The farm: “I run a mixed farm, livestock and tillage. I fatten cattle, milk cows and grow crops. We switched from suckler cows to dairying in 2018, so now I buy in weanlings to fatten as bulls. I’m married to Maria. We have two sons John (seven) and Tadhg (four).”

Busy time: “Our 75-cow herd started calving on 31 January. We’ve 60% calved already – it’s been pretty hectic. The boys have midterm this week, so I’ll have great help in the calf shed.”

Started early: “I lost my father when I was 14. I’m the eldest of five, Claire, John, Kevin and Pádraig. My mother Betty and I worked away until I finished my education, and then I took back the tillage operation, which had been rented out for a few years.”

In the news: “Last week, I won the Diageo/Boortmalt malting barley competition in the Guinness Storehouse. It means the world. I was invited to the regional final in my very first year of growing as a teenager. I thanked Mervyn McGaughey (of Minch Norton) for inviting me, and he replied, ‘there’s no need to thank me, it’s your barley that invited you here’.”

Good advice: “John Metcalfe from Cropteam advises me on nutrient management and an effective crop protection programme. Attention to detail is important – timing is crucial; the soil has to be right. I work well with Jimmy Dunne in Boortmalt, we go back a long way.”

The meitheal: “A family farm needs lots of help. My brothers are great for pitching in when the pressure’s on. I share a silage outfit with my uncle Jim and cousin Liam. I work closely with my neighbours Jimmy, James and John Hyland and Tommy O’Connor. James Bergin does the relief milking when the pressure is on. Maria keeps us all fed during the sowing, silage and harvest. I’m renting some land; it’s so important to have good relations with the landowner. It’s great to have good land to plant crops in, and I try to look after it well.”

Quotable quote: “For me, what you put into farming is what you get out of it. On a mixed farm, it’s always busy. The cows are taking precedent now, even though everyone else is out ploughing, but I’ll get to it. Don’t panic.”