Beef: “The suckler cows are mostly Limousin cross. I use a Limousin bull on them and keep all my own replacements. I bring a lot of my cattle to slaughter at about two years old. If there is a good bunch I may sell a few at the mart as stores. The last bunch I took to Ballinasloe Mart recently came averaged €1,400, which I was very happy with. Prices are alright for beef at the moment.”

Sheep prices: “It hardly pays at all to have early lambs. I had a pen of well-fleshed Suffolk lambs at Athenry Mart last week, they sold for an average of €127 to a butcher. I would have got more a few weeks ago, but it’s still good to get them sold.”

Grass: “All the sheep are out as well as some of the sucklers, but I still have some in as well. The ones that are out are in a paddock with a bale of hay. It’s not that there’s no grass, supply is sufficient, but they’d only have it walked into the ground. I shook a bag there on 24 April and its coming very well. I’ll be locking off paddocks for silage next week. I cut last year on 19 June and had a fierce crop.”

Family: “My wife, Geraldine, gives a good hand around the place and my son, Michael Jnr, works the evenings when he comes home. I have a daughter as well, Theresa, she’s in college now though, studying nutrition.”

Quotable quote: “You won’t get to be a millionaire from sheep, but you’ll get a few pounds when you need it”