Crowds flocked to the Glanbia Ireland stand on the first day of the Ploughing

FarmGen, milk quality and nutrition were key topics as crowds flocked to the opening day of the National Ploughing Championships.

Glanbia Ireland’s expert support teams will be available throughout the three days to discuss animal nutrition and health solutions, new schemes and technical support services that are available to our farmer customers and suppliers.

Fionnuala Malone, Glanbia Ireland’s Farm Quality and Compliance Manager, said it is a good chance to ask questions in person about chlorine-free detergent, improving cell counts and bulk milk tanks.

“The move to chlorine-free detergents has been really topical. We are responding to customer demands and needs,” said Fionnuala, highlighting the full team are there to discuss the best wash routines for the parlour.

“A lot of farmers are asking about upgrading bulk tanks. Farmers are finding they are running out of bulk tank size and capacity. We have a financed option to allow farmers to purchase them through Finance Ireland.”

In the stand at - Block 2 - Row 5 - Stand 114 – SSE Airtricity and Activ8 Solar Energies, who have partnered with Glanbia Ireland for the new FarmGen smart solar initiative, highlighted the innovative solution.

“The response has been fantastic, we’ve had interest from well in excess of 500 people already,” said SSE Airtricity’s Stephen Gallagher, highlighting that it delivered commercial savings, whilst also delivering green energy to drive the farm. “It is innovative and simple. It takes a day to install and you are up and running.”

Farmer Francis Nolan from Muckalee, north Co Kilkenny, who is participating in the new Open Source Future Farm Programme, has just recently installed the solar panels. “For me it was about looking to the future and being sustainable and using green energy is the way forward. Installation is very straightforward, you can see what it is delivering every day and it is definitely producing energy.”

Entries were also strong for the FarmGen Solar PV competition – with a chance to win a FarmGen Solar SV worth up to €12,000 for your farm.

The Avonmore Milk Bar proved a firm hit with first year students from the Treasian School Donnybrook, Dublin meeting our vet Shane McElroy when they popped into the stand.

Technical Seminars & Discussion Forums on our stage each day. Farmers taking part in the new Glanbia Ireland / Teagasc Open Source Future Farm Farm Programme will be joining in the discussions, along with experts on dairy, grain, nutrition and animal health.

Other key areas of interest include the Premium Grains team who are looking to talk to tillage farmers about growing additional acres of premium crops.

If you are travelling to the Ploughing, please call to meet the Glanbia Ireland team at Block 2 - Row 5 - Stand 114.

First Published 17 September 2019