The farm: “I farm with my father Gerry, it’s just the two of us. We farm suckler beef and sheep on 165ha in Mayobridge. It would be wet heavy ground, probably suited more for sheep. We have mountain grazing where we run the sheep during the summer months. Once the cattle go in for the winter we would run the sheep on the lowland ground.”
Sheep: ”We keep about 250 ewes, a mixture of Mules and Lanark Scottish Blackface. We lamb down in March, so our tups went in on the 10 October. There are a few ewes straggling on at the end, you know yourself now.”
Breeding: “The ram we use on the Lanark ewes is a cross between a Texel and a Blue Leicester, then with our mule ewes we run a Suffolk ram. We usually aim to sell the lambs at around 22kg halfweight and through the mart, we don’t finish them for the factory.”
Good stock: “A pedigree Limousin bull runs with our herd of Simmental and Limousin type cows. We keep a pedigree bull because we find the calves show better and they are easier to finish. When you buy a quality bull hopefully you will get quality stock.”
A clean sweep: ”Calving usually starts in April. We put the bull in with the cows in July and my boyfriend Ryan Murphy scanned for us about a month ago. Luckily all cows are in-calf which is great.”
Brexit: “It’s a worry because you don’t know what way it’s going to affect prices or how we export lamb and beef. You are nearly afraid to plan too much ahead or spend too much money because you don’t know how things are going to be. At the end of the day all you can do is wait and see what happens and hope our minister does the best he can for us.”
Quotable quote: “A job shared is a job halved, myself and my father think the same way and we work well together. Ach but sure everyone has their arguments when they are working livestock.”
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My Farming Week: Katie McCarthy, Fustane, Kenmare, Co Kerry
My Farming Week: Niamh Keane, Killegar, Enniskerry, Co Wicklow
My Farming Week: Stuart Henry, Scribbagh, Garrison, Co Fermanagh
The farm: “I farm with my father Gerry, it’s just the two of us. We farm suckler beef and sheep on 165ha in Mayobridge. It would be wet heavy ground, probably suited more for sheep. We have mountain grazing where we run the sheep during the summer months. Once the cattle go in for the winter we would run the sheep on the lowland ground.”
Sheep: ”We keep about 250 ewes, a mixture of Mules and Lanark Scottish Blackface. We lamb down in March, so our tups went in on the 10 October. There are a few ewes straggling on at the end, you know yourself now.”
Breeding: “The ram we use on the Lanark ewes is a cross between a Texel and a Blue Leicester, then with our mule ewes we run a Suffolk ram. We usually aim to sell the lambs at around 22kg halfweight and through the mart, we don’t finish them for the factory.”
Good stock: “A pedigree Limousin bull runs with our herd of Simmental and Limousin type cows. We keep a pedigree bull because we find the calves show better and they are easier to finish. When you buy a quality bull hopefully you will get quality stock.”
A clean sweep: ”Calving usually starts in April. We put the bull in with the cows in July and my boyfriend Ryan Murphy scanned for us about a month ago. Luckily all cows are in-calf which is great.”
Brexit: “It’s a worry because you don’t know what way it’s going to affect prices or how we export lamb and beef. You are nearly afraid to plan too much ahead or spend too much money because you don’t know how things are going to be. At the end of the day all you can do is wait and see what happens and hope our minister does the best he can for us.”
Quotable quote: “A job shared is a job halved, myself and my father think the same way and we work well together. Ach but sure everyone has their arguments when they are working livestock.”
Read more
My Farming Week: Katie McCarthy, Fustane, Kenmare, Co Kerry
My Farming Week: Niamh Keane, Killegar, Enniskerry, Co Wicklow
My Farming Week: Stuart Henry, Scribbagh, Garrison, Co Fermanagh
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