I farm: “Almost 300 acres; 50 are barley and beet for cattle feed, while we’re down to 30 acres of potatoes from 140 in previous years. The rest is grassland with a lot of the land rented.”

This week: “I started milking for the first time last Wednesday, with 20 cows in the parlour. We put up most of the parlour ourselves, all that could be done ourselves anyway. We put in an eight-unit DeLaval parlour that cost €48,000. I’m hoping to be at 80-plus cows in two years. There are 30 heifers for the bull now and the rest will be mostly bought-in. We also run 50 suckler cows, 150 ewes and carry around 150 Friesian bulls from calf to beef each year.”

Experience: “I had no experience in the dairy industry. I got my Green Cert in Oak Park, Carlow, last year and thought it was time for a change. My neighbour and a friend are helping me to get settled at the moment.”

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Potatoes: “With potatoes, you can’t tell what’s around the corner. You might have one good year in four if you’re lucky, but a lot of farmers are working at a loss. The supermarkets are driving a lot of the small shopkeeper markets away.”

Dairy: “There’s a future for me in dairy; well, that’s the plan anyway.”

Grassland: “The majority of the land has being reseeded over the last number of years and, in the last week or so, grass has got ahead of me. The small amount of ground left to be reseeded will be done. The sucklers will be moved to the outside farm and it will be mostly dairy on the home farm.”

Family: “My father William and mother Josephine work on the farm with me. I’m the eldest of five with one brother, James, and three sisters, Jacqueline, Rebecca and Jennifer.”

Quotable quote: “I’m learning, but even I know you can’t grow potatoes for the sake of growing potatoes.”