James Curtis milks a 150-cow, grass-based, spring-calving herd with his father, Frank, in Loughnageer, Co. Wexford.

The herd is milked in a herringbone parlour and, last year, produced 530kg milk solids with a somatic cell count (SCC) at 60,000 cells/ml.

James experienced a good silage season this year, making his first cut of silage on the May 13. He now plans to make his second cut of silage next week, at the beginning of July.

Aside from dairy farming, James works as a dairy advisor, and also has his own business, Curtis Consultancy, which specialises in increasing your bottom line by optimising your cost base.

James decided that there was a need to update the water infrastructure on the farm to accommodate the herd's expansion and maximise the output of the herd.

Prior to investing in new water infrastructure, James did some research into the different makes and models of troughs out there that would suit their herd size.

James decided to upgrade his water infrastructure with Murphy Concrete Products Ltd. as its troughs are manufactured to 40N certified EN 206 concrete.

It also offers troughs in various sizes that have a valve system included to ensure that livestock have access to an adequate, consistent supply of clean drinking water.

Additionally, Murphy Concrete is approved by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine in line with the targeted agriculture modernisation scheme (TAMS) II Farm Buildings and Structures Specifications.

John Murphy from Murphy Concrete advised James on the most suitably sized water troughs and what ball cocks were required for their top-fill water troughs.

Following John's advice, James decided to install a number of 300-gallon top-fill water troughs which were positioned in the center of each grazing paddock.

"Having the troughs located in the center of the paddock brings great advantages as it gives you more scope to strip graze in the spring, and on-and-off graze in the fall," said James.

James found that Murphy Concrete's trough's robust structure brought great benefits to the herd.

Previously, the infrastructure on the farm was unable to accommodate the herd size and caused James additional hardship.

Discussing his herd's previous water infrastructure, James said: "We had a lot of smaller pipes around the farm - half-inch and three-quarter inch pipes and they weren't doing what we needed them to do.

James continued: "Our biggest concern was about our trough's ball cocks, as we really wanted to make sure that we had something suitable installed.

"We installed a 40ml pipe around the farm and needed something to take that."

The trough's valves are mounted onto a steel galvanised bracket bolted to the top rim of the trough, and the valve protection concrete cover is fully removable for ease of access.

In addition, James previously had issues with troughs leaking, but after installing Murphy Concrete's trough, this issue was no more.

"It's definitely a worthwhile investment. For a small percentage of sales, you have your water infrastructure done for 20-plus years," he said.

"We have the troughs in over a year now and there's been no issue with leaks, or anything like that, which has definitely benefitted us in that way.

Murphy Concrete's drinking troughs are made from concrete, which makes them robust so that they will not lose their shape, withstanding any movement by livestock.

This is due to the fact that their troughs are reinforced using polymer fibre and reinforced steel to achieve maximum tensile strength.

The trough's internal and external corners are also rounded which increases animal safety and comfort when using the trough.

James is especially pleased with Murphy Concrete's customer service, which provided him with immediate help and gave advice when necessary.

Discussing his experience with the team, James said: "They're very helpful, and there's no rush.

"Anything I wanted, if I needed to ring them back, there was no issues and there was always someone at the end of the phone, ready to give us answers."

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