The farm: “As a biodynamic farm we tend to have a mixture of things on the farm and livestock is quite central to what we do. We like to make good compost and compost is central to our soil fertility.”

Crops: “We’re growing barley for Waterford Distillery and oats for Flahavan’s. I grow a poly crop which is a mixture of loads of different crops – barley, peas, vetches, lupins, linseed, sunflowers and oats – and that’s grown as an animal feed, a ready-made ration.”

Salads: “We have cattle and sheep and a small horticulture business. We’re growing salads as well for the Sprout Food Co. We’ve a lot of diversity and that helps the whole system run well.”

Biodynamics: “We’re using a very specific biodynamic preparation to improve our soil. It helps build humus in the soil and make the nutrition in the soil available. It’s a complex process to make the preparations. We put cow manure into cow horns and bury them in the soil for the winter to make the manure.”

This week: “We’ve all the cereals tidied up and the cover crops in and I’m harvesting salad leaf at the moment and tending to the cattle. We graze the cattle and sheep holistically. I’m moving them from paddock to paddock.”

Niche market: “My idea of farming is that it’s about producing high-quality, premium products.”

Waterford Whisky: “David Wallace was the catalyst for us to get involved in biodynamics. He encouraged myself and Alan to do trials on biodynamic preparations on our land. At the same time, I met Mark Reynier from Waterford Distillery and told him I’m trying biodynamics and he said “well if you grow biodynamic barley I’ll buy it”.”