The Hennessy family of Cappamore, Burfield, Co. Clare, milks 86 cows using an all-organic dairy system.
Eoin, Traci and Joe made the decision to switch to organic in 2022, receiving their full membership code in January this year after a 24-month transition period.
The family has made strides in sustainability since 2018, with Eoin stating that they started with red clover at the time and were also early adopters of multi-species pastures.
However, the final decision to move to a fully organic farm system can be traced back to pressure on the milking mass.
With just 15 hectares around the foyer, Hennessy’s feed bills were above average, with concentrates and silage used for fodder storage compensating for the stocking rate of 5.06 litres/ha.
Since the transition, Hennessy has seen a significant increase in the prices paid for milk, with the national average for organic milk reaching 72 cents per liter in the first six months of 2026.
Despite having to source and purchase organic feed, the premium milk price has improved the farm’s financial situation in a short period of time, making its operation more viable.
Farm performance
The farm operates on a 70/30 fall/spring calving pattern, although it is moving toward 100% fall calving rather than calving six months a year.
The herd consists of Holstein Friesians, and their average weight is 700 kg.
They produce approximately 8,459 liters per cow at 4.19% butterfat and 3.54% protein, equivalent to 674kg of milk solids (MS) per cow, which is supplied to Aurivo Co-operative, one of Ireland’s three organic processing companies.
According to the Irish Cattle Breeding Federation (ICBF), the average herd was producing 441kg/MS in 2025, while the top 20% of herds were producing 493kg/MS.
This shows that the Hennessy family’s production is well above average, eliminating any talk about the impact of organic farming on production.
Although there has been clover and multiple species on the farm over a number of years and chemical fertilizers have decreased significantly, Ewen said he had to forget everything he knew about growing grass, because organic management is so different.
The biggest change was managing the farm with zero chemical nitrogen (N).
Clay
Hennessys purchased a used Paulmichl slurry separator in 2023 from FTS Dairy Services in County Kilkenny in a bid to improve slurry utilization.
The liquids are spread over their grassland, while the solids are composted and used as organic bedding, a requirement for organic farmers.
When the slurry is separated, there is a higher percentage of N remaining in the fluids, at 15-17 units per 1000 grams, compared to the typical nine units in a conventional slurry.
Eoin said they distributed 2,000 grams of diluted liquid to the silage block before St Patrick’s Day.
Once the first piece is taken, they wait two weeks for the clover to turn green and take advantage of its natural ability, before arriving in the field with 1,500 grams of liquid.
After the second cut, they often spread a light cover of 1200g, but at this stage the alfalfa content increases and nitrogen is fixed.
The drained slurry is only spread after the third cut if there is some left in the yard.
Meanwhile, the grazing block gets 1,500g after the first cycle, and is only topped up from now on if necessary.
Ewen admitted their pastures are not as dark green as traditional farms, but said what they have “suits us well”.
Another factor to consider when separating slurries is that the majority of the phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) end up in the solid.
However, Hennessy’s soil fertility is in such good condition that it does not require many nutrients, it spreads any unused bedding solids on the silage floor to replace the uprooted nutrients.
Winter cover
Another challenge the Hennessys family faces in the all-organic farming business is finding the optimal winter cover.
Since they don’t have the urea to drive grass growth in the early spring, Eoin said they left heavier covers for the winter to ensure there is enough grass in the spring.
However, with the weather this year, the cows didn’t come out until April 1, at which point the clover was crowded out. It’s only now starting to recover, which is far from ideal for an organic farm.
When it comes to reseeding and staying on top of clovers and multi-species, the Hennesseys have to graze the pastures as closely as possible and as close to stunted grass as the crop cannot be sprayed.
They then overcrop pastures and fortunately do not have large weed burdens.
Diet
Over the past 12 months, Hennessys has purchased 284 tonnes of organic feed at an average price of €559/ton, including organic corn meal, organic soybean meal, organic rapeseed meal, and organic grain and legume mix.
The cereal/legume mix is grown under contract by three organic tillage farmers in the Wicklow area, while 60 bales of organic straw are also purchased.
The solids resulting from slurry separation are used as organic bedding
Although there are only 15 hectares on the milking block, the Hennessys farm has a total area of 77 hectares, of which 62 hectares are in outside blocks used for raising calves and fodder.
The main silage block is 80ac of red clover pasture and is cut four times a year, and all is well. The additional pasture taken brings the total silage cut to about 400 micrometres.
Hennessys cuts as close as possible while maintaining a strong focus on quality.
Despite the difficult weather conditions, they completed their first cut on April 27 of this year, and their second cut was made just over three weeks ago.
They will aim to have the third cut in just over two weeks and the final cut in late August/early September.
The first cut has not yet been tested, but the fourth cut last year came in at 82% dry matter digestibility (DMD), 18.8% crude protein, and a metabolizable energy (ME) of 11.9 MJ/kg DM, all at 32% DM, although Eoin believes the DM was closer to 28%.
When they don’t have enough grass to feed the herd, Ewen said, they shift their focus to replicating what should be in front of them, which means striving for the closest quality possible.
