This week: “I was in Virginia, Co Cavan on Monday where we won the Northern Ireland category of the Lakeland dairies milk quality awards. On Tuesday, we were at Queens University for the graduation of our daughter Sarah Louise with a law degree”.

Family: “I’m married to Valerie and we have Jonathan (23), Sarah Louise (21) Ashley (19) and Laura Jayne (15). My brother Colin is also involved in the farm.

Greenmount: “Jonathan graduated from Greenmount two years ago and is at home farming full time. Ashley is also studying agriculture at Greenmount – next month he heads to Australia for six months.”

Herd: “we milk 230 cows and keep all the heifers. Average yield is over 10,000 litres per cow and we calve cows in most months of the year apart from July and August. A technician from Genus looks after all the heat detection and breeding. We are happy with the system and the lifestyle”.

Contractors: “As the herd has grown, we are using contractors for more and more of the machinery work – it’s cheaper, quicker and less stressful to be honest”.

Expansion: “Milk price is quite good at present and the outlook is positive. However, with milk quotas going next year we’d be a bit cautious and will wait and see what happens”.

Feed: “We feed the cows a total mixed ration and then feed according to yield in the parlour. We milk through a new DeLaval parlour with 16 units on each side. The cows graze by day but are generally indoors by night.

Milk quality: “Attention to detail is the key to milk quality. Cleanliness is vital, as well as good hygiene in the cubicles. We dip cows’ udders pre and post milking. Using a good dry cow tube is essential and the cow has to be dry for at least two months.

Lakeland: “We switched to Lakeland 14 years and it’s been a good move for us – we are well looked after”.

Quotable quote: “Ensuring that the cow is not under stress is really important for milk quality”.