I farm: “Sucklers, sheep, tillage and pigs.”

Sucklers: “We run a herd of 100 Limousin cross cows with all progeny finished to beef, the males as bulls. We use Charolais sires on the cows, Limousin on the heifers. Crossing the Charolais back on the cows gives a good animal that will go to a good weight. We are signed up for the Beef Data and Genomics Programme (BDGP).’’

Sheep: “We’re running 120 ewes and 40 ewe lambs. It’s been a good enough year for sheep. We’re taking sponges out this week. We do early lambing and aim to have it out of the way before cows start calving. We use Belclare and they give a good crop of lambs.”

Harvest: “This year, we’re down to 34 acres of winter barley and 10 acres of winter wheat. The winter barley needs a few days yet to be ready. The crops are looking good, but price is looking bad. We use all the straw ourselves. We feed the winter barley straw to the dry cows. We get a man in to sow, but we have all the other gear ourselves.”

Reseeding: “We reseed at least 20 acres every year so our grazing is fairly good. Most of it has been reseeded in the last 10 years.”

Pigs: “We keep 30 sows with all progeny finished. The bonus is the slurry.”

Family: “I farm in partnership with my parents, Tom and Monica. My brother, Michael, is also farming.”

Interests: “I’m chair of South Kildare Macra Club and I’m participating in the Macra na Feirme/FBD Young Farmer of the Year competition.’’

In five years' time: “I see us with more cows and sheep.”

Quotable quote: “If you follow the BDGP rules, you should end up with a better herd.”