Kathleen Denn

I farm: “125 acres with my father, James, at Bawn Faun, Cappoquin, Co Waterford. I also work three days a week with the local vet, Nicholas Connors.”

Milking: “We milk 80 cows, almost all British Friesian, with a couple of Shorthorn crosses. We supply Glanbia.”

Calves: “We usually rear them all to 14-month-old/15-month-old weanlings, but this year we sold 35 calves. I’d like to go up in cow numbers over the next two years, to 90 cows.”

Silage: “My husband, Martin O’Grady, has a contracting business. I used to take a month off work to draw silage with him. We just did our second cut on Monday. It was a good crop, we got a 24-hour wilt and 7.5 bales/acre.”

Work/life balance: “We’ve got a little girl, Ellie, who is two and a half. Daddy does the milking for me most mornings and I do them in the evenings. In my down time I play rugby with Dungarvan/Youghal ladies.”

A new silage crew: “I’m going to be on the harvester as part of an all-female silage crew at the Mount Melleray Community Silage Weekend on 19 August. We’re going to set a new Guinness world record in aid of the Alzheimer Society. We’ll show the male of the species exactly what we can do.”

Joan Dahill

Driving seat: “I’ll be drawing silage beside Kathleen on 19 August. I’m 72. Myself and my husband, John Joe, are officially retired, but I still keep Connemara ponies and horses on the farm. Two ponies I bred, Glencairn Ivy and Glencairn Sixpence, have qualified for the Dublin Horse Show.”

Classic tractor: “I’ll be drawing silage with a Ford 87. We bought it brand new back in 1977 and I worked it on the farm here. When John Joe retired 20 years ago, it was just parked up. John O’Brien, who is organising the all-female silage crew, bought it and did a great job restoring it. He is giving it to me for the day.”

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All-female silage crew to take on Guinness world record attempt