I farm: “20 acres, all of which are owned. I have pedigree sheep, goats and Dexter cattle.”

Family: “My son Nathan is six and loves the farm; my wife Laura doesn’t have a choice. They are a great help, especially Nathan, around lambing. I have seen him falling asleep in the shed waiting for a ewe to lamb.”

Dexter: “I became interested in the breed after reading an article. I have six Dexter cows and sell on their calves. The heifers would usually be kept on for breeding. If not, they would be sold on to another breeder for use.”

The record: “Three or four years ago, a chance came up with Henry Judge in Sligo, who has the record for the smallest cow in the world. This was the daughter of his cow and now I have the granddaughter as well. They are a lot smaller than the rest of the herd.”

Management: “Anything that I have reared would walk after you like sheep. They are small, so they can be a little bit awkward when you are dosing them in the crush, but we work with what we have.”

Feed: “They are out on grass for the last two months. When they go into the shed, they are mostly on silage. We get a contractor in to make the silage because it wouldn’t pay for us to have all of that machinery.”

Goats: “Nathan has a herd of Angora goats: five does, a buck and four kids. As far as I know, we are the only people with them in the Republic of Ireland. It’s early yet, but there is a market for them and their wool is in demand.”

Sheep: “I have 45 pedigree Suffolk and Lleyn ewes, with six stock rams. In 20 acres, it can be interesting at times to keep them separated.”

Quotable Quote: “We had a surprise lambing three weeks ago. I have a bit of arthritis and was sore so I wasn’t fit to catch her. Nathan went tearing out past me, caught her and had her on the ground. He turned to me and said, ‘Come on daddy, get it out’.

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