Chaired by Irish Farmers Journal tillage editor Andy Doyle, the Whytes said for a farm the size they run, the fundamentals still ring true.

The farm has six enterprises and covers some 3,000 acres.

“When you have a farm our size it’s about making sure that you are doing enough to cover 14 families,” Ollie Whyte said.

“We also make sure that the communications are good. You don’t plough your own field, you plough everyone’s field. Yes, there are different blocks but the farm is one farm,” Ollie said.

Ollie, who is the father of seven Whyte sons, said the key to growing the farm has been diversifying.

“I suppose we have five or six different enterprises now. Cereal make up the most part of that 2,500 or 2,700 acres there. Then we bale straw on our own land and on neighbours’ land, we bale around 5,000 acres with 10 to 15 load of straw going to Monaghan Mushrooms every week.

“Then we have a suckler herd and finish 500 or 600 head of cattle every year. We also grow potatoes 12 months of the year mainly for Tesco through Country Crest, but we are starting our own brand too which is doing well,” Ollie added.

Ollie and his wife Mary said that they have always encouraged their children to take an active role in the farm as it has enthused them and they have become more interested in the business.

“The coming of the younger generation to the farm has brought different ideas and new ways of doing things and that has been very valuable,” Mary said.

“I’m not saying that we don’t have challenges, we do, but 14 families living off the one farm isn’t bad going,” Ollie added.

The Agri Careers Fair 2017 takes place on Thursday 30 March in the RDS and it can be watched live here.

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