I farm: “A pedigree Limousin herd on 130 acres in partnership with my dad Brendan. I do a bit of contracting and just recently set up a self-drive hire company as well.”

Herd: “Our pedigree herd consists of 50 cows and 10 heifers, split half and half between spring and autumn calving. We artificially inseminate some animals but use stock bulls on most of them. The best 10 heifer calves are selected for replacements and the best eight bulls are kept and go up for sale as breeding sires. The rest are sold as weanlings in the local mart in Ballinasloe.”

Land: “We have 70 acres of really good land, as good as you’ll get. The rest is marginal but we are putting a lot of work into grassland management and we reseed a small bit of ground every year. The plan is to spray off five acres for reseeding in the next two weeks.”

Limousin: “They are a great breed. My father has had a pedigree herd since 1989 and very rarely would we have trouble with calving. We look for maternal traits in our bulls. We want cows with good milk, easy calving and docile traits.”

This week: “We have a few cows due to calve so we are still busy with that. Cows should get out to grass in the next two weeks and we also will be spraying off grassland for reseeding. At the minute, we have six breeding bulls being readied for sale.”

Quotable quote: ”It’s great to get out and see different farms. When I was doing my Green Cert I would have picked up loads of small ideas and tips from other farmers.”

Best investment: ”The self-drive hire is really working well. Lads can rent out a tractor and tanker and do their own slurry. I actually have someone coming up from Kerry to rent out a tractor for six months.”

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My Farming Week: Shauna Blake, Borris-in-Ossory, Co Laois