Farmer Focus, Patrick Dunne: Changing systems and dealing with this year’s drought

Sheep BETTER farm participant Patrick Dunne who farms in the Wicklow Mountains joins Ciaran Lynch on this week’s OviCast. Patrick describes his farming system and how it has changed over the past number of years from the original 300 ewe Cheviot hill flock that were run essentially as a lowland system to his current 500 ewe flock split between a lowland and hill system. One of the drivers behind this change was to reduce costs in hill system by increasing the time these ewes spend on the hill. Patrick discusses a strict culling and selection procedure to select a more suitable ewe for the flock. The change in system has also allowed him to increase overall numbers and operate a higher output lowland flock which he discusses in more detail. Patrick talks us through how he managed the flock during the prolonged dry spell which caused grass growth rates to drop significantly on the farm and the planned management strategy for the coming weeks for both systems. For more episodes and information visit the OviCast show page: https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/sheep/ovicast-sheep-podcast/