Eoin Kelly will be taking over our social media this Thursday, February 17, in another Agriland Takeover – on Instagram and Facebook.
It will be the second time that the husband-to-be, father and hill farmer shows Agriland followers around his predominantly sheep enterprise.
You can watch Eoin’s first takeover in the highlights section of our Instagram page here.
Hill farmer in Derry
Eoin is farming in partnership with his twin brother, and their father, in the Sperrin Mountains in Co. Derry. Together they have approximately 1,000 breeding ewes and 500 ewe lambs and a small herd of hill cattle, used to utilise the rough grass on the hill.
While Eoin also works as a Provita Animal Health representative, he hasn’t always been involved in the industry.
“As I left school, my father wanted us all to get a trade – so I became a joiner,” he told Agriland ahead of his takeover last year.
But it wasn’t long before he found his way back.
“I couldn’t wait to get my papers and throw my hammer and nail bag into the back of the van and get back to farming full-time,” he said.
“In between, I went on my first contract lambing job to Scotland and fell in love with the country and the way of life. I did a few lambings that year and the next couple of years.
“At the age of 20 after my seventh lambing in Scotland, I took on a farm manager’s job in an estate in Scotland running thousands of ewes and hundreds of cattle.
“It was a real eye-opener and a good learning curve. I stayed as a manager on this farm for five years. I then went contracting for a few years.”
Then, at 27-years-old, Eoin talked to his father about coming home and invested in their farm together – the rest is history.
Follow our Instagram and Facebook pages to see Eoin’s takeover this Thursday, February 17, where you can ask any questions you might have about how the farm has grown since his last Agriland feature one year ago.