I farm: “With my father on two farms, between Carrickmacross in Co Monaghan and Ardee in Co Louth. It’s a bit different with the two farms in two different counties, but they’re only about nine miles apart so it’s manageable at the same time.”

Beef and sheep: “We’re beef finishers, so we take in bullocks from August or September to December. We then bring them to the factory between July and December the following year. They are all finished under 30 months, at ABP in Clones. We mainly use grass with only a small bit of meal, only around 50kg to 100kg per head. We have some ewes as well and they go to Boyne Valley between June and September.”

Market: “Prices for the most part have been pretty okay this year and hopefully they should hold. I know the winter lads have had a bit of a nip, but that’s the market. We’re lucky that we’ve had a good summer and it was easier. I think we should have enough silage to do throughout the winter.”

Business: “I graduated from animal science in UCD this year, but I have found to hard to get a job. I’ve set up a business, Shevlin Agri Testing Services, which does soil sampling, silage sampling and slurry testing. It’s only about two weeks old, but I’m hoping it goes well, I’ve had a bit of interest so far. It has been growing just by word of mouth.”

Blogging: “I’ve started writing for the Irish Farmers Journal website; my first blog went up this week. It’s very interesting and it is another string to the bow. I enjoy writing so hopefully I can add something to it.”

Quotable quote: “I thought coming out of college there would be plenty of jobs for ag graduates, but it hasn’t been the case for a lot of us. That’s why I turned my hand to setting up my own business.”