I farm: “In partnership with my father, Séamus, and husband, Tadgh. Tadgh and I work full-time off the farm, so it is a great comfort to have three of us. We farm 80 acres in one block around the house. Sixty acres would be good-quality land, and the rest is low wetland, so is ideal for cattle during the summer.”

Cattle: “Since I could walk, I was out on the farm and have always had a passion for beef. The farm converted from dairy to beef in 2008. My dad bought two Simmental heifers in the eighties and the herd has grown since then. We breed predominantly Simmental cattle under the Towerhill name.”

Calving: “We have 40 cows. We calve at the back end of the year to have animals to sell during spring for the upcoming breeding season. There are five cows left to calve. We use a mix of AI and a stock bull. Recently, we have been making use of our own young bulls before we sell them on.”

Weather: “Land is fairly saturated and there is not a hope of letting cattle out. Any break in the weather is followed by rain. Historically, we’d have maiden heifers out at this stage. Our slurry is contracted out and we got our tank emptied onto the silage ground when the season opened, so we’re lucky.”

Challenges: “ICBF, EU directives and the Department [of Agriculture] are making farming more challenging. There is a lot of paperwork and regulations with little to no return or support. The ICBF index is making it difficult for pedigree and suckler farmers to survive. It is worrying what they are trying to promote and it leaves us with a limited gene pool. Costs are sky-high, which is also a concern.”

This week: “The Simmental Society premier sale in Roscommon is on 23 March, so we are getting prepared for that. We have an in-calf heifer we are hoping to sell.”