I farm: “We have 300 ewes and 100 cattle for finishing. My brother works full-time at home and my father and myself both work off farm and help in the evenings. I am working on a sow unit owned by Malcolm Keys near Clogher.”
Sow unit: “The unit has 1,500 sows and is part of a three-site production system. At weaning, pigs are taken off site to a different unit and then at 35kg liveweight they are moved on to contract finishing farms. I started the job after graduating in summer and I’m learning the ropes by working in the sow houses and then in the office, mainly putting performance data on spreadsheets.”
Education: “I finished the BSc Agricultural Technology degree at Queen’s University Belfast and CAFRE Greenmount in the summer. During my work placement year, I worked in research at Dunbia’s Pig Innovation Centre in Antrim.”
YFCU: “I am involved in the Young Farmers’ Clubs of Ulster through my local club, Derg Valley. It is a great organisation to be a part of as it gives you opportunities to travel and allows you to meet people from across sectors in Northern Ireland. It also lets you develop skills like public speaking and debating through the competitions.”
Two in a row: “I won the Ulster Young Farmer of the Year competition in 2015 and 2016. The competition involves two exams and then a round of 10 interviews based on different aspects of farming. Points are awarded for each interview so there are section winners and then an overall winner.”
Policy: “Future agricultural policy after Brexit should be designed to help young farmers progress in the industry. The Land Mobility Scheme that is currently being developed in Northern Ireland will be a good scheme to get young farmers introduced to landowners and deal with succession issues.”
Quotable quote: “I don’t mind working with any livestock but pigs were something different that gave me an insight into a new sector and it is now something that I hope to be working in for a long time.”