Michael Reilly farms at Willowfield, just outside the town of Ballinamore, Co Leitrim. The home farm extends to 93ac, while land further away pushes the total acreage to 180ac. Michael, who purchased Willowfield in 2005, had previously spent many years working in construction in New York, moving to the States in 1986.
“It was the year I did my Leaving Cert. On 24 October 1986, I made the move to New York – almost 34 years ago at this stage. I had to go, there was nothing here for me at that time. Like so many around here, we had to leave in order to find work.
“The plan was always to return to Ireland and when we bought Willowfield in 2005, my wife Geraldine and our children Sarah Beth, Grace and Mikey and I made the move home. Ireland was very different by that time – I suppose the Celtic Tiger was in full swing and things had improved greatly.”
"I know if I can produce that quality animal, this farm will make money."
Since then, Michael has continued to travel between New York and Leitrim for work purposes, but his heart is firmly placed in Ballinamore.
“I still go back to New York a few times a year for work. I’m lucky Mikey has a real interest in the farm, so he helps out a lot when I am away. We also have two very good men that work part-time during the busy times of the year.”
This year, Michael has calved down 45 cows, but this is set to increase to 60 cows for 2021. It is fair to say that such an increase in suckler cow numbers is quite rare at the moment, but when asked why he decided to do so, Michael explained: “I have invested a lot in this farm over the last few years, in terms of grazing infrastructure and housing. It’s time for the farm to start paying some of that back.
Limousin heifers purchased in-calf to Limousin bull EBY.
“I want to get to a situation where I am producing 60 U-grading Charolais cattle every year that I can sell either as weanlings or stores. I know if I can produce that quality animal, this farm will make money.”
If the stock currently on the ground are anything to go by, Michael will have no problem achieving this goal in the coming years. The current stock bull, Mullawn Noble, is producing excellent-quality calves on a very consistent basis.
The Doonally New (CF52)-sired bull from a Pirate (PTE)-sired dam was purchased at the Charolais premier in Elphin in March 2018 for €11,500 and is certainly paying back his investment in terms of calf quality.
The Charolais stock bull, Mullawn Noble.
Michael is currently running a herd of good commercial cows and while there is some degree of variation in the genetic makeup of the herd, the consistency of the calf being produced is impressive.
“I am delighted with the quality the bull is breeding. He is also very easy calving, which is a must for us here, as I can be away at times.
“Management of the cow in the final six weeks of pregnancy is very important to aid calving ease.
“We calve in three batches throughout the year, in order to get the most use out of Noble.
“We want to maximise the number of calves he is putting on the ground each year, so we calve a batch in January, May and we are calving just now for autumn.”
A day-old calf born unassisted at grass. Michael says that calf size at birth is quite small, which reduces calving problems.
Sales
Autumn 2019-born bulls and heifers are currently being sold and Michael is hopeful of a couple of good days out in Carrigallen Mart with seven heifers and five bull weanlings.
“They were weaned the first days of August. The heifers were between 280kg and 345kg, while the bulls weighed between 320kg and 360kg. That is predominantly from grass only. They were only fed a kilo of meal for the few weeks prior to weaning for the BEEP-S scheme.
“I am very strict on that rule – the cow needs to be able to produce the calf from good grass and plenty of milk.”
In-calf heifers
In order to achieve the planned expansion, the family have 20 heifers to calve down between this coming October and February of next year.
They will then join either the January or May calving batches in the coming years.
Spring-born herd, all sired by the Charolais stock bull.
Some 16 of the heifers are in-calf to an Angus stock bull, while four super-quality black Limousin heifers from Belgian Blue-type cows were purchased in-calf to Limousin bull EBY.
“I bought them off a local farmer who breeds top-quality stock. I think they are super heifers. Look – with the breeding behind them, they have the potential to bring serious muscle. They will need extra attention at calving time.
“I’m not too concerned with three of them, they have the width at the hips, but the other one will need to be watched. If it turns out to be more hassle then it is worth, we will have to look at it in the future.”
The future
“I want to get the farm to a situation where it is providing a substantial income. I would love for it to be a viable option for one of the family to take on in the future, should they want to. I think if you cannot make a living off 180ac, it is a very sad state of affairs. There were families reared here in Leitrim in the past, on farms with 30 to 40ac.
“Unfortunately, those days seem to be gone – something drastically needs to change in order to keep people in rural towns and villages throughout Ireland.”
