I farm: “I farm with my father John in Upperchurch. We own 165ac and have 90ac rented.”
Land: “Some of the land is heavy but more of it is relatively good.”
Cows: “We’re milking 80 Holstein Friesian cows. We had sucklers before the quotas went. We bought 40 first-calvers in 2015 and started milking. We’re toying with the idea of going up in numbers and going zero-grazing. We supply Drombane Co-op.”
This week: “We’re getting a calf shed ready for calving. We artificially inseminate all the cows for first month and have a Limousin stock bull to mop-up.” 
Tommy Ryan pictured on his farm in Coarsepark.
Calves: “We hold on to the calves and they go back into the herd. We sell on the Limousins then at a year and half.”
Milk prices: “You’d be nervous it’s the next thing that’s going to get hit after beef. You’d be nervous about expanding too much and getting into too much debt.”
Contracting: “We’re contracting here as well. We do slurry, silage, baling and a bit of fencing too.”
Hurling for Borrisoleigh: “Ballyhale will be the hot favourites. Once you’re an underdog, you’ve nothing to lose. We’ll have a day out anyway. We want everything to go right.”
Tommy Ryan at work on his farm in Coarsepark.
Club championships: “There are three other farmers on the team – Seamus Burke, Liam Ryan and Maurice Ryan. The way the club championship is working out is suiting farmers, with no matches during the summer. We wouldn’t be able to play between silage and everything. We’d be busy.”
Quotable quote: “We’re hardly concentrating on farming at the minute. Usually, everything is quiet this time of year between hurling and farming. The evenings are easily put down now. It will be from Coarsepark to Croke Park on 19 January.”
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