A flavour of farming in Ulster - Bushmills virtual farm tour with BGS

The 2021 British Grassland Society’s virtual Summer Meeting will feature visits to four local farms across Northern Ireland including one in Bushmills. The event will take the form of two free webinars on the evenings of Tuesday, June 29 and Wednesday, June 30 June. On each evening two virtual farm tours, facilitated by BGS Summer Meeting Organising Committee Chairman Ian McCluggage, will take place and there will be an opportunity to ask the host farmers questions about their farming systems. The Webinars will be chaired by BGS President Drew McConnell from Omagh.Day 1 (Tuesday 29 June, 7.30 pm) will focus on beef and sheep farming and feature visits to Robert Kettyle, Lisnaskea and James Henderson, Kilkeel.Day 2 (Wednesday 30 June, 7.30 pm) will focus on dairy farming with visits to the O’Neill family, Artigarvan and Alastair Cochrane, Bushmills.Alastair Cochrane and his two sons farm 230ha at Glentask, in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, overlooking the stunning North Antrim coast between Portrush and Bushmills. The dairy herd has now expanded to 400 milking cows and is self-contained with a tight autumn calving pattern and cows run in three groups over the summer. Milk yield is impressive at 9100 litres/cow at 4.30% BF and 3.40% Protein with the original Holstein herd now crossed to Montbeliarde to improve health, fertility and milk quality.More information on all four farms can be obtained by visiting the Ulster Grassland Society’s website at www.ulstergrassland.co.ukBoth webinars are organised jointly by the Ulster Grassland Society and Fermanagh Grassland Club on behalf of the British Grassland Society and are sponsored by the Stapledon Memorial Trust and the Vaughan Trust whose support is greatly appreciated. It is hoped that this ‘Flavour of farming in Ulster” will provide an interesting and informative insight into grassland farming in Northern Ireland and whet appetites to encourage BGS members and friends to attend a ‘live’ Summer Meeting in Northern Ireland next year.