Farm: “We farm calf to beef and tillage outside Tullamore, Co Offaly. I work in partnership with my mam and dad, Geraldine and Pat. We’re farming 200ac of land, all of which is owned. We buy in a mix of calves and weanlings and finish them ourselves. On the tillage side of things, we sow both winter and spring barley and beans.”
Layout: “The farm itself is fragmented; it’s mainly divided into two blocks of land, with 140ac here in Ballycowan and 60ac at the other side of Tullamore, which is my mother’s home place. The block of 60ac is used for tillage and set stocking. It’s good quality land, well-suited for grass. We carry out soil sampling every four years to keep on top of soil fertility.”
Calf to beef: “We finish around 90 cattle every year. We buy in Friesian calves in February and weanlings in the winter. After we finish them, we send them to Dawn Meats in Kilbeggan between mid-March and May. Cattle prices started off high this year, but we’ve seen a decrease as time has gone on.”
Part-time farming: “I work full-time as a soil sampler for Teagasc here in Offaly and Westmeath during the winter, while farming part-time at home. Soil sampling works really well with farming during the winter. I feed the cattle in the morning and evening, then have the rest of the day to do soil sampling. Working part-time makes farming more financially viable.”
Tillage: “We sow both winter and spring barley, as well as beans. Winter barley is kept for ration and excess grain is sold to Tullamore Agri. The spring barley is malting barley. We’ve sown additional beans this year, as it’s slightly cheaper to grow than barley – it’s also a great break crop. We cut our own silage, with 45ac to be cut by the end of May.”
Farm: “We farm calf to beef and tillage outside Tullamore, Co Offaly. I work in partnership with my mam and dad, Geraldine and Pat. We’re farming 200ac of land, all of which is owned. We buy in a mix of calves and weanlings and finish them ourselves. On the tillage side of things, we sow both winter and spring barley and beans.”
Layout: “The farm itself is fragmented; it’s mainly divided into two blocks of land, with 140ac here in Ballycowan and 60ac at the other side of Tullamore, which is my mother’s home place. The block of 60ac is used for tillage and set stocking. It’s good quality land, well-suited for grass. We carry out soil sampling every four years to keep on top of soil fertility.”
Calf to beef: “We finish around 90 cattle every year. We buy in Friesian calves in February and weanlings in the winter. After we finish them, we send them to Dawn Meats in Kilbeggan between mid-March and May. Cattle prices started off high this year, but we’ve seen a decrease as time has gone on.”
Part-time farming: “I work full-time as a soil sampler for Teagasc here in Offaly and Westmeath during the winter, while farming part-time at home. Soil sampling works really well with farming during the winter. I feed the cattle in the morning and evening, then have the rest of the day to do soil sampling. Working part-time makes farming more financially viable.”
Tillage: “We sow both winter and spring barley, as well as beans. Winter barley is kept for ration and excess grain is sold to Tullamore Agri. The spring barley is malting barley. We’ve sown additional beans this year, as it’s slightly cheaper to grow than barley – it’s also a great break crop. We cut our own silage, with 45ac to be cut by the end of May.”
SHARING OPTIONS