“We’re predominantly a tillage farm,” says Ollie Whyte at the outset of our conversation. “We also keep some cattle.” As the morning unfolds, this statement is borne out, but is also put in fuller context. The “some cattle” turn out to be 500 heifers finished each winter, mostly bought in. This might sound like a lot of cattle for a sideline on a family farm, but it’s no ordinary farm, and no ordinary family.

When Ollie says “we”, he is speaking on behalf of himself and his six brothers – Jimmy, Peter, Eddie, Joey, Martin and Anthony – who farm together. They joined their father Peter, who established the farm just outside the Naul in north Dublin, initially on 20 acres in 1953, and built it up together over time. He is also speaking on behalf of the next generation of Whytes. Between them, the seven brothers had 28 children, 19 of them boys, seven of them now working full-time on the farm – Peter, James, Dermot, David, Peadar, Kevin and Joseph. That’s 14 family members working together on one farm.

Seven sons of seven sons – it conjures up images of miracle workers. In a way, what the Whytes have done and are doing every day is a miracle. The story of a group of brothers coming together to build up a farm is not unique, or even that unusual. However, keeping the family farm intact through three generations while incorporating so many new members must be unique in an Irish context. It conjures up images of the Waltons. When I say this there is laughter among the assembled – Ollie, one of the seven brothers, his son David, nephew Peadar, and sister-in-law Mary.

“We’re not the Waltons by any means,” says Ollie, who seems to take on the role of the family spokesman. And yet, the Whytes have now been recognised, becoming the 2014 FBD/Irish Farmers Journal Farm Family of the year, an award to recognise the UN Year of Family Farming. Their story is remarkable.

Simply put, any family member is welcome to join the business. If they do, they become part of the collective effort. Each of the seven brothers owns his own land, with the original 20 acres built up now to about 1,000 acres owned between them. A further 2,000 acres are rented, giving the scale necessary to sustain so many incomes.

Each brother keeps whatever profit is made from his own land. The remainder is pooled between all. There are checks and balances to guard against a bad year on one farm. Each of the sons earns a wage, building up ownership of a share of the business over time. Costs are assiduously ascribed to not just each farm, but every field. A company was set up, which owns the machinery and contracts in all work.

For all the men involved, it’s a woman who sits at the heart of the whole system, and makes it tick. Mary is married to Martin, and runs the farm’s office. A handwritten sign proclaims that she is the boss. Mary says she didn’t write it, but everyone seems to agree with the sentiment. Records are key to the harmonious running of the business. Everything is logged on the system.

Gatekeeper is the computer system in use, and the lads have it in their smartphones, sending the information back to Mary in the office. Previous to that, notebooks were essential, and are still liberally used. Each operation is logged by date, field, quantity of product and weather conditions (important for potatoes).

Peadar is in charge of spraying. “Each son has tended to follow his father in terms of his responsibilities,” Ollie observes. David and he share the task of planting. David also is in charge of fertilizer spreading. “You are always aware that how well you perform your role will affect the income of so many other people,” says Peadar. “It tends to mean you make that extra effort.”

Straw

The Whytes also bale 5-6,000 acres of straw, and have a contract with Monaghan mushrooms. The logistics of delivering 20,000 big square bales a season means a separate company has been set up to oversee the operation.

Crops grown include wheat, barley and oats, (spring and winter) OSR, and maize.

Potatoes were taken on when the new generation began to come home 20 years ago. Beet was grown from the 1970s, with Peter serving on the Tuam BVA board.

Land is taken on the basis of location, quality and block size. For large-scale tillage farmers, the Whytes have a remarkable commitment to maintaining their owned land traditionally. “My own farm has fields of eight and nine acres,” says Ollie. “I’d hate to take a ditch or a tree out.” “Of course,” quips Peadar, “if we’re taking land, the bigger the fields, the better.”

Which brings us back to the starting point, the challenges posed by the new EU payment regime to the Whytes’ system. They say that they have a good relationship with the Department. It’s to the credit of the Department that they recognise the value of feedback from the Whytes – they are listened to when they bring forward concerns with aspects of farm administration. “We’re really looking forward to the day when a form comes out from the Department with a box for family,” says Ollie. He highlights, for instance, the difficulties the three-crop rule of greening will have. Initially, each block was to be regarded as a separate farm, needing three crops on it. That would turn the number of trips to a farm from 16 for one crop, to 42 for three crops. “It affects the economics of the system,” Ollie explains. An umbrella provision has now been made, not without drawbacks, but a significant improvement on the original.

Collective

What makes the system work? It’s the shared sense of responsibility to the collective effort. For instance, I pose the hypothetical question – what would happen if one of the lads was called up to the Dublin footballers, with all the commitment that would entail?

Everyone starts laughing. It turns out that David did play county football, but for Meath, not Dublin. Ollie is the only one of the seven brothers who is located on the Meath side of the border, so David wore the green and gold of the Royal County. “It almost came as a relief when I was dropped off the panel. You are aware that you are away from work more than others.”

Having said that, there is no rigidity around work. “If anyone was slacking, the others would pull them into line fairly quickly,” says Peadar. Off-peak, Saturday afternoon is taken off. If someone is getting married, or has a baby, they are cut some slack. No one abuses this latitude, because it wouldn’t be tolerated. When the Whytes are busy, it’s work all the waking hours for everyone.

“One very important point is that all our wives get on together,” Ollie says. “When the children were smaller,” Mary adds, “we would bring them to the field during the harvest, and have a picnic, make it an event for them. The kids were reared together, the cousins would have played together.” They are still close, forming the backbone of the local team that won the recent Macra seven-a-side football All-Ireland. Non-farming siblings retain an interest in what’s going on on the land.

Farm safety

I ask about farm safety. It’s a huge priority. During peak times, the need to break off and get a good night’s sleep is understood. “Tiredness leads to a drop in concentration; that’s when mistakes happen and accidents occur,” says David.

I can’t help noticing a whiteboard in the office with a number of options for a combine purchase under consideration. They had been posted up by Mary so everyone could see the choices available. Decisions are never made impulsively, and a couple of very revealing practices emerge.

Firstly, the issue is thrashed out fully, but left in the yard. “Voices are often raised, and everyone makes their point,” Mary says, “but it never gets personal.”

Secondly, a decision, once taken, is final. “There would never be recriminations down the line,” says Ollie. “If a decision, with hindsight, turns out not to have been for the best, no one would ever come along and say ‘I told you so’.

“We do realise that we’re shocking lucky that this worked,” Ollie admits. Peadar says: “We’ve seen in other situations that problems only emerge when you try to break up a family farm. It’s in my interest to make sure this keeps working.”

“I need Peadar as much as he needs me,” David adds. “It allows us to specialise in our particular job – that’s absolutely key”.

I ask if they believe land purchase is justifiable nowadays. “Only with your own money,” is the reply. “Land at say €12,000 an acre costs twice that if borrowed, once interest and tax is taken into account.”

Leasing

Long-term leasing is the preferred way of building up acreage. The Whytes see a change in mindset from auctioneers and people wanting to lease land out. “The highest bid is not always the best,” says Daithi. “We would pride ourselves on improving land as we farm it.”

Loyalty is very important to the Whytes. They deal with the same people over time. The same accountant, Joe Woods, represents all seven brothers, and most of their machinery is bought from the same local dealership – Armstrong Machinery. A close relationship with Drummonds has been built up, with a porridge oats contract developed. Haggard Stores supplies inputs and Keatings Oil has delivered fuel to the farm since the 1940s.

Continuity, loyalty, and communication seem to be the ingredients that lie at the heart of the Whytes’ story. Every farm family could learn from their experience.