It is almost seven weeks since my knee operation and it is healing well, albeit very slowly. We often speak about needing a holiday, but I am getting itchy feet inside in the house and can’t wait to be back out on the farm. I even started baking bread. I need to get back outside.

At the moment I am able to stroll out to see what needs to be done and then leave instructions. However, the “to do” list is increasing as there is only time for the main tasks.

In November 2013, I mentioned that I was considering investing in extra housing for the ewes. After looking at polytunnels and traditional steel sheds, along with many different building layouts and designs, I decided that adding on an extension to an existing shed would benefit me far greater than building a new shed beside it. Extending the shed will allow me house up to 500 ewes under one roof and allow for easier monitoring of the ewes in spring.

I have a few modifications I would like to make to the current shed but all in all it works really well and I suppose if it’s not broken don’t try and fix it.

As it stands, I will have stock in a number of sheds that will need surveillance during the lambing period. Extending the shed will make feeding, bedding and ewe management during lambing much easier.

As with any farm investment, there is so much that has to fall into place before building can start. I suppose I didn’t start early enough and now find myself under pressure to get the job done in time.

Time was going to be tight without encountering any issues, but I seem to seek out hurdles – finding out that there wasn’t planning on the original shed during the planning process set my application back a considerable amount of time.

Planning permission

The shed in question had been erected by my grandfather nearly 20 years ago. I assumed planning had been acquired for it at the time. This resulted in me having to apply for retention so that the extension could be added. I will be very lucky to have the shed extension ready before lambing this year, but hopefully things will go smoothly now that planning has been approved.

The mature ewes have all been housed, with only the ewe lambs remaining outside. They have got about a week’s grazing left on their current block and have been receiving 250-300g of meal per head per day since early last week.

With the delays in getting the shed extension erected, I will have to keep these out longer than planned. Luckily my stocking rate will allow me to use a number of fields for out-wintering, without interfering with the area needed for ewes in the spring. I was considering renting out one of the fields that has a lot of weeds in it for tillage next year so this will probably be used until there’s room in the yard.

Earlier this month Teagasc announced that in conjunction with Dawn Meats it is setting up a suckler unit in Athenry on the ground where sheep research has been carried out to date. They said there is enough land and stock to carry out the research programmes which are under way on the remaining ground.

Maybe this is the case, but how will this restrict further research being carried out in the future?

Athenry is the last of the Teagasc sheep research sites left open, and I for one am worried about the loss of this ground for sheep activities to any other sector, no matter how worthy.