Local dairy farmer cream of the crop

Despite entering the competition thinking he had no chance, a 30-year-old Co Cavan man has been crowned FBD Young Farmer of the Year 2024. Christopher Cahill from Crosskeys picked up the prestigious award at an awards ceremony in Laois after emerging victorious from a panel of six finalists in a competition that began back in June.

He has been in a shared partnership with Tony McCormack on his farm in Delvin, Co Westmeath since 2021 and also runs his own agri firm - Cavan Grassland Consultancy - which offers a grass measurement and advisory service throughout the north midlands.

“I entered the competition in June, reluctantly, I might add because I like to be in the background,” laughed Christopher speaking to The Anglo-Celt this week. “But I entered and in July, I was interviewed on Zoom and was lucky enough to progress further.

A further interview in August in front of a panel of three saw him progress to the final 10, and was then shortlisted for the final six.

“After another very in-depth interview which included an analysis of the farm; where I was coming from with regard to it all; and the sustainability of the business for the future - the announcement came on the night.

“I couldn’t believe it. I didn’t think I had a chance - I’m absolutely delighted.”

With a wealth of knowledge and experience already under his belt, the seeds for Christopher’s entrepreneurialism seem to have been sown when he completed his Agriculture Science Degree in UCD and followed that up with a Masters in Sustainable Agriculture.

As part of his degree course he had travelled to New Zealand in 2013 to see for himself how farms operated there, and brought home ideas he thought he could apply in Ireland.

“It was there that I learned about the concept of shared farming," he recalls.

“In 2015 when I was finishing college milk quotas were going and when I came back from New Zealand I decided I would work in the industry for a while. I worked in Lakeland Dairies for five and a half years with farmers both north and south of the border and saw lots of new ways to do things.”

Partnership

In 2021, the opportunity of a lifetime landed for Christopher when he met Delvin farmer Tony McCormack. Tony was running a dairy enterprise, working full-time off farm and looking at ways to keep the operation going. Enter Christopher Cahill.

The pair discussed options and by the end of the year were in the shared farming partnership. Neither, it seems, have looked back and the enterprise - Deelside Farm - is going from strength to strength since the partnership's inception nearly three years ago.

“The way it works is, I provide the cows and labour; Tony provides the land and infrastructure,” he continued. “We put up a cattle shed when we went into partnership and built calf sheds as well. We also increased the stock from 110 cows to 250. We’ve done a hell of a lot of work on the farm and the partnership is going really, really well. We reseeded 70% of the farm and fenced it. It has been a very enjoyable journey. I’m looking at a herd of cows now that are mine and I want to build on that.”

The journey to getting Deelside Farm to where it is today has also been one of sustainability and meeting the agricultural industry’s climate targets. With his Masters in the area, Christopher has met the challenges head on and believes he, Tony and the farm “are all the better for it”.

Environment

“When we reseeded the silage ground, we used a red clover mix; it only got 60 units of nitrogen fertiliser this year in total which is a 60-70% reduction versus a grass-only sward," he told the Celt. “On the grazing block we used a mix of red and white clovers and with this we had a 40% decrease in nitrogen use versus a grass-only sward. We installed a new drinking system so our stock are not going into the rivers and streams to drink. We used protected urea, we also use low emissions slurry spreading and soil sample every two years. All of this is good for the environment.”

Christopher is also acutely aware of the changes in the industry and the frustrations that are out there in respect of all that.

“One of the frustrations I see is the reluctance of some farmers to adapt to new technologies,” he continued. “A lot of that technology works on most farms and there is so much potential on farms now.

“There are a lot of young men and women who just want the chance to work in this industry and I think what me and Tony are doing is something that others can do too. When you are looking out into a field of your own cows, there is a massive satisfaction in that.”