Mike Bermingham's journey from construction to dairy farmer

Dairy farmer Mike Bermingham joins Emma-Louise Coffey to take us on his journey of career change from construction and part-time beef farming to becoming a new entrant dairy farmer in 2013. Mike returned home to farm full-time in 2009 and acknowledged he had a big asset in his farm of land, yet it was providing no income. In 2010 he began grass measuring in order to quantify the amount of grass grown on the farm. This has allowed Mike to get a good handle on the level of grass grown on the farm and identify underperforming paddocks. Mike is consistently growing 14 tonnes DM with the exception of 2018 which was 11.5 tonnes DM. Soil fertility is optimum for pH, P and K. When considering what else he did prior to milking to put him in the best position for success, Mike said he joined a really good discussion group and also credits the Greenfield farm in Kilkenny and the Shinagh farm for demonstrating start ups, what works and what doesn't work. Looking back at the progress over the last 10 years, Mike is hitting all of the dairy KPIs; fat and protein %, 6 week calving rate, grass utilised.  Passing on his wisdom to others considering dairy, Mike explains that farmers must start with the basics, the parlour, cubicles, roads and water.  Additionally, surround yourself with good people, get help making a 5-year plan, identify a mentor and make sure you are in a good discussion group.