I farm: “Just shy of 600ac with my dad, Ken, and younger brother, Lewis. Half of the land is share farmed and the rest is rented. One hundred and thirty acres are share farmed organically, with organic oats for Flahavan’s.”

Where is all began: “My dad started off contracting, and when I came on we started leasing ground and grew the tillage side of the business. My younger brother, Lewis, is in Gurteen at the moment, doing crops and machinery. We also have a couple of guys who work for us. I run the tillage side of the operation and we work together on the contracting.”

This year: “We’re growing winter wheat, winter barley and winter oats. We also grow maize in the spring, as well as spring barley. We weren’t caught with fertiliser prices as we bought in December, and obviously prices have increased an awful lot since. But still a big chunk of last year’s profit is gone on this year’s fertiliser bill already, which has turned last year into an average year profit wise. The grain prices, the way they are at the minute are putting confidence into growing crops this year. It might be an above average or reasonable year again.”

The future: “Tillage has a really good future, especially with its low carbon footprint. There still needs to be more of a push on native grains and I think the war in Ukraine has brought this to light. We’re not producing half enough in this country for what we need, and we’re a bit vulnerable in that aspect.”

Quotable quote: “The biggest thing for me and why we’re successful here in Westmeath is because we look after the farms we take on. Hanging gates and keeping hedges right is important. A man I was on placement with told me that every field is like shop window. If it looks well, people will be more likely to rent, and it’s how opportunities come around. Farming is very much word of mouth.”