I Farm: “A mixed farm with both tillage and drystock. We have 135 Limousin suckler cows that all calved by the end of March.”

This Week: “We would have been cutting silage, but the weather has put a stop to that, so I’m getting the machinery ready to go. We cut all our own silage. The stock was brought back in when the weather broke earlier in the year, but they’ve been out now since mid-April. If it stays wet during the week, I might have to bring some of them back in again.”

Breeding: “We have four stock bulls at the moment. The older two were bought in Tully and the others privately. I like Limousins because they are easy calving and less hassle than the Charolais. The calves get up and drink straight away once calved and don’t have to be watched as closely.”

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Crops: “I’ve 40 acres of JB Diego winter wheat We usually put it into a rotation with winter oats but the weather in October prevented that this year. There’s 150 acres spring barley (Porcino and Soldo) that I hope to cut in mid-August, all the top dressing went out on that ten days ago. There’s 35 acres of beet, some of which we sell but we also use it to fatten the cattle. And I’ve another 12 acres of maize growing too, I don’t use plastic so that is sown in a sheltered field.”

Finishing: “We rear all our own calves and sell to Dawn or ABP. I try to finish them at under 16 months but usually they’ll be closer to 20 months. I have them ready to go between April and June each, there are 40 bulls ready at the moment. “

Family: “My father, Jim, is retired but he still helps out. My fiancée, Sabrina, is a great help with all the paperwork.”

Quotable Quote: “I lost a lot of money with the bull beef crisis. I had bulls ready to go to the factory for over four weeks and the price was still terrible when I did sell them.”