My Farming Week: Orla Hogan, Tuamgraney, Co Clare

I farm: “I’m currently farming 150 acres alongside my husband Rossa and my four sons. I grew up in the town and fell in love with all things farming when I married into my husband’s farm five minutes down the road in Co Limerick.”

Family: “I suppose farming was in my genes, my grandfather was a well-known cattle dealer and would have judged in the local cattle shows.”

Calves: ‘’We have a lot of variation on our farm from calf-to-beef to sucklers to sheep and contracting on the side. On a regular day, I start off by feeding the calves in the morning. I feed the calves with milk replacer twice a day along with calf crunch. The calves are kept until they are two years old before being sent to the factory.’’

Sheep: ‘’I really enjoy working with sheep. In 2018 my uncle brought over two pet lambs and I have never looked back since. I now have 25 ewes including Suffolks, Cheviots and a Kerry Hill ram.”

Lambing: “Lambing has kicked off here on the farm with lambs dropping on the ground this week. For the lambing, I keep the ewes in the shed during the night and out during the day. It’s certainly non-stop, I set my phone for 12am and 3am during the morning to check the lambing cameras.’’

Weather: ‘’The weather is very poor at the moment down here in Limerick. The sheep aren’t too bad on the ground compared to our other livestock. The weanling bulls that we reared last year are very hard on the ground due to the amount of rainfall.”

Sheep price: ‘’The proposed sheep crisis scheme should be a help, but I suppose you have to take the good with the bad. The prices go up and down with the sheep and beef, but all we can do is our best. Ramadan is coming up which hopefully might help the sheep prices.’’

Quotable quote: ‘’People would have said to me, what do I know about farming, as I was reared in the town. For anyone being married to a farmer or has an interest in farming don’t be afraid to get stuck in and make the most of your farm system.’’