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We farm: “38 acres on the foot of Benbulben in Co Sligo. The farm is split in two, with 21 acres at my house and the remainder three miles up the road.”
Land type: “Our farm consists of marginal, heavy ground.”
Cattle: “We have a herd of pedigree Dexter cattle. It consists of 15 sucklers, six bull weanlings, one heifer, two calves and one stock bull.”
System: “It’s a spring-calving herd, although two calved before Christmas. We hope the rest of the herd will calve somewhere between St Patrick’s Day and the middle of April.”
Family: “I’m married to Patricia, who is a psychiatric nurse. We have three children, Daniel, 12, Ruth, 11, and Julianne, seven.”
The switch: “After experiencing a lot of hardship in recent times with continental cattle we decided to change to Dexters. Dexters have many advantages over their larger continental counterparts. They’re much more suited to the marginal land we farm, as they cause hardly any poaching.”
Calving ease: “The Dexters require no assistance at calving, which is vital for me as I also work part-time as a security guard in Sligo University Hospital, so there are times when I would not be able to assist them at calving.”
Selling: “There is huge demand for them so we are able to sell all of our heifers from home without having to go to the mart, which is a big advantage for me. They are a lot more docile than other breeds, their calves are a lot more vigorous and they will eat grass that bigger continental cattle won’t.”
Hopes for the future: “I hope to get more ground which will enable me to finish my own steers at home, so I can sell directly to the market rather than to third parties. This will enable me to get a better price for them.”
Quotable quote: “It’s important to adapt, to make a change so you can find something that suits you.”
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