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I farm: “285 acres near Redrock in Co Armagh. Of that, 200ac is disadvantaged as it is 700ft above sea level. The other 85ac is good lowland pasture that I let stock out on this early in the year.”
Sucklers: “I have 160 suckler cows. They’re a mix of Salers, Aubracs, Simmentals and Limousins. I then cross them with Culard Charolais bulls that I import from France. What I look for in my cows is a highly fertile animal that’s good on her feet and has no calving difficulties.”
Culard Charolais: “I brought my first one in from France about 20 years ago. Now I go over two or three times a year to buy them along with other stock. While I may not have the most aesthetically pleasing cows, I can still produce a great calf because of the Culard genetics.”
Weanlings: “I sell all my calves as weanlings as soon as they’re weaned off the cow apart from those I keep as replacements.”
Replacements: “I don’t breed all my own replacements. I buy a few in from France as well as from Carnaross Mart in Co Meath. The replacements I want are milky cows that have no dairy influence. Ultimately, they have to be hard grafters… just like me!”
Grazing: “I sow all my ground with grass that is suitable for cutting and grazing. I try to rotate my silage ground every year so I’m not taking too much out of one area. It also means if cows poach a field badly one year, I can give it a rest as silage the next and it gets a new lease of life.”
Calving: “I monitor my cows very closely when they’re calving. I have cameras set up in the sheds and I check them every three hours. Even if I’m on a night out I’ll be checking them on my phone. My wife says I have an obsession.”
Quotable quote: “A lot of people say to me ‘you must have awful problems calving those Culard calves’ but all of my 160 cows had a live calf this year and there were only six born by Caesarean. At the end of the day, I find I make an extra £200/calf and that gives me money to invest back into the farm.”
Cattle prices: consistent selection of forward bull weanlings at Macroom
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