland I think is 57 so there’s definitely going to come opportunities of farmers getting out, and potentially putting their diary farm up for lease,” he said noting Cork farmer whose enterprise he studied was milking across six different rented farms.

“Around here, and especially if I go into Meath there’s going to be lots of opportunity.”