Karen McCabe

Farmer Writes: TB test passed with flying colours

While I always tell myself to not run a hand over the injection sites, it’s a fruitless lecture to myself, as without fail I’ll be squinting at them on day two.

FARMER WRITES 3 December 2025

Farmer Writes: TB test passed with flying colours

MOST READ STORIES

1

2

3

4

5

Farmer Writes: winter arrives as cold snap moves in

Farmer Writes: winter arrives as cold snap moves in

FARMER WRITES 19 November 2025

Farmer Writes: cattle housed for the winter

Farmer Writes: cattle housed for the winter

FARMER WRITES 5 November 2025

Farmer writes: housing on the horizon

Farmer writes: housing on the horizon

Farmer writes: housing on the horizon

FARMER WRITES 22 October 2025

Farmer Writes: weather, weanlings and winter preparation

Farmer Writes: weather, weanlings and winter preparation

Farmer Writes: weather, weanlings and winter preparation

FARMER WRITES 8 October 2025

ADVERTISEMENT

MOST READ STORIES

1

2

3

4

5

Farmer Writes: winter is coming

Farmer Writes: winter is coming

Karen McCabe is noticing the early signs of winter setting in on her farm in Co Leitrim.

FARMER WRITES 2 July 2025

Farmer Writes: waterfall in a feed passage

Farmer Writes: waterfall in a feed passage

Whilst I have no fear of heights (having taken up rock-climbing as a ‘relaxing’ pastime in college) there’s something about being on top of a ladder that has always given me the heebie-jeebies.

FARMER WRITES 2 July 2025

Farmer Writes: a welcome sup of rain

Farmer Writes: a welcome sup of rain

Only for a heavy dew most mornings we’d probably have seen a decline in grass growth in Leitrim.

FARMER WRITES 2 July 2025

Farmer Writes: more crosses than a convent

Farmer Writes: more crosses than a convent

Standing at the gate looking over one group of our cows, it got me thinking about how our herd has changed over the years.

FARMER WRITES 2 July 2025

Farmer Writes: grass growth going strong, but breeding is hit and miss

Farmer Writes: grass growth going strong, but breeding is hit and miss

It has been a superb year for grass growth on Karen McCabe’s Co Leitrim farm, with the breeding season a little more hit and miss.

DEALER 2 July 2025

Farmer Writes: all cows calved

Farmer Writes: all cows calved

It took longer than expected for our last two cows to finally calve, and while we were tempted to leave them outdoors for calving, with the hot weather we didn’t want to end up with overheated calves.

FARMER WRITES 2 July 2025

Farmer Writes: unexpected visitors

Farmer Writes: unexpected visitors

As we all know (especially ourselves in the last while) if you’ve cattle out, they occasionally take hedges as a suggestion instead of an instruction.

FARMER WRITES 2 July 2025

SPONSORED

Udder Vital Bolus to support vitality and resilience

Udder Vital Bolus can be used for animals with somatic cell count problems and during the transition period.

Udder Vital Bolus to support vitality and resilience

LOAD MORE STORIES