I farm: “We’re in Bandon in west Cork. You can split up Cork into four quarters and you still have big counties.”

System: “We’re dairy and beef but dairy is our main enterprise.”

Cow numbers: “There are 96 cows there now. They’re mainly a British Friesian-type with some Holstein there too. We try to keep the breeding 60/40 split towards British Friesian. We supply Bandon Co-op who, in turn, supply the Carbery Group.”

Drying off: “We had everything dried off around 25 November and we’ll be calving again from 10 January.”

Weather: “We had a very good spring and the summer was good up to the end of July. It went downhill after that. We got a lot of rain all the time and it made harvesting the second cut very difficult. It was a poor back-end to the year.”

Housing: “We had the cows in by night from mid-October. They were out for a few hours during the day at the end of October but that was it.”

Fatstock history: “My father started with the fatstock in 1957 and it took off from there.”

Importance of fatstock: “Unfortunately, the fatstock sales are dying out but they are still a great event for the local community. Ringsides are packed at the sales; they draw a big crowd. They draw great excitement locally, they’re like local mini All-Irelands.”

Animal type: “Usually, the good-quality continental – a Belgian Blue Limousin cross or a Blue Charolais cross.’’

Family: “My wife is Gwyneth and we have three children Joshua (10), Ethan (eight) and Oniesa (four and a half). Joshua is in the photo with me there and he’s starting to show a great interest in the cattle.”

Quotable quote: “Fatstock are an interest in life. Some people have greyhounds, other people have golf. It’s a special life of its own.”