My Farming Week: Louise Crowley, Croom, Co Limerick

I farm: “167 acres at home and 72 acres on an outfarm in Meanus, Co Limerick. We have 150 dairy cows which are mainly British Friesian.”

This week: “The cows are still out, thankfully. I’m working with the Farm Relief Service until the end of this month. I milk Monday to Thursday with them, then a lot of evenings I’d milk my own cows after. The cows are going well, ahead of this time last year. In November 2017 we produced 24,000l, but this year we’ve already produced 22,000l only halfway through the month. The cows scanned well, with just 8% empty.”

Winter: “Silage will be tight. We would have had enough but had to feed out 500 bales to get through the summer. The second cut was only three bales to the acre. I did the fodder budget six weeks ago and purchased 60t of palm kernel from Kerry Co-op.”

Macra: “I became secretary when we set up the Crecora/Manister/Croom club last year and I’m now county secretary as well. I represent Limerick on the national ag affairs committee.”

Queen of the Land 2018 winner: “It didn’t really sink in until I came home on Monday night, I stopped in the local garage and everyone was so excited about it. I want to do as much as I can with the role, it’s far from a lovely girls competition.”

Family: “I’m farming with my father, John. He grew up in Cork city and took over the farm when he was 20 after his uncle died.”

Quotable quote: “This year was an awful year, we’ll be paying it back for the next few years to come. But you always get a bad year every five years. You need a safety net behind you.”

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My farming week: John Malone, Roundwood, Co Wicklow