I farm: “324 acres in Kenmare. Of that, only 55 acres is what you would call good land. There’s 114 acres of mountains and the rest is in forestry.”

TB: “I’m milking cows now again. I was completely locked up [after a failed TB test] from 1 August 2013 until 26 September 2014. We’re back up and running now. It was a desperate blow finding out that you have TB. It’s rampant down in Kerry in places. In my opinion, there are too many badgers and too much wildlife.”

Cows and heifers: “I’m milking 19 Friesian and Friesian cross cows. I’m only milking the 19 because I’m just getting over the TB. In the past couple of weeks, I’ve bought 14 in-calf heifers and will buy 10 more in the next couple of weeks. They’ll join the milking herd for next year.”

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Performance: “I just got the statement on Monday and my recent figures are good, I’m happy. The butterfat is 4.06%, protein is 3.59% and the cell count is just over 100.”

Quotas: “I’ve seen both sides of the business around quotas. I think the only thing it [quota removal] will do is give lads a bit of freedom. My fear is that it will only suit the bigger farmer and the smaller farmer will get left behind.”

Land drainage: “When I was locked down with TB it gave me time to do a bit of drainage. This year, I reclaimed 10 acres, drained and reseeded them. I wouldn’t have the chance to do it if I was milking, so in one way it was good.”

Family: “I’m married to Carrie and we have four children. Daniel is 21, Martin is 20, Caroline is 19 and James is 13. They’re all great kids and they all help out on the farm when they have to. It’s a great help to me.”

Quotable Quote: “I’ll give farming another 10 years and then I’ll move on. I’ve been farming since 1975 so it’ll be time to give somebody else a go.”