As I come off the high of our conference, I try to pull my thoughts together. The Women & Agriculture conference is an exceptional event for women. It is a gathering that focuses our identity as family women, rural women, farming women, and women that think deeply about our farming lives.

It was truly an amazing day. I won’t lie, I was thrilled to chair the conference. Now, that is an easy job when you have Sarah McIntosh, careers and education journalist managing the minutiae for me. She was bubbling with excitement and working so hard to have everything right.

It is such a team effort. Ciara Leahy, editor, worked on Mairead Lavery’s team. The conference was Mairead’s brainchild and Ciara was the one bringing the programme to life for those years so she really gets the ethos.

The work of reviewing and planning for next year starts now. I’ve started my new notebook for calf care 2025. It’s all about concentrating the mind on the things we want to do. That’s what the conference does for me – it gets me thinking and planning.

Before I left, I had an in-depth chat about calf rearing with my cousin Mary Kate Houlihan and Ann Dunphy from Co Laois. Even on our day out, we return to the farm talk.

We had a live recording of the Farm Tech Talk podcast led by Jack Kennedy, editor, Irish Farmers Journal. Do have a listen – it’s a great way of getting the farming news if you haven’t time to read every page of the Journal.

The work of reviewing and planning for next year starts now. I’ve started my new notebook for calf care 2025

There are always difficult subjects to address and that is part of embracing all the facets of life. Ann Moore revealed to the 600 attendees that she had been sexually abused as a child. You could hear a pin drop in the room. There were tears of emotion at the horrors that Ann has endured. We were taken out of our comfort zone.

Ann’s aim was to encourage victims to use their voices and rebuild their confidence. She has been brave and bold and true to herself and is an exceptional farmer alongside her husband David.

Gerry Hussey, health and performance coach, said that every day we encounter problems. We need to acknowledge the difficulty, accept it, which is not always easy and then take action. It all sounds so simple when somebody of Gerry’s conviction speaks to us.

Pumpkin patch

On Friday, the day after the conference, I had a very important appointment. I was taking Ricky to the Douglas Pumpkin Patch to find a pumpkin.

John O’Sullivan and Conor Lehane were the chief organisers along with their families and neighbours. Pat Lehane’s Christmas tree farm was the ideal backdrop for the pumpkin fairy to rain down its goods. Ricky and I had a private viewing before it all started.

My grandson was so excited. He was unfazed by enormous spiders and various ghosts until he met a talking witch. “Hold my hand Granny,” he said. I felt his little hand gain confidence in the safety of mine.

It took time for the right pumpkin to be found. Ricky named him ‘Oval’ and we had great fun carving his face together. The children and grandchildren in our lives are precious and it is important to look out for them at all times. Making time for them is one of my top priorities.

My parting message to the conference was a quote from Seamus Heaney.

“Even if the hopes you started out with are dashed, hope has to be maintained.”

Until we meet again next year, make the choices you want to make. Be true to yourself and seek help if you need it. You are in charge.