Margaret was born and raised on a small dairy farm in the Galtee Mountains, just outside Michelstown. She now lives on a 130-acre farm in Dromcummer, Kanturk, with her husband Dermot.

Married for 30 years to Dermot, who spends most of his time on his 3,000 indoor pig enterprise, Margaret usually tends to her 75 sucklers.

“We both put in a lot of hard work to keep both enterprising running. Dermot mainly looks after the pigs but it’s a joint effort.”

“We’re very busy on the farm at the moment. We’ve a group of students from Clonakility coming down to the farm to learn a bit more about the beef,” Margaret explains.

“We converted a few stables out the back to cater for them. I whitewashed the walls and put bales in to sit on, I also put in a blackboard and a projector – everything that you could possibly need.”

“I love helping other farmers,” she says, crediting her brother Michael Landers. “My brother concentrated on good genetics when he bought the stock 20 years ago, and he gave us good coaching.”

The couple have three daughters and one son who have all left home – but can’t stay away for long: “I make sure I always have a 25kg bag of flour, I keep hens for eggs and the Aga is always hot – there’s great temptation for them to come home to my baking.”

Margaret takes great pride in the farm and always encourages her students to take pride in what they are doing.

“It’s very important that no matter what you are doing, you always strive to do your best.”

Margaret recently completed a one-year diploma from UCC in artisan food production and is ambitious in that area.

“I’d love to cure my own bacon or make salami,” she says, “if I ever get around to it.”

Margaret employs one full-time stock person to help out, allowing her to keep up to speed with regular IRD Agricultural Group and ICSA meetings, as well as selling her surplus vegetables and jams at Kanturk’s weekly farmers’ market.

“If only there were more hours in the day, maybe I could do a bit more,” Margaret confesses.

A self-confessed “juggler”, Margaret’s energy and zest for life is infectious.