Michael Reilly farms at Willowfield, just outside the town of Ballinamore, Co Leitrim. The home farm extends to 93ac, while land further away pushes the total acreage to 180ac. Michael, who purchased Willowfield in 2005, had previously spent many years working in construction in New York, moving to the States in 1986.
“It was the year I did my Leaving Cert. On 24 October 1986, I made the move to New York – almost 34 years ago at this stage. I had to go, there was nothing here for me at that time. Like so many around here, we had to leave in order to find work.
“The plan was always to return to Ireland and when we bought Willowfield in 2005, my wife Geraldine and our children Sarah Beth, Grace and Mikey and I made the move home. Ireland was very different by that time – I suppose the Celtic Tiger was in full swing and things had improved greatly.”
"I know if I can produce that quality animal, this farm will make money."
Since then, Michael has continued to travel between New York and Leitrim for work purposes, but his heart is firmly placed in Ballinamore.
“I still go back to New York a few times a year for work. I’m lucky Mikey has a real interest in the farm, so he helps out a lot when I am away. We also have two very good men that work part-time during the busy times of the year.”
This year, Michael has calved down 45 cows, but this is set to increase to 60 cows for 2021. It is fair to say that such an increase in suckler cow numbers is quite rare at the moment, but when asked why he decided to do so, Michael explained: “I have invested a lot in this farm over the last few years, in terms of grazing infrastructure and housing. It’s time for the farm to start paying some of that back.
Limousin heifers purchased in-calf to Limousin bull EBY.
“I want to get to a situation where I am producing 60 U-grading Charolais cattle every year that I can sell either as weanlings or stores. I know if I can produce that quality animal, this farm will make money.”
If the stock currently on the ground are anything to go by, Michael will have no problem achieving this goal in the coming years. The current stock bull, Mullawn Noble, is producing excellent-quality calves on a very consistent basis.
The Doonally New (CF52)-sired bull from a Pirate (PTE)-sired dam was purchased at the Charolais premier in Elphin in March 2018 for €11,500 and is certainly paying back his investment in terms of calf quality.
The Charolais stock bull, Mullawn Noble.
Michael is currently running a herd of good commercial cows and while there is some degree of variation in the genetic makeup of the herd, the consistency of the calf being produced is impressive.
“I am delighted with the quality the bull is breeding. He is also very easy calving, which is a must for us here, as I can be away at times.
“Management of the cow in the final six weeks of pregnancy is very important to aid calving ease.
“We calve in three batches throughout the year, in order to get the most use out of Noble.
“We want to maximise the number of calves he is putting on the ground each year, so we calve a batch in January, May and we are calving just now for autumn.”
A day-old calf born unassisted at grass. Michael says that calf size at birth is quite small, which reduces calving problems.
Sales
Autumn 2019-born bulls and heifers are currently being sold and Michael is hopeful of a couple of good days out in Carrigallen Mart with seven heifers and five bull weanlings.
“They were weaned the first days of August. The heifers were between 280kg and 345kg, while the bulls weighed between 320kg and 360kg. That is predominantly from grass only. They were only fed a kilo of meal for the few weeks prior to weaning for the BEEP-S scheme.
“I am very strict on that rule – the cow needs to be able to produce the calf from good grass and plenty of milk.”
In-calf heifers
In order to achieve the planned expansion, the family have 20 heifers to calve down between this coming October and February of next year.
They will then join either the January or May calving batches in the coming years.
Spring-born herd, all sired by the Charolais stock bull.
Some 16 of the heifers are in-calf to an Angus stock bull, while four super-quality black Limousin heifers from Belgian Blue-type cows were purchased in-calf to Limousin bull EBY.
“I bought them off a local farmer who breeds top-quality stock. I think they are super heifers. Look – with the breeding behind them, they have the potential to bring serious muscle. They will need extra attention at calving time.
“I’m not too concerned with three of them, they have the width at the hips, but the other one will need to be watched. If it turns out to be more hassle then it is worth, we will have to look at it in the future.”
The future
“I want to get the farm to a situation where it is providing a substantial income. I would love for it to be a viable option for one of the family to take on in the future, should they want to. I think if you cannot make a living off 180ac, it is a very sad state of affairs. There were families reared here in Leitrim in the past, on farms with 30 to 40ac.
“Unfortunately, those days seem to be gone – something drastically needs to change in order to keep people in rural towns and villages throughout Ireland.”
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