I farm: “Sheep and suckler cows on hill ground around Carntogher Mountain in Co Derry. My two brothers, Michael and Martin, and my father Lawrence also farm beside me. Together, we have 550 Blackface Lanark-type ewes, 35 commercial suckler cows and 35 pedigree Limousin cows.”

Off farm: “I work as an electrician; usually I work two or three days a week at it. My brothers have other employment as well.”

Sheep: “Blackface rams are put to around 300 of the best ewes and the rest are crossed with the Bluefaced Leicester to breed Mules. We lamb all ewes from around the second week in April. Leaving it later means there’s a better chance of good weather and the days are longer then too. All Blackface ewe lambs are kept for replacements and Mule ewe lambs are sold at the local mart in Swatragh.”

This week: “We sorted replacement ewe lambs for winter grazing. We sold Blackface ram lambs in the mart on Saturday, there are still about 150 lambs to fatten.”

Prices: “Although fat lambs are back in price this year, our average price for Mule ewe lambs is up £5 (€7) on last year. There was good demand for this type of breeding sheep this year.”

Limousins: “We have been breeding Limousins since 2000. Our best bulls are sold in Carlisle in Scotland. Last month, we got 4,800gns for a bull there. We sell other bulls at pedigree sales in Dungannon and Ballymena and the odd bull is sold privately at home too.”

Future: “Our main aim for the future is to improve the breeding of both the sheep and the cows. We have started to AI some ewes with semen from Blackface flocks in Scotland. We buy the odd heifer at the sale in Carlisle and some ewes at the sale in Lanark too.”

Quotable quote: “There is nothing I would rather be doing than farming here at home. Around Carntogher, the weather is the big factor. If there is any snow due to fall we will get it which doesn’t make things handy, especially in the early spring.”