The next stop west of David Boyd’s suckler and sheep farm at Carrickfinn, Co Donegal, is the US. Although there is no shortage of scenery to look at on the west coast, farming on the Wild Atlantic Way has its challenges.
“A lot of the ground here is either sandy, or else it is rock and shallow. We are on sandy ground predominantly. It is great in the winter, but if it’s very dry in May and June, and cows have been on the ground all winter, it doesn’t grow much that year,” David said.
There are 30 suckler cows and 100 ewes on the Boyd farm. All cows are served with artificial insemination and calves are sold mainly as weanlings. Charolais, Simmental, Limousin and Angus genetics are used.
All calves are AI-bred on the Boyd farm. \ Clive Wasson
“We would have had big, Charolais-type cows in the past, but we are trying to breed smaller cows now. Bigger cows are harder to feed. It doesn’t add up if you are taking a 300kg weanling from an 800kg cow,” David maintained.
The sheep enterprise also has a mixture of breeds with Texel, Suffolk, Cheviot, Blackface and Hampshire Down genetics present in the flock. Lambs are mainly sold as stores through the mart.
David studied a higher national diploma (HND) at CAFRE’s Greenmount Campus in Antrim and has been mainly farming at home since he graduated in 2009. He does some casual work too, such as shearing sheep, driving for contractors and relief milking.
With most farms in the area having fragmented layouts, David said that family help is essential for moving livestock between parcels of land.
“We could be walking stock for up to a mile and a half, but my brother Thomas and mum Mabel help out. I wouldn’t be able to farm here without them,” he said.
Income
David estimates that the average suckler herd in the area is around six cows, and there is less than a handful of local sheep farmers that run over 150 ewes, so most farmers rely on off-farm income.
The Boyd farm is beside Donegal Airport. \ Clive Wasson
“There is some construction work locally and there are a few factories in Letterkenny which keeps people in the county. There is work here but the pay is not as good as Dublin, so a lot of people are travelling down and working there Monday to Friday and then come home at the weekend,” he said.
David notices less livestock is being kept on some farms as margins continue to be squeezed and farmers spend more time at off farm work.
On farms with marginal and hill land, that can soon lead to upland vegetation becoming overgrown which increases the risk of wildfires.
A recent example is the incident in west Donegal this spring where a fire between Gweedore and Dungloe engulfed a large swath of the countryside.
David Boyd on his farm beside Isle na Marbh beach. \ Clive Wasson
“The fire was around two or three miles from here. It was leaving nothing behind it. Whatever was in front of it was burned. I never saw whin (gorse) bushes and heather burn like it. A lot of it was commonage that hasn’t been grazed by stock for years,” David said.
Distance
Aside from farming, day-to-day life in Carrickfinn has many of the same challenges that face other remote areas along the west coast of Ireland.
“Donegal town, Ballybofey and Letterkenny are all 40 miles or an hour’s drive from here. Our main mart is in Milford and it is around the same distance. It is all travelling but when you are brought up with it, you don’t think anything of it,” David said.
The Wild Atlantic Way initiative has brought tourism and economic activity to many parts of the west coast. Although most tourists tend to stick to the main towns, David points out that camper vans and caravans can appear in his local area at any time of the year.
“A lot are just driving through from Donegal town and Ardara to the next tourist town, which is Dunfanaghy, but we have a blue flag beach here which does attract some tourists and makes them come off the beaten track,” he said.
Read more
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The next stop west of David Boyd’s suckler and sheep farm at Carrickfinn, Co Donegal, is the US. Although there is no shortage of scenery to look at on the west coast, farming on the Wild Atlantic Way has its challenges.
“A lot of the ground here is either sandy, or else it is rock and shallow. We are on sandy ground predominantly. It is great in the winter, but if it’s very dry in May and June, and cows have been on the ground all winter, it doesn’t grow much that year,” David said.
There are 30 suckler cows and 100 ewes on the Boyd farm. All cows are served with artificial insemination and calves are sold mainly as weanlings. Charolais, Simmental, Limousin and Angus genetics are used.
All calves are AI-bred on the Boyd farm. \ Clive Wasson
“We would have had big, Charolais-type cows in the past, but we are trying to breed smaller cows now. Bigger cows are harder to feed. It doesn’t add up if you are taking a 300kg weanling from an 800kg cow,” David maintained.
The sheep enterprise also has a mixture of breeds with Texel, Suffolk, Cheviot, Blackface and Hampshire Down genetics present in the flock. Lambs are mainly sold as stores through the mart.
David studied a higher national diploma (HND) at CAFRE’s Greenmount Campus in Antrim and has been mainly farming at home since he graduated in 2009. He does some casual work too, such as shearing sheep, driving for contractors and relief milking.
With most farms in the area having fragmented layouts, David said that family help is essential for moving livestock between parcels of land.
“We could be walking stock for up to a mile and a half, but my brother Thomas and mum Mabel help out. I wouldn’t be able to farm here without them,” he said.
Income
David estimates that the average suckler herd in the area is around six cows, and there is less than a handful of local sheep farmers that run over 150 ewes, so most farmers rely on off-farm income.
The Boyd farm is beside Donegal Airport. \ Clive Wasson
“There is some construction work locally and there are a few factories in Letterkenny which keeps people in the county. There is work here but the pay is not as good as Dublin, so a lot of people are travelling down and working there Monday to Friday and then come home at the weekend,” he said.
David notices less livestock is being kept on some farms as margins continue to be squeezed and farmers spend more time at off farm work.
On farms with marginal and hill land, that can soon lead to upland vegetation becoming overgrown which increases the risk of wildfires.
A recent example is the incident in west Donegal this spring where a fire between Gweedore and Dungloe engulfed a large swath of the countryside.
David Boyd on his farm beside Isle na Marbh beach. \ Clive Wasson
“The fire was around two or three miles from here. It was leaving nothing behind it. Whatever was in front of it was burned. I never saw whin (gorse) bushes and heather burn like it. A lot of it was commonage that hasn’t been grazed by stock for years,” David said.
Distance
Aside from farming, day-to-day life in Carrickfinn has many of the same challenges that face other remote areas along the west coast of Ireland.
“Donegal town, Ballybofey and Letterkenny are all 40 miles or an hour’s drive from here. Our main mart is in Milford and it is around the same distance. It is all travelling but when you are brought up with it, you don’t think anything of it,” David said.
The Wild Atlantic Way initiative has brought tourism and economic activity to many parts of the west coast. Although most tourists tend to stick to the main towns, David points out that camper vans and caravans can appear in his local area at any time of the year.
“A lot are just driving through from Donegal town and Ardara to the next tourist town, which is Dunfanaghy, but we have a blue flag beach here which does attract some tourists and makes them come off the beaten track,” he said.
Read more
Donegal farmers make their voice heard at Irish Farmers Journal listening event
My Country Living: Jack’s lasting legacy
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