Farm: “We have 80 hectares of land, 30 hectares of which are rented. We are based in Ring, Co Waterford. It is a family farm. The place was owned by my parents Jimmy and Margaret and I farm in partnership with them.

System: “We run a dairy farm with 180 cows and we supply Glanbia. We plan on milking 220 this year with quotas going. We predominately use Holstein Friesian but we have also turned to cross-breeding to increase productivity. So far it has been successful, we averaged 380kg of milk solids.”

Athletics: “I began life as a professional athlete from the age of 19. I competed at two Olympics in 2002 and 2008 doing the 50km walk. I came back farming in 2012. It took me some time to get used to it again. I’m back at it full time now for two and half years and really enjoying it. Things started to progress for me during the first calving season of 2013.

Positive Farmers Conference: “I am speaking at the Positive Farmers Conference on 15 January in Tipperary. I will speak about increasing the six week calving rate from 43% - 79% in three years. I want to help increase profit for farms like I did. It is not possible for a farm to create viable profits from milk at 24c/l. We must convert back to the basic principles of farming practises. Farmers can improve their farming practises by managing and researching the basics and utilising these basic practises.”

Grass: “We went from 6t of grass growth per hectare in 2008 to 12.2t per hectare in 2014, although it was challenging. It was an exception year for grass growth.

2015: “2015 will be a year of learning and incorporating practises into our farm to increase fertility amongst our cattle, increasing profits and increasing grass growth in an efficient way.”

Quotable quote: “You could get all the advice in the world, but if you don’t act on it, you won’t see any changes.”