Autumn dairy farm walk at Craigantlet

William Chesney, Greenmount Association President with Brian McCracken finalising arrangements for the Greenmount Association Autumn Farm Walk.

Brian completed his National Certificate in Agriculture at Greenmount in 1983/84.

After a period of four years working for the Department of Agriculture Brian went home to the family Cairngaver Farm. Brian in partnership with his father John built up the dairy herd and now have 240 New Zealand Friesian and Kiwi cross cows. The main aim is to maximise the output of milk solids from grazed grass.

The policy is to maintain a tight calving pattern with cows drying off around mid December and calving down from mid February onwards. Average herd yield is 5,400 litres and this is achieved by feeding less than 600kg of meal per cow. Overall the aim is to keep costs down and concentrate the effort on producing milk from grass. This is very much a low input New Zealand type dairy system.

Brian will cover all farm details during the visit and will be open for questions and discussion.

The farm address is 92 Ballybarnes Rd, Craigantlet, Newtownards, BT23 4TD and it will be clearly signposted from Craigantlet Village.

A buffet lunch will be provided on the farm by the neighbouring McKee’s Farm Shop.

If you would like to attend please contact CAFRE Education Admin at 028 9442 6700 stating your name, address and contact number. Booking is essential. Please book early as numbers are limited.

There is a charge of £10 per person which goes towards catering. Parking will be available in the farmyard area. Transport will be available for the tours of the farm.

This is guaranteed to be a very enjoyable and stimulating visit with something for everyone.