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19 Oct 2025
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19 Oct 2025
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Margaret and Patrick Dollard have reduced greenhouse gas on their Kilkenny farm
Two Kilkenny farms have been honoured at this year’s Teagasc/ FBD Environmental Sustainability Awards.
The awards, sponsored by FBD, were recently presented by Timmy Dooley TD, Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine and at the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications.
Category winners for Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions are the Dollard family.
Patrick and Margaret Dollard have a dairy beef farm in Kilkenny. There is an emphasis on soil fertility and grassland management on the Dollard farm.
Patrick and Margaret are building a sustainable dairy beef enterprise by combining strong environmental stewardship with profitability.
Over the past two years, they have reduced chemical fertiliser use by more than 20%, switching to protected urea (80%) and targeted compounds.
Phosphorus is applied strictly according to soil tests, while high-clover reseeds cut reliance on nitrogen.
Animal performance continues to improve, with steers now reaching slaughter weights at around 21.5 months, operating at a stocking rate of 2.51 LU/ha. Grassland management, breeding and animal health are key to the success of their beef system and over 11t DM of grass produced per ha. The carbon footprint for this farm is 7.6 kg CO2e/kg LW.
They are active in environmental schemes, including ACRES (2023–2027), where they established 2,615 metres of riparian buffers and 1.93 hectares of riparian zones to protect water and biodiversity.
They also applied to the Water EIP for a yard sweeper and are engaged in the Teagasc Signpost Advisory Programme with full AgNav sustainability planning.
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Biodiversity is supported through careful hedgerow management, with native bushes retained every 100 metres and trimming carried out on a three-year cycle. Nutrient protection is rigorous, with strict slurry and fertiliser buffer zones.
Looking ahead, they aim to move to 100% protected urea by 2026, cut slaughter age further, and add solar panels through TAMS, positioning their farm as a model of sustainable dairy beef production.
Among the other finalists who attended the awards and received a certificate was Kilkenny farmer James Madigan.
Don Somers, a tillage farmer from Oylgate, County Wexford, was announced as the overall winner of the Teagasc / FBD Environmental Sustainability Award 2025 at the awards ceremony. Find out more about the award winners and finalists at www.teagasc.ie
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