Farm

Coolmore Stud, based in Fethard, County Tipperary in the Republic of Ireland, is generally acknowledged to be the world’s biggest, and best, thoroughbred racehorse breeding operation.

At Coolmore, best sustainable farming practices are employed throughout the enterprise, not only to keep our environmental impact to a minimum, but also to enhance the whole farm area where flora and fauna can flourish. Caretakers of the land for future generations, we focus heavily on fresh air, clean water, fertile soil, vibrant biodiversity and healthy sustainable ecosystems. Find out more about our farming practices below:

Hay

Our aim is to produce the highest quality hay for all classes of horses on Coolmore farms. To this end we select the best hay grass varieties to grow the optimum hay crops. Ideally we harvest the crops in early June when the nutritional value of the hay matches the fibre needs of the horses when stabled.

Over the last few years Coolmore has changed from making small square bales to large square bales which has produced its own set of challenges. In the field Coolmore use handheld moisture meters to aid in harvesting decisions and thermometers to monitor hay stability when in storage. The baler also has moisture reading sensors and makes a bale of specific weight and dimension that when stored in the barns will maintain its nutritive value, colour and sweet smell whilst also being dust and mould free. Coolmore has been afforded the technologies to perfect the harvesting and drying of large square bales which we are continuously developing and improving.

Cattle & Silage

At Coolmore we mix graze cattle with horses. The cattle receive a grass based ration of silage when housed over the winter period.

Mowing the grass at the right stage ensures the nutrient levels in the silage are at an optimum. The grass has to be ensiled at the right moisture content, oxygen removed by rolling and the pit covered quickly to create an environment for rapid fermentation ensuring minimal loss of nutrients from the preserved grass.

Making high quality silage removes the need for supplementary feeding with concentrates.

The weather for tillage this year was far from ideal. The growing season was a mix of long dry periods with intensive rain at times. While the May/June drought affected some crops, it resulted in our earliest start to the harvest ever – 29th June!!!

Despite a very wet July and challenging August, every crop was harvested with minimum soil damage. Non-cereal crops such as oilseed and beans offer a break from weed, pests and diseases and allow the farm to grow good first cereals with nice clean straw. The bean crops performed exceptionally well this year highlighting the importance of a mixed rotation.

Precision Farming

Precision farming aims to improve crop performance and environmental quality. It is defined as the application of technologies and principles to manage spatial and temporal variability associated with all aspects of agricultural production.

Multiple passes of machines for ploughed or ploughless farming lead to soil degradation, excessive compaction, quick mineralisation of organic matter and have a destructive impact on biological life in the soil. Strong compaction interferes with the air-water equilibrium, cutting off easily accessible oxygen and nutrients from the roots of cultivated plants. This top-of-the-range machine has been designed to assure tillage, fertilisation and sowing in one pass directly over a stubble field.

Composting

Compost is very important as a natural fertiliser on the land and it is also a way of using the large volumes of stable manure accumulated over the year. Stables are mucked out daily and the used straw is then recycled as bedding for our cattle which are housed indoors during the winter months. The resulting farm yard manure is an ideal raw material for making compost, a more stable form of nitrogen and other nutrients, and is stored until it can be spread on the

land the following autumn. Compost increases the diversity and population of soil microbial communities and increases soil humus content. Its naturally high phosphorus and potash content enriches the land and reduces our reliance on chemical fertilisers.

In the spring cattle are let out to pasture and a system has been developed to manage stable manure during the summer months. Dirty straw is stockpiled on a large custom made covered concrete apron where cattle slurry is added. A purpose-built machine then turns the straw, agitating it and adding air, which when mixed with moisture will speed up the decomposition process.

Any run-off material is collected and stored in an adjacent tank. This liquid has a high nutrient content and is spread on the large willow plantation that surrounds the area. Willow trees are well known for their ability to absorb nutrients and therefore they have a natural cleansing effect on the run-off water. These nutrients also provide a feed source for the willows and help them to grow and thrive.

The willows are felled and harvested on a rotational basis and the dried wood is cut into pellets which are used as fuel for the woodchip boilers that heat the many staff homes dotted throughout the farm. This reduces dependency on oil and other fossil fuels thereby helping to improve the farm’s carbon footprint. Although difficult to measure with complete precision, it is our belief that the best practices employed throughout the entire operation have resulted in the farm now being carbon neutral if not carbon negative.

Back To Nature

At Coolmore, best farm practices are employed throughout the enterprise, not only to keep our environmental impact to a minimum but also to enhance our carefully selected areas where flora and fauna can flourish. Often the only difference between a weed and a flower is just a matter of opinion! We focus heavily on fresh air, clean water, fertile soil, vibrant biodiversity and healthy sustainable ecosystems.