I farm: “I have 450ac in total, with 200ac of winter and spring varieties of cereals and 250ac in lease arrangements. On the farm, we sow winter wheat, winter barley, winter oilseed rape, winter oats, spring barley and beans. This year, our main crop is winter wheat. I don’t have a fixed rotation, but I always try to follow a break crop with wheat.”

Family: “The farm is a family-run operation. I have two daughters, Erin and Sophie, and a son, TJ. My eldest daughter, Erin, is a registered nurse and intends to do the Green Cert soon.”

Forestry: “I have 40ac of forestry and I am aiming to begin harvesting this year. I’m going to manage it as a continuous-cover forestry operation. My plan is to do my own thinning and harvesting.”

Harvest: “This week, I am harvesting winter wheat. Yields are around 3.5-3.75t/ac, at 16% moisture. This is back on last year’s harvest, across the board. Last year brought the holy trinity for tillage farmers: good weather, good prices and good yields. That happens maybe one in every five years.”

Up next: “Winter crops have held up better than spring crops during this stressful year. That being said, there’s a lot of late growth in spring barley. There will be a lot of green grains in spring barley this harvest.”

Cultivation : “I carry out no-till cultivation and direct drilling on the farm. I decided to invest in a no-till drill back in 2016 after a trial – I was happy with how it worked for me. With regards to no-till and weed persistence, the weed burden will always be there. We just need to manage it appropriately.”

Grain: “Grain is sold to Quinns of Baltinglass, Co Wicklow, and Drummonds in Clonee, Co Meath. Prices are back as much as €50/t. This is coupled with bad weather and poor yields. I think our industry stakeholders should be taking that into account.”