Farm: “I have 75 acres, three quarters is lowland and the remainder is a hill farm. We own all of our land. We are suckler farming with a sheep flock of 30 Texel cross-bred ewes. I have about 10 cows. Four are Dexters and the remainder are Simmental and Shorthorn-cross cows. I have heifers, weanlings and calves running on the farm too.”

Family: “I took over the family farm from my father, Jimmy, and mother, Cathleen. My brother and cousin are always helping out.”

Off-farm job: “I am a biology and agricultural science teacher in Bundoran, Co Donegal. I like to teach the kids about farming in their area and the land type they have in the northwest. A lot of the curriculum isn’t relevant to them.”

Slurry: “We only got slurry out at the start of May. There isn’t huge growth, but I will cut soon because I want the quality in the grass.”

Hill grazing: “We never grazed cattle on the hill before I applied for the agri-ecology scheme with the National Parks and Wildlife Service [NPWS]. It’s a trial where they go up on the hill for six weeks every summer. We are three years into this scheme and the Dexters are having a positive effect on the heather up on the hill land. It’s good to see these trials having a positive effect on the land.”

Poultry: “I’ve recently taken up pasture poultry, which is farming regeneratively. We have over 80 hens. They are in an egg mobile unit that we move around the field. They help to improve the soil and break up any dung in the field. I put the eggs in an honesty box on the side of the road and I can hardly keep it filled. There is such a demand locally.”

Future plans: “On the farm, I’d like to incorporate more enterprises that help diversify the farm, I might start educational courses for people to come and do on the farm. There are lots of things I’d love to do but managing time is an important part of it too.”