We farm: “Seventeen hectares, all owned ground, and run a suckler-to-weanling enterprise. I work off farm with Ballina Seamless Gutters too. It’s a partnership with my uncle, Joe Howley, so I’m lucky my dad, Seamus, is at home. He’s a massive help. My nanny, Mary Howley, often comes down to see the calves. She’s 100 and still has a great interest in the farm.”

Family: “I’m married to Sharon, and we have three children, Chloe (13), Adam (eight) and Fiadh (five).”

Land: “The land is split into four parcels, so we’d be on the road with cattle a good bit. It’s mixed land, two-thirds is dry and the rest is wet, and usually a no-go area until April, but that will be May this year.”

Cows: “There are 15 cows, a mix of Charolais, Limousin and Simmentals. I don’t keep replacements and buy in springers every year. I keep it simple. We don’t have the land or silage to keep the weanlings, so they’re sold at Ballina Mart. Space is at a premium in winter so it’s good to have the room. We start calving in mid-January and are usually finished by early March.”

Twins: “We had four sets of twins. We were expecting one set and the other three were a surprise. There was great excitement. The children were delighted with them.”

Bull: “We use a Charolais bull. We bought a new one in Elphin at the premier sale recently. He’s a Fiston son, the same as our last bull.”

Weather: “We got the bull and a few cows and calves out the dry week before the storm, but we’ve them all housed again. That dry week was helpful; we got fertiliser out on the silage ground and on some of the grazing ground.”

Late spring: “We’re equipped for a six- or seven-month winter all the time. You’d often see cattle in here at the end of September, so it’s important to get silage early in order to get a good second cut.”