I farm: “50 acres here in Co Kilkenny. The land itself is good-quality and has been re-seeded over the past couple of years. Some of it is a bit hilly but it’s not too bad.”
This week: “The cows have been out since 28 March. I am busy weaning calves and reseeding ground, which has been sprayed off and dung has been spread on it. I am just waiting for the contractor to plough it. I also got a few drills of spuds sown in one of the fields.”
GLAS: ”This is my fourth year of the scheme, which requires me to have two traditional hay meadows and I also sow 5.5ac of wild bird cover, usually before the end of May.”
Sucklers: ”I keep about 18 cows, mainly Charolais and Limousin-crosses. They calve between January and April. I have two or three late calvers that will be due in August or September. I usually hold the calves and sell them in New Ross Mart when the are 14 months old at around 450kg to 480kg.”
BDGP: ”Last year I bought a five-star Charolais bull. BDGP meant that I needed to have six five-star cows and a five-star Charolais bull on the farm by 2020.”
GAA: ”I am a selector on my local hurling team, The Rower-Inistioge. It is hard to know if we will get any hurling this year. We are keeping an eye on the players, they are doing a bit of training themselves and they report back to the management to show us how they are keeping fit.”
Quotable quote: “I think all those schemes are the way to go. You have to do a small bit of work but if it is improving your farm and the quality of your stock you don’t mind doing it.”
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