I farm: “About 65ac on the home farm and rent another 15ac locally. I farm along with my father Aeneas and my uncles, Arthur and Enda. We finish beef cattle and lambs in a high turnover, small-margin system, with 150 cattle and 1,500 lambs passing through each year usually.”

Marts: “I am usually in marts three or four times a week buying forward store cattle and lambs for ourselves at home and also buying cattle on behalf of other farmers. I am an agent for Dunbia in Dungannon for my local area and get the cattle back off the farmers for the factory when they are ready.”

Traditional breeds: “Over the past few years, the cattle passing through our farm have become more Hereford-orientated. This is down to the bonus schemes run by factories for traditional breeds, but also because Herefords are easier to finish than continentals, allowing a quicker turnover and carcases to stay within weight specifications.”

This week: “There are 20 steers to take to the factory this week. I have been weighing cattle on the farm and handling them to see what will be ready to go shortly also. The main aim for the weekend would be to start to get slurry out if the weather stays dry and ground conditions improve.”

Contractors: “We don’t usually use contractors as there is plenty of help around between the four of us to do our own silage, slurry, hedgecutting and fencing work. We like to keep the yard and farm as tidy as possible.”

Prices: “The rise in lamb prices by £10 (€13)/head to £15 (€20)/head a few weeks back due to the strengthening of the euro and slight tightening in supply was needed, particularly at this time of year. The beef end of things isn’t great still but I hope better times lie ahead.”

Quotable quote: “As a hobby, I show a few cattle at local shows. The most recent was Allam’s fatstock show and sale in Belfast before Christmas. I got a reserve Hereford champion with a steer I bought as a calf at the sale the year before.”