Willie Penrose (Longford-Westmeath, Labour)
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705. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he has sought a report from Teagasc in relation to its participation and role in the greenfield programme which leaves animals exposed to the prevailing weather; the number of such farming operations Teagasc is involved with; the names of its partners involved with it; the location of such farms; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12139/18]

Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
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The Greenfield Dairy Farm project was set up in 2010 to demonstrate worldwide best practise in the design, construction and operation of sustainable grass based milk production systems to Irish dairy farmers within the constraints of commercial farm practise.

Glanbia, the Agricultural Trust and the farm owners, formed a limited company (Greenfield Dairy Partners Limited) which leased the farm (120ha) from the owners for a 15-year period. A full-time farm manager with the help of two farm operators manage the farm. Teagasc staff, based at Moorepark,  are not involved in the day-to-day operations, but do provide strategic oversight for the project in the form of  business planning and technical support. Teagasc also organise farm walks and visits, and oversee the dissemination of results on the performance of the farm. 

Over the last 8 years, Greenfield has had a very good animal welfare record with cow and calf mortality, one of the key performance indicators that is recorded and reported weekly, significantly below national average rates. Since the start of the project the farm has held numerous open and focus days where thousands of farmers attended. It has been commended for its transparency and has been used as guidance for many farmers throughout Ireland.

Like many farms in the country,  the Greenfield dairy farm was impacted by the extreme weather associated with Storm Emma, with approximately 26 cm of snow falling which, when combined with easterly gale force winds caused snow drifts of up to 1.5m on the farm and access roads. Out of a total of 370 cows, there were 290 cows on the farm; 270 calved and 20 approaching calving. In preparation for the storm, approximately 80 in-calf cows and 30 calves were moved to a nearby farmyard which provided more sheltered accommodation.

The farm manager and assistant stayed on the farm for the entire duration of the storm to monitor the stock under the adverse conditions. Four  other stakeholder staff were brought onto the farm to assist with farm operations. Staff ensured that all animals were provided with adequate feed and water, which is the main animal welfare priority in such situations. All calves were fed warm milk twice daily each day prior to, during and after the storm. Cows were milked once every day, which is the normal practice on the farm during the busy calving period. Unfortunately over the 24-hour period, five calves and two cows died due to the adverse effects of Storm Emma; an additional calf died in the following 24-hours.

The weather events of early March 2018 were extremely unusual and occurred at the worst possible time of the year for spring calving pasture based farms. Teagasc regrets the animal deaths that occurred, but faced with the large snowfall and drifting, are satisfied that everything that was humanly possible was done to alleviate the situation.

While such an event is unlikely to be repeated during the lifetime of this project, Teagasc in association with its stakeholders will carry out a thorough review of the Storm Emma event. This will include a review of the farm infrastructure and recommendations as to how such adverse events are prepared for and alleviated in the future. Teagasc will also prepare a specific set of guidelines to help farmers to cope with extreme adverse events such as occurred with Storm Emma and storm Ophelia.

Teagasc are involved in a number of other similar agreements where strategic oversight in the form of business planning and technical support is given.  These farms highlight best practice in livestock production in terms of animal breeding, grassland management, physical animal performance, animal health and financial management.

The details are as follows:

All of the farms operate in a completely transparent manner, with all measurements and data available to visiting groups, other interested parties and the farming public.