My Farming Week: Aaron Myles, Legaltan, Ballyshannon, Donegal

I farm: “19,500 ducks, 250 sheep and 70 suckler cows on 300ac with my father Neville, grandfather David and girlfriend Ciara. There’s three generations of us and my grandad is stuck in the middle of it all.”

Livestock: “We’ve 70 commercial Limousin cows, 50 pedigree Texel sheep and 200 commercial ewes. The cows are spring calving and we finish all followers to beef. The pedigree flock lambs from 1 February and the commercials start on 17 March. We finish the Texel and Suffolk cross lambs off grass over the summer.”

Ducks: “I’d come home from working in Scotland and wanted to add another source of income to the farm. We invested in the new duck shed and had it first filled in February 2020 in a partnership with Monaghan-based Silver Hill Duck. They deliver the ducklings at one day old and we rear them through to six weeks. We take 19,500 birds 7.3 times a year with five-day gaps between groups for a full cleanout.”

System: “It’s a fully automated system where I look after temperature, feed and water. Silver Hill subscribes a set pellet formula from starter, grower and finisher and they regularly visit the farm to support. It takes us an hour in the morning, afternoon and evening and it works well with the sucklers and sheep. The slurry from the ducks cut our fertiliser bill to zero. We invested in a dribble bar this summer and the amount of grass we’ve grown, we’ve never seen it before.”

Inputs: “Energy costs have gone through the roof and as with every business, it involves tightening the belt.”

Market: “We’re rightly chuffed that our duck is such a high-end product and you’d be proud that it’s sought after all over the world. The duck is a quality meat and it’s very versatile when cooking. We wouldn’t have gone into it until we were sure and at this stage, everything is on the table in terms of expansion.”