On Wednesday the 19th of April Laragh’s 5th and 6th class went on a walk to Shinagh Dairy Farm. First we went inside a building outside the front where Gavin Hunt (A past pupil of Laragh school) and Mary-Kate showed us what they do as a Zero emissions farm.
A zero emissions farm is a farm that reduces Greenhouse gasses. The reduce the emissions by putting additives in the cows food to reduce methane and grazing red clover, white clover and other plants to reduce use of fertiliser.
After that we went outside and they gave us a tour of the farm. The first thing we saw was the winter housing for the cows. Then we walked down the path to the milking parlour. On the way we saw a hedgerow, wetlands and a lot of wildlife. At the milking parlour we saw their wind turbine which was being repaired, their solar panels on top of the milking parlour, which generate energy that goes into the battery that powers the milking parlour.
Finally we went back up to the first building where they gave us goody bags that were filled with a pen and some cheese.
We really enjoyed learning about their farm and having a great day out.
Written by Cuan Ryan and Conor Fullam
