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I farm: “With my brother Kieran in Clonakilty. We have a few sucklers and tillage as well.”
Tillage: “We harvest 70 acres and this year has been good for us. We had 50 acres of winter barley and 20 acres of spring barley. We got away exceptionally lucky and got everything cut over a few dry days.”
Moisture and yields: “The winter barley yielded 4t/acre and the spring was 3.3t/acre. There was nothing over 20% moisture either. We sell them into a local miller.”
Sucklers: “We have a mix of everything really. The cows are mainly from the Shorthorn, Shorthorn crossed with Simmentals, that type of thing. We finish the bulls at 16 months and the heifers at 20 months with ABP in Bandon.”
Contracting: “Contracting is the main job for myself and the brother. We silage, reseed, that sort of thing. It’s been a tough year for silage with the rain. You’re looking to get a lot done in a short space of time before the weather breaks.”
Ploughing: “I started ploughing when I was 14 so I’m at it 15 or 16 years. I’m competing at the Ploughing this week in the reversible class. It has been very wet. Conditions were very difficult out there so it’s hard to know how you got it. It was hard for everyone.”
Championships: “I won the European Ploughing Championships in Switzerland. I won it last year too, so I’m a double champion. I won the reversible class at the Five Nations Championships last Sunday week.”
Family: “There’s myself and the brother Kieran and my mother Rose. My girlfriend Mary is a huge help too.”
Quotable quote: “Ploughing is more than a pastime. My father ploughed and now me and the brother plough. It’s been passed on to us.”
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