A guide highlighting ways dairy farmers can cut down on the significant overhead costs of milk production by adopting more solar energy has been published.
The study, ‘A Solar Energy Guide for Dairy Farms’ was launched by Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture Noel Grealish at Teagasc’s Dairy Open Day in Moorepark, Fermoy, Co Cork today.
It’s jointly authored by Teagasc and Munster Technological University (MTU), and offers dairy farmers practical insights into cutting energy bills and lowering emissions through solar power.
It says that farms with high energy use for milking, cooling milk, and heating water are particularly suited to solar photovoltaic (PV) systems.
Guide author Dr John Upton of Teagasc said solar use “is no longer just a green option” and that it can help to support farm resilience.
The study also points to the benefit of using solar energy with regard to greenhouse gas emissions, saying that a 26 kWp system on a dairy farm can offset approximately 7.5 tonnes of CO2 annually.
Efforts to get more dairy farmers to switch to solar energy come amid reports of a significant jump in input costs for the sector in recent years.
Speaking at the Dairy Open Day in Moore Park, Head of the Animal and Grassland, Research and Innovation programme with Teagasc Prof Laurence Shalloo said there has been a “50% increase in costs of production since 2020.
“That increase has resulted from input cost inflation, weather effects, higher input systems and investment at farm level.
“There is substantial differences in profit levels between farms and there are opportunities for a refocus on costs of production across all farms.”
Up to 10,000 people attended the Teagasc event, which takes a look at the state of dairy farming ten years on from the removal of milk quotas.
Director of Teagasc Frank O’ Mara said there is “a positive outlook for dairying at the moment and there are good opportunities for young people to consider a career as a dairy farmer”.
