My Farming Week: Gary Simms, Milford, Co Donegal

I farm: “Around 100ac in Co Donegal alongside my wife Samantha, our children Harry (nine) and Alfie (11), and my father Norman is still helping me out as well. Some of the land is hill, some arable. I milk 30 dairy cows and I keep about 50 beef cattle also; some are our own calves and we buy some in. We finish them at about two years old.”

Contracting: “The dairy is small scale; I’m a contractor, so that would be the main thing. We do a lot of bales, we do pit silage, slurry and reseeding. To balance the contracting with the dairy side, I milk in the morning and my niece milks in the evening.”

This year: “The weather was fairly good. There were good spells to get the work-rate up. The prices of beef and milk are fairly healthy at the moment, I can’t complain. We’re putting up a cattle shed in the winter, a five-bay cubicle house. That’ll pass a month or two when we’re quiet.”

The opening split:

“My brothers and I plough at matches. My father always ploughed at matches and we started as soon as we got the driver’s licence at 16. My first year at the All-Ireland would have been around 1996. I’ve been going almost every year since. I won an under-21 All-Ireland around 1997. I’ve been runner up in the seniors three times.”

National Ploughing Championships: “Four of my brothers and I will be in Screggan next week – we’re from a family of 10 - as well as my niece Cara (15) who is competing in the loy digging. My other niece Ellie (19) also ploughs at local matches. I compete in the senior world style and my brother Matthew competes against me. Then Gary and Alan are in the vintage and Lee is in the under-28s. There would be a bit of rivalry, it keeps the craic going.”

Quotable quote: “Ploughing is a great way to get away from the farm, for the mental health you have to get away.”