This is a subscriber-only article
I farm: “We have 25ac at home, with 30 Angus cross weanlings and 50ac on an outfarm down the road with 15 Angus cross stores. I’m farming part-time at the moment with my father Mike, who’s also farming part-time. The outfarm would be prone to flooding in some places and soil is heavy on both farms.”
This week: “We’ll be dosing before housing but hoping to keep the lighter weanlings out for as long as possible.”
System: “We’re understocked at the moment but the aim is to have three lots of 30 cattle on the farms at different ages, buying them in at four weeks of age from a dealer we know and finishing them ourselves. We haven’t lost any to date.”
Green Cert: “I’ve just completed my Green Cert in Pallaskenry. It was a good experience and I found the co-op part the best because it was so hands on. The calf-rearing experience was invaluable and very useful for rearing my own calves.”
Drought: “Being understocked helped and we didn’t have to break into the silage reserves too much. On the plus side, it was the first time in years we were able to get a tractor into parts of the outfarm.”
Beef negativity: “There can be a lot of negative feeling around taking on a beef farm but I enjoy it and just want to make the most of it and drive it on as well as I can.”
Female farmers: “I just make the most out of the machinery and mind my back, no different than anyone else really. I don’t think that there’s anything I can’t do just for being a woman.”
Updating the farm: “We did a lot of drainage last year and myself and my father did a lot of fencing this summer to get ready for the next batch of calves coming in in the spring. We also reseeded five acres this summer.”
Quotable quote: “We’re getting the farm passed to us from my grandfather and I really just want to drive it on and make him proud.”
SHARING OPTIONS: