The farm: “I run a 230ac sheep and tillage farm with my father Ian, wife Vicky, and three kids, Annabelle, Millie and James. We grow 70 acres of spring and winter barley. I also do some GLAS planning and consultancy work.”
Sheep: “We keep 350 ewes, mainly Texel-Suffolk-crosses and a small flock of Lleyn sheep. We considered starting a Belclare flock but there aren’t many breeders in this part of the country, making sourcing ewes quite difficult.”
Lleyn ewes: “We decided to use the Lleyn breed for their high prolificacy and easy lambing. The lambs have a narrow head and shoulders, which leads to fewer complications at lambing. They make great mothers. This year, our Lleyn flock had 1.9 lambs per ewe.”
Vicky and David McArthur, Burt, Co Donegal. \ Clive Wasson
Silage: “This year’s crop was a bit lighter. Luckily, we have a good few bales left over from last year, so there won’t be any pressure for fodder this winter.”
This week: “We are currently getting the combine ready for harvest. We will also be weaning and weighing the lambs later on in the week.”
Machinery: “We do most of the machinery work ourselves in order to keep costs down. Machinery needs constant maintenance due to the usual wear and tear involved in tillage farming. Everyone has good years and bad years. It’s just a matter of trying to keep repair costs as low as possible.”
David McArthur getting the Deutz Fahr combine ready for harvest. \ Clive Wasson
Scary prices: “The price of new machinery is scary these days, while the money we receive for our produce hasn’t changed much in 30 years. The price for farm produce simply hasn’t kept the pace. We are still getting €150/t barley while machinery continues to soar.”
Great distraction: “Lambing started at the perfect time in March when the COVID-19 travel restrictions began. We wouldn’t venture too far from home at that time of year anyway. It was a great distraction for us and took our minds off everything that was happening.”
Read more
My Farming Week: Michelle Curley, Downings, Prosperous, Co Kildare
My Farming Week: Ciaran Sheelan, Carlingford, Co Louth
My Farming Week: Rory Comiskey, Loughlan, Co Leitrim
The farm: “I run a 230ac sheep and tillage farm with my father Ian, wife Vicky, and three kids, Annabelle, Millie and James. We grow 70 acres of spring and winter barley. I also do some GLAS planning and consultancy work.”
Sheep: “We keep 350 ewes, mainly Texel-Suffolk-crosses and a small flock of Lleyn sheep. We considered starting a Belclare flock but there aren’t many breeders in this part of the country, making sourcing ewes quite difficult.”
Lleyn ewes: “We decided to use the Lleyn breed for their high prolificacy and easy lambing. The lambs have a narrow head and shoulders, which leads to fewer complications at lambing. They make great mothers. This year, our Lleyn flock had 1.9 lambs per ewe.”
Vicky and David McArthur, Burt, Co Donegal. \ Clive Wasson
Silage: “This year’s crop was a bit lighter. Luckily, we have a good few bales left over from last year, so there won’t be any pressure for fodder this winter.”
This week: “We are currently getting the combine ready for harvest. We will also be weaning and weighing the lambs later on in the week.”
Machinery: “We do most of the machinery work ourselves in order to keep costs down. Machinery needs constant maintenance due to the usual wear and tear involved in tillage farming. Everyone has good years and bad years. It’s just a matter of trying to keep repair costs as low as possible.”
David McArthur getting the Deutz Fahr combine ready for harvest. \ Clive Wasson
Scary prices: “The price of new machinery is scary these days, while the money we receive for our produce hasn’t changed much in 30 years. The price for farm produce simply hasn’t kept the pace. We are still getting €150/t barley while machinery continues to soar.”
Great distraction: “Lambing started at the perfect time in March when the COVID-19 travel restrictions began. We wouldn’t venture too far from home at that time of year anyway. It was a great distraction for us and took our minds off everything that was happening.”
Read more
My Farming Week: Michelle Curley, Downings, Prosperous, Co Kildare
My Farming Week: Ciaran Sheelan, Carlingford, Co Louth
My Farming Week: Rory Comiskey, Loughlan, Co Leitrim
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