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I farm: “A herd of 50 suckler cows on around 93ac of relatively heavy land in Laois.”
Family: “There are seven of us in the family. My wife, Catherine and I have five children, Breda, Kate, Niamh, Cian and Áine. My son, Cian, did his Leaving Cert this year, but that didn’t stop him helping out on the farm as often as he could.”
Breeds: “We keep Limousin and Simmental cows with two easy-calving Limousin and Simmental bulls. We find these breeds give very little trouble and they produce great calves. The Simmental cows produce a lot of milk and the Limousin calves are very quick to get up and suck.”
System: “We calve in February every year and we generally sell most of our calves at around 18 months. We buy in replacements sometimes but usually keep our own heifer calves.”
Silage: “The season is going well for us so far and we got our first cut finished on 11 June. Ground conditions weren’t an issue as the land has been dry for so long that it is still holding up well.”
People talk about going to the gym and lifting weights but, as a farmer, you don’t need it
Weather: “The weather has been fantastic for us up until recently. Last year, we didn’t have any major problems either with the drought because of the heavy ground. There were farmers 10 or 12 miles from us with sandy, dry land who had trouble getting water to stock and racked up big meal bills.
Future plans: “The situation has been very uncertain for a long time now. Diversifying isn’t really an option for us as the farm is not suited to much else. We were previously in dairy but the land was too heavy and the farm was too fragmented.”
Ireland’s Fittest Family: “It was a really great experience. We’re a big sporting family and we’re good runners so it was great to get to showcase our ability. The farming background helped us in a big way.”
Quotable quote: “People talk about going to the gym and lifting weights but, as a farmer, you don’t need it. We’re lucky enough to be strong already from the work we do on the farm every day.”
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