My name is Gerry Carty, and I farm 134 arcres approx at Dernaseer, near Ballyshannon, Co. Donegal. My farm overlooks Lough Melvin, famous for its angling, and borders Co. Fermanagh. The land is generally poor in quality, and rushes are abundant.
I run the farm myself, with the help of my son Shane. I have 24 sucklers and 8-10 breeding heifers at present. I aim for Autumn calving, and have 8 calves at the minute. I find that this regime leads to less problems with scour.
I do try to produce some spring calves, which I usually sell the following spring. I use a mixture of AI and a stock bull. I have been a member of the MED AI scheme for 6 years, and have got 4-5 good Limousin calves every year as a result. I always select my best breeding heifers for AI. I also use a stock bull (Charolais), which I put to the heifers in the shed before they are let out. They are then scanned before they are let out and any not in calf are culled.
As I stated the land quality on my farm is poor but I have been working over a number of years to improve it. I reseeded 5 acres 2 years ago, and 1 acre this year. I had planned to reseed more this year but the wet summer put paid to that plan. It is an ongoing job topping and spraying rushes.
I also have 30 lambs, and am considering expanding my sheep flock because of my land quality and the inclement weather. The sheep are doing an excellent job of cleaning up the land and grass is thickening as a result. This year I lost 2 sheep to dog attacks on the week end of Donegal’s All Ireland triumph. Not a pretty scene to come home to. In total my flock has suffered 7 casualties to dog attacks, the latest only 8 days ago. The irresponsibility of dog owners beggars belief.
I contract the cutting of my silage to John “The Mag” Patton, and got a good return of round bales in early June. I had intended to take a second cut but the weather put paid to this. I bought in the lambs to graze the ground after cutting as it was too wet to put cattle out on it. I will probably sell these lambs in the new year.
I use a paddock system for grazing, and use 5-6 grazing areas, rotating on a fortnightly basis. I do my own tractor and farm building maintenance, and it is a never ending chore. I was a member of the MED Gate to Plate cross border initiative some years ago and found it very beneficial for making improvements to farm buildings (I added rubber mats to my slatted shed) while also buying in some quality heifers to improve my herd.
I do not exhibit at agricultural shows due to time constraints, but my son (Shane) and daughter (Denise) have both won prizes at the Ballyshannon Agricultural Show.
Unfortunately, because of the poor land quality, due to the location (Leitrim – Fermanagh – Donegal Border) of my farm, it is unrealistic for me to be anything other than a part time farmer.