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‘A World Without Cows – The Pasture Paradox’ is a companion mini-documentary produced by the filmmakers of World Without Cows, which was released in 2024, and commissioned by animal nutrition and health company, Alltech. For a country with 1.6 million cows sustaining a €7.3 billion dairy export industry that supports 60,000 jobs, it made sense to look at Ireland and how it is navigating all the environmental challenges, while continuing to produce food for export. The documentary features a number of interviews: Dr Lisa Koep, chief ESG officer, Tirlán; Dr Laura Burke, former director general, Environmental Protection Agency; Dr Patrick Ward, Alltech; and Niall Moore, a dairy farmer from Co. Waterford in the southeast of Ireland, and focus of this piece.

 

Third generation

Niall is a third-generation dairy farmer and he and his 120-cow herd are based in Co. Waterford. If ever there was an ambassador for the best in Irish dairy farming, he is surely it. He understands that growth opportunity and environmental responsibility are most definitely not exclusive. He was reared to respect the natural world, the waters, and the environment around him and these things always translated to the farm, he said. 

“We were always taught about nature, growing up on the farm, about the birds and animals. My grandfather was a fisherman, and father was also a keen angler.” He recalls being taken up the river fishing trout when he was young; it gave him firsthand opportunities to learn about the environment around him, and the importance of clean rivers and waters. As he says in the film: “It’s always been a position here [at the farm] that we’re caretakers of the environment. Because if the environment isn’t good, it isn’t going to be good for farming,” he said.

 

‘I hate the word sustainable’

The word ‘sustainable’ is embedded in everything that farmers do. It is an important word, and the practices that it promotes are essential now more than ever. But it is not a new phenomenon.

“I actually hate the word sustainable. I'll be honest,” said Niall. “In Ireland, we have a low carbon footprint per kilogramme of milk solids that we produce; way lower than a lot of other systems. The way we farm. It's just brilliant. I think we don't have to call it anything,” Niall explained. 

A farmer saying they ‘hate the word sustainability’ might make headlines for all the wrong reasons in mainstream media, but in a food-production context, it makes sense as Niall explains that his family commenced adopting sustainable farming practices when that word was not even a ‘thing’. Way back in 1991 they ventured into dealing with the farm’s soiled water. Niall explained: “Environmentalist, Dr Rory Harrington, who worked with Waterford County Council (the local authority) at the time had returned from a trip to New Zealand, and he introduced a pilot constructed wetlands project. So, we had about four acres where we dug ponds, put back the topsoil, and planted weeds in it. It naturally filters the water. Eamon de Buitléir (a famous Irish environmentalist), famously drank a glass of water out of one of the ponds. So that is how much faith Ireland’s most famous environmentalists had in it at the time.” 

 

Context

Context is important and when we put forward arguments for Ireland’s dairy sector, we are not basing those arguments on emotions or traditions, but on facts. The facts are: more than 60,000 Irish jobs are dependent on the sector, as mentioned; we export dairy products to 140 markets around the world; and dairy now represents 38 per cent of our total food and drinks exports. But the big question remains, how does Ireland continue with sustainable food production, while staying in tune with the environment? The panel discussion that took place after the screening of the short film highlighted that water quality is the most important consideration now for farmers. The nitrate levels and their associated risks to aquatic ecosystems and biodiversity have long been publicised. While Ireland’s Environmental Protection Agency acknowledged in a report published last year that there had been a 10 per cent national reduction in river nitrate concentrations during 2024 with ‘reductions observed in all regions', it also stated that ‘nitrate concentrations in the southeast and midlands and eastern regions remain too high’. 

But to every challenge, there is a solution, Niall said: “Farming does face challenges but the science and desire to solve these challenges also keep getting better. There is an answer to any and all of the questions or issues we have out there, so we will continue to improve. I really believe in the quality of the milk we produce. Farmers care about the environment. They cared about it then, and they care about it now. We’re guardians of this land." Some of the environmentally friendly practices Niall has introduced to his farm include: 

• Low-emission slurry spreading: He uses trailing shoe technology that returns more nutrients to the soil and reduces nitrogen loss to the air. Across Ireland, 85 per cent of dairy farms have now adopted low-emission slurry spreading techniques, driven by regulation.

• Clover: In the 1990s, Niall explained, the farm grew rye grass varieties that relied on chemical fertilisers. Over time, Niall introduced red and white clover into his fields. Clover fixes nitrogen from the atmosphere directly into the soil. White clover seed usage across Ireland increased by more than 40 per cent between 2022 and 2025 – Niall was well ahead of the curve on this.

• Constructed wetlands: Niall’s constructed wetlands can remove between 50 per cent and 99 per cent of nitrogen from dairy farm water runoff.