Annesgrove house near Clonlara in Co Clare once hosted the royalty of stage and screen when Lawrence Olivier and Vivienne Leigh came to call.
Producing U-grade beef from Shorthorn steers may appear far fetched to many finishers to be achievable, but John Clarke has proved it possible with the progeny from his herd in Roscommon.
The traditional husband-and-wife family farm structure is still prevalent in a time of farm labour shortages and increased childcare costs.
The sheep factory price slide continues. Quotes for lamb slipped another 10c/kg yesterday, while hoggets were slashed by 50c/kg.
The convergence of CAP payments to a single unit value per hectare is an issue that has divided farmers and poisoned the debate on agricultural policy spanning the last two reforms of the Common Agricultural policy (CAP).
As farmers we are always looking for good weather, but the prolonged dry weather since March has caused its own problems for many of us.
The end of June is generally the time of year when I finally wean the lambs from their mothers. They have had a good run this year and most of the lambs that remain are between 30-40kgs. Weaning is best done abruptly. There is no point in dragging it out for too long as you...
