I farm: “A medium-sized dairy farm on Valentia Island in Co Kerry.”

Cows: “I’m milking 40 cows at the moment. They’re mainly a British Friesian type.”

Cow performance: “The cows are doing 15 litres per day with a protein of 3.75% and a butterfat of 4.86%. I’m quite happy with that.”

Expansion: “I’ve 40 cows now but I do plan on going up in numbers in the next four or five years if I can get a bit of land around.”

Co-op: “I supply my milk to Kerry Co-op. They had been collecting the milk from the island every third day but now it’s twice a week. The price is good at the minute; you’d have to be happy with it. With the solids the way they are, I’m getting 40c/l for August.”

Weather: “The weather has been very difficult this last while. We only had a good week in June and it’s been very bad since. The land around here is very heavy. The cows are in by night and I’m feeding them silage. I’m also doing a bit of zero-grazing. The solids had dropped before I started feeding by night but they’ve bounced back well.”

Silage: “The first cut was all pit silage and the second and third cuts have been bales with a bit of zero-grazing too.”

Island life: “It’s nice and bright during the summer months but it’s a lot quieter come the winter.”

This week: “I’m trying to get a bit of third cut done and dusted. Hopefully, it’ll be gathered before the rain.”

Quotable quote: “We have a lot of tourists alright especially in the last few years. It’s very busy from March until October but it gets quiet after that. I’ve noticed a lot less British around the place this year.”