Barry O’Hagan
Barry is farming in Manorhamilton, Co. Leitrim. This farm began its’ conversion to organic farming in 2023 and has full organic status since 1st January 2025. The land is all owned by Barry with no land leased.
Lowland and Hill Sheep
The farm consists of a mix of hill type marginal land and lowland of better quality. However, the lowland is heavy soil with limited workability in wet conditions. Currently there is a mix of lowland and hill type sheep on the farm. The hill sheep are predominantly Lanark horned sheep while the lowland breeds consist of Hilltex and Mule sheep bred off the Lanark horned sheep. The flock consistently scans at approximately 1.7 lambs per ewe. All lambs are currently sold in local marts, with some sold as stores and some sold as finished lamb.
Barry is moving more towards the Hilltex and Mule type ewe crossed with a terminal sire (in this case Barry is choosing a Texel sire) in order to add value to the lamb sold off the farm. This decision is based off data gathered during the early years of the monitor farm programme as the hill type lambs have been averaging less per head over the last number of years with similar treatment.
Currently Barry out winters all stock with the pre lambing diet consisting of grass silage plus organic concentrates for 8 weeks pre lambing. Ewes are separated based on Body Condition Score and the number of lambs they are carrying and fed accordingly. The organic concentrate that Barry feeds is sourced directly off an organic Tillage farmer in Co. Donegal. The feed is a mix of Barley, Oats and Peas. The pea content is high in this mix and therefore the protein content has tested at 18%.