Ger’s large dairy farm is located in Coachford, County Cork and has been in the family for 100 years. Ger is the third generation of his family to work the land here between Coachford and Macroom. With the help of their herd manager, Vicky Kelleher, they currently milk 180 cows in a spring calving, grass-based system. They also rear approximately 80 replacement heifer calves and 80 in calf heifers. Some are brought into the dairy herd, and more are sold as breeding stock for other herds. You can see a gallery of images from Ger’s farm here.

When he is not tending to his herd, Ger can be found enjoying another of his passions – studying Permaculture. His course at Kinsale College is a science based course that will help in a practical way on his farm as Ger pushes towards a more sustainable way of working in nature. Always keen to expand his knowledge, in 2008 he was awarded a Nuffield scholarship in which he was given the opportunity to travel and study his chosen topic which was expansion in Dairying. This journey has taught him about the importance of sustainability in farming.

Ger also has a passion for border collies who are always at hand to help out on the farm. He also has an interest in restoring old houses using traditional materials and has restored some old cottages on the farm. Recently he has planted many native trees and hedges, built a pond, and planted mixed species grasses with high clover content. He is very happy with the results so far and feels that a lot more has to be learned, but he is excited that it is a very positive step in the right direction.

Ger joined the EIP project because of his love of nature; he would like to have a better understanding of soil biology. He would like to farm in a way that is more in harmony with nature – reducing the need for costly inputs like sprays and fertiliser that may be harmful to our environment and explore ways that may be more sustainable. The whole world is dependant on the top 6-inch layer of this planet for their food, nutrition, and shelter, but it has great potential to capture much of the carbon that has been released into the environment over many generations causing harm. It seems logical that we should try to learn more about it. He believes that we don’t need to do much to save the planet, we just need to learn how to stop doing harm.