I farm: “Here in Malin Head alongside my Dad, Maurice Porter. If you put everything together our land comprises 160ac. Fifty acres would be our own and the rest is rented. I have a small holding of 25ac where I keep 10 cows and 25 lowland sheep. Four months ago, I brought three Highland heifers over from Glasgow and Aberdeen for my three daughters.”

A family operation: “I also have a construction company in Dublin. I leave here on Monday mornings at 3am and head down to Dublin to work for a few days and come back up maybe Wednesday or Thursday. Then I spend the rest of the week on the farm. When I am away, Dad runs the farm. He is 77 years of age and he covers every blade of grass.”

Sheep and cattle: “We keep about 60 cows and 140 lowland sheep. They are all mixed breeds, everything from Aberdeen Angus to Limousin-cross. We have a Charolais and Limousin bull that we run with the herd. We decided two years ago we would synchronise the cows and ewes to calve and lamb at the same time, which is tough going. The sheep scanned well this year. They are Suffolk x Texel ewes. We have a lot of trebles coming. Hopefully they will lamb down successfully in a couple of weeks. ”

Highland cattle: “I always liked them so I decided to buy three for my daughters, Anna, Ellie and Claire. A woman sourced them for me in Scotland. They are fully registered pedigree fold Highlands. There are not too many of them in Ireland, they have a very good bloodline. They girls named them Cally, Pixie and Maisie. Our heifer Cally recently had twins, a bull and heifer, which is very unusual for her breed.”

Twin calves: “I contacted the Scottish Highland Society and they said there are no registered twin Highland calves in Ireland, so we might have the first. I don’t know. There are a lot of Highlands here that are not purebred and not registered, so I am not sure.”

Donegal for Sam: “I would be a member of the local GAA club, Malin GAA. I played football there all my life, I am a big supporter of Donegal, I am hopeful every year that they will win the All-Ireland.”

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My Farming Week: John C Fletcher, Ballykillane, Portarlington, Co Laois