Degree: “I am a first-year agriculture student at Dundalk Institute of Technology (DkIT) with keen interest in genetics and improving pedigree beef farming.”

Dundalk IT: “My first two years studying agriculture consists of a gradual move from the practical work involved in farming to learning about the sciences behind how we produce food. We spend three days per week at Ballyhaise Agricultural College. Lambing starts next week; students will get the opportunity to partake in four-hour shifts monitoring and assisting the ewes.”

Starting college: “I chose DkIT because it allows me to get hands-on with the farm work and to take part in helping the animals. Nothing is set up for us, we get a great sense of responsibility. There are 27 of us studying agriculture in first year with an equal number of girls and boys. Previously I hadn’t worked much with machinery but it’s great to get experience in something I wasn’t familiar with before.”

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Our farm: “Originally we had a dairy farm but transitioned to beef 12 years ago. We keep 40 suckler cows on 175 acres and run autumn and spring calving. A small portion of our herd is made up of pedigree Limousin, Charolais and Hereford cows. I always wanted to be a pedigree breeder like my grandfather before me and I’m fortunate to now have some pedigree Limousins of my own.”

Pedigree exploration: “In 2016 I was given the opportunity to visit Limousin cattle farms in France through a bursary I received from the Irish Farmers Journal. I noticed we breed our cows much differently at home in Ireland, with potentially too much muscle on our females especially come calving time.

"Last year I won a competition with the Charolais Breeders Society and spent two weeks in Saskatchewan, Canada. It was great to see how their system works.”

Future goals: “I plan to do a master's or maybe even a PhD after I graduate from DkIT. I haven’t looked into what job I may have in future, but I intend to keep farming on a part-time basis. Later this year I hope to complete an AI course - it will be a skill that will come in very useful in future.”

Quotable quote: “No matter how great things are going you always have to expect a bad day on the farm. Not every day will be a good day while working with animals but don’t let it pull you down and try to keep your head up.”

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