I farm: “31ha in Killenaule, Co Tipperary, with my wife Bernie. I’ve 6ha in winter barley.”

Cows: “I’ve 22 or 23 cows, all continentals. They’re a mix of Limousins and Charolais. I gave up the star ratings thing as some of my best cows were only one or two stars.”

Triplets: “I have a Limousin cow that had triplets a fortnight ago; two bulls and a heifer. I use all AI and the bull was an easy-calving Charolais. I never really scan. I’d never seen triplets before. The same cow had twins last year. I was lucky I was around. The heifer was holding up the show and she was coming backwards. They’re flying it now.”

Rarity: “They must be very rare because I had more people in to see them. I’d dairy people around me milking 300 cows and they had never seen them.”

Friesian cow: “I gave them all two to three litres of biestings after calving. I’d always make sure to have biestings in the fridge. You’ve to start them right. I bought a beautiful Friesian cow off a neighbour. The Limousin cow wouldn’t be able to feed the three of them. She took to them better than the mother. I think I’ll keep them as pets.”

Tillage: “The 6ha of land is away from my own farm but we got on great considering the bad year.”

Grass: “I’m not overstocked but it was a hard year. The quality of grass wasn’t great, it was going very stemmy. I’m fine for fodder, but you don’t know how long the winters are anymore.”

Young farmers: “I wouldn’t like to be starting out again. I started out at 17 myself. The amount of people that have a lot of land and have sons who have no interest. I’ve no family myself, but I’ve plenty of nieces and nephews to help.”