Farming between Four Roads and Athleague in Co. Roscommon is James Fitzmaurice.

Fitzmaurice is farming in partnership with his father Willie and the duo run a suckler-to-beef operation in conjunction with a flock of mid-season lambing ewes.

Progeny from both the suckler herd and the flock are all brought through to finish on the farm.

James Fitzmaurice is also one of the young farmers involved in the 2026 edition of the Kepak Young Farmer Forum.

Agriland recently paid a visit to the Fitzmaurice farm in Co. Roscommon to see their farm system and hear James' views on the Kepak Young Farmer Forum initiative.

Fitzmaurice explained that the suckler cow type on their farm is predominantly Shorthorn/Limousin-cross cows which are then bred to a Limousin bull.

The farm also buys in a number of weanling bulls. Male progeny on the farm are predominantly finished as bull beef but some steers are finished also while female progeny are finished as heifers.

The suckler herd is all spring calving with the first calves generally arriving from February 1 onwards.

The calving season is kept as tight as possible with bulls taken out from the cows around July 20.

The flock

The farm also has a flock of lowland ewes which are predominantly Texel-cross.

The ewes are bred to Beltex and Texel rams with all progeny slaughtered through the QualEUtex group at Kepak Athleague.

The lambing season generally runs from mid-February to April.

Grass-based system

While there is an evident emphasis placed on using good genetics in the suckler herd and sheep flocks, grassland management is also a core focus of both the sheep and suckler systems on the farm.

Fitzmaurice said: "It's mainly a grass-based system.

"We have a big focus on growing as much grass and utilising as much grass as possible."

The Kepak Young Farmer Forum

When Fitzmaurice first heard about the Kepak Young Farmer Forum, he discussed it with Kepak Athleague's lamb procurement manager David Mannion.

Fitzmaurice said: "I was delighted to get involved in it. It's a great opportunity to make connections with with other young farmers."

"The big problem in Ireland is the amount of young farmers is getting less and less the whole time.

"So it's great to be able to interact and meet different farmers my age with the same interests and discuss different ideas and different challenges that we all face."

Industry insight

The young Co. Roscommon farmer said that since joining the Kepak Young Farmer Forum, participants have got a much better insight into the industry.

Fitzmaurice said: "We were down in Kepak Watergrasshill and the Musgrave outlet, and I found that very beneficial.

"Generally, once the stock leaves the farm gate, that's the end of it.

"You don't see what happens behind the scenes, or see what the next steps involve so it was great to get a tour of the abattoir and the Musgrave warehouse to see all the packaging and and all the extra work that goes into it before it gets to the consumer."

KT farm visits

As well as industry insight, the young farmer group has also visited several farms around the country on knowledge transfer (KT) events to hear of different farming systems from the primary producers first-hand and also received presentations on young farmer agri-finance.

On the KT visits, Fitzmaurice said: "We've visited several farms around the country, some very good operators, and I found that great to be able to keep sharp and bring new ideas home here and try them out."

Young farmer opportunities and challenges

Commenting on some of the opportunities and challenges faced by young farmers, Fitzmaurice said that the Kepak Young Farmer Forum brings young like-minded farmers together with a positive, can-do attitude.

He said that "you would have a pep in your step" leaving the forum events.

"You'd see other things that you want to try on your own farm and see things you know you could do better at home.

"It gives you it gives you a bit energy to develop your own farm and push it on."

While the forum is a positive environment, it does not overlook the core challenges faced by young farmers.

Commenting on some of the hurdles he encounters in the industry, Fitzmaurice said: "Probably the biggest challenge I'd see as being a young farmer would be be the uncertain nature of farming as a business.

"It's very hard to plan from year to year. For example, last year, there was brilliant farm gate prices and inputs stayed relatively stable.

"This year, the lamb price is good, but the beef price has fell that small bit and inputs have risen significantly in terms of fuel and fertiliser.

In addition, he highlighted that as he is farming in partnership with his father, he can find it difficult to manage the workload.

Fitzmaurice said that managing an off-farm job alongside the farm also "brings us challenges".

He explained: "The stock have to be looked after no matter what's on so you have to work off farm to get the income and then be it early mornings or late evenings, you have to be doing extra jobs.

"So it's very hard to get a good work-life balance and have a bit of time for yourself after it."

While there remains significant challenges for young farmers, Fitzmaurice feels the forum is a positive enbvironment to discuss these.

He said: "I'm definitely glad I joined the Kepak Young Farmer Forum.

"It's great to see the the industry support young farmers and keeping farmers farming and sustaining farming into the future as well."