The farm: “I keep 80 Limousin suckler cows on 200ac of dry, free draining, red Mayo soil. I buy in 1,000 store lambs in the autumn and have 40ac planted with forestry.”

Free time: “I used to milk but decided to take on suckling for the extra freedom. You’re settled and married twice when you’re dairying, the next milking is always looming.”

Sucklers: “We originally kept a herd of pedigree Belgian Blues for many years and decided to switch over to Limousin. The Blues take some minding, calving is very hard on the cows and a lot of them end up needing C-sections.”

Lottery heifers: “I synchronised four heifers last Christmas and during the third week in September they all calved. It was a once in a lifetime event – there was a set of triplets, twins and two singles.”

Nearing her time: “I thought the heifer that was carrying the triplets was going to burst as she neared to calving. When she decided to go, I knew she’d need help. I put my hand in to see what was going on and I didn’t know what was coming.”

Disbelief: “There was heads, legs, and tails everywhere. After I got the second calf out, I reached in again and couldn’t believe there was another still to come. I said to myself if I get this boy out alive, it will be one for the books.”

Going strong: “All seven bull calves are doing well. The triplets were a handful for the first week until I got them up and going. I’ve since fostered two of them onto the heifers that had singles to take the pressure off.”

Mild weather: “We had a fabulous September with an abundance of aftergrass. The cows cleared the paddocks well, the ground needs to be dry to get a good graze out at this time of year.”

Quotable quote: “In May, the grass is usually very tight with the store lambs grazing during the winter months. You could kick a sixpenny bit around the fields and you’d never lose it.”

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