I farm: “220 acres overall with 90 being my own land and 130 of that being rented. We farm mostly British Friesian crossed with Holstein but, in recent years, we’ve crossed with a few other breeds. I suppose when you’re a liquid milk producer you want a breed that is giving you volume.”

Dairy: “At the moment, we’re milking 80 cows. We’ll have the remainder of the herd calving down now in September; we have both a spring- and an autumn-calving herd. I have two bulls – a Limousin and a Friesian. I did an AI course, so I do all my own AI. Seventy per cent of the herd is AI and then the bulls clean up.”

Performance: “Our protein content is 3.32%. However, earlier in the summer, it was up at 3.49%. I don’t particularly know why it has gone down; I suppose it could be due to the grass or the weather. Our fat content is 4.03%.”

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Expansion: “We’ve only recently expanded. We used to milk 45 to 50 cows on our home farm, but we are now leasing another farm three miles up the road. So, the herd has leaped to 110 cows. We have bought the 60 cows on the other farm. I suppose the expansion couldn’t have happened at a worse time. But we just had to take the risk. The liquid milk prices haven’t been set, so we’re hoping it will sort us out for winter. My father and I milk 365 days a year. We’ve always done it, so I suppose we know no different.”

Aurivo: “My father is on the board at Aurivo. I also have a liquid milk business. I deliver milk for Aurivo. I have two vans, a truck and two people working for me.”

Family: “There’s my wife Tracy and our four children, Ciara, seven, Aaron, five, Conor, three, and Adam, one.”

Quotable quote: “Once you have an understanding wife and an understanding bank manager, you can do no more.”