I Farm: “Roughly 75 acres in Bunclody, Co Wexford. The land is split between Glaslacken and Boolynavoughran. We keep both sheep and cattle on our farm. I have three sons, all of which are currently working. They help out on the farm over the weekends. Hopefully, they will be able to farm the land in the future. I have previously worked in a co-op in Tullow, Co Carlow, and in Power Seeds, a Waterford-based agricultural business. I developed a strong interest in agriculture in the 1970s.”
Sheep and Beef: “We keep around 100 Suffolk cross ewes. We lamb them in two lots, the first beginning at Christmas and finishing in late January and the second lot beginning in mid-February through to the end of March. We aim to finish the majority of lambs by Easter. Once they leave the shed we put them out to grass and creep feed them until slaughter. Thankfully, we were unaffected by the Schmallenberg outbreak and didn’t feel the need to vaccinate as this adds extra costs to production. We don’t tend to have too much trouble with foxes taking lambs, but loose dogs and illegal hunting is always a potential threat. We also keep a few Belgian Blue cross sucklers on the farm. Mixed grazing has greater benefits compared with grazing separately.”
Market: “We bring our lambs to ICM Camolin. The prices for the early lambs tend to be high initially and then fall back a bit. In 2013 prices were relatively good, but lower than in 2012. We are hoping for a good price again this year. ”
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Feed: “We make our own hay and silage, but we don’t carry out any tillage on the farm. We mainly buy-in nuts for the sheep in the shed and for the lambs in the creep feeders.”
Quotable Quote: “At times it can be tough and it gets busy on the farm, but with a bit of hard work and dedication the rewards are great. I feel the future is bright for agriculture”.
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I Farm: “Roughly 75 acres in Bunclody, Co Wexford. The land is split between Glaslacken and Boolynavoughran. We keep both sheep and cattle on our farm. I have three sons, all of which are currently working. They help out on the farm over the weekends. Hopefully, they will be able to farm the land in the future. I have previously worked in a co-op in Tullow, Co Carlow, and in Power Seeds, a Waterford-based agricultural business. I developed a strong interest in agriculture in the 1970s.”
Sheep and Beef: “We keep around 100 Suffolk cross ewes. We lamb them in two lots, the first beginning at Christmas and finishing in late January and the second lot beginning in mid-February through to the end of March. We aim to finish the majority of lambs by Easter. Once they leave the shed we put them out to grass and creep feed them until slaughter. Thankfully, we were unaffected by the Schmallenberg outbreak and didn’t feel the need to vaccinate as this adds extra costs to production. We don’t tend to have too much trouble with foxes taking lambs, but loose dogs and illegal hunting is always a potential threat. We also keep a few Belgian Blue cross sucklers on the farm. Mixed grazing has greater benefits compared with grazing separately.”
Market: “We bring our lambs to ICM Camolin. The prices for the early lambs tend to be high initially and then fall back a bit. In 2013 prices were relatively good, but lower than in 2012. We are hoping for a good price again this year. ”
Feed: “We make our own hay and silage, but we don’t carry out any tillage on the farm. We mainly buy-in nuts for the sheep in the shed and for the lambs in the creep feeders.”
Quotable Quote: “At times it can be tough and it gets busy on the farm, but with a bit of hard work and dedication the rewards are great. I feel the future is bright for agriculture”.
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