I farm: “Seventy head of cattle on 25ha in Kilskeagh, Co Galway, with my wife Marguerite. We have five children: four daughters and one son.”

Breeds: “I have pedigree Limousins (Kilskeagh Limousins), and some Aubrac and Belgian Blue crosses as well.”

AI: “We used AI and a stock bull to mop up at breeding. For AI, bulls such as Ampertaine Commander, Goldies Jackpot, Elderberry Galahad and Doudou.TD were used.”

Calving: “We start calving here around 30 July. We’ve already had two surprises. I’ll have six or seven first-time calvers. The cows are fairly easy calvers.”

Last winter: “It was wet but it was manageable. We had the cattle in from September; they got out in May. It tested all systems here. We just about survived. I stretched the fodder a bit.”

Silage 2018: “We’re starting silage cutting here next week. I’ll get the contractors in to cut about six fields of it. Grass is growing like mad.”

Young bulls: “I finish young bulls at 18 months. I sold a few off a few weeks ago in Athenry.”

Whole Herd Performance Recording: “The breed societies and ICBF need to sit down and discuss it to work it all out.”

Quotable quote: “People think that bulls fall out of the sky. A lot of people think you’ll get bulls for nothing. You’d want to be getting around €3,000 for a bull.”