James and Anna Brady pictured at the launch of the Virginia Show.

Farming ‘a hard gig’ but a rewarding one

Having spent his entire life working on his dairy farm in Lisgrea, near Virginia, James Brady has presided over a period of massive change in Irish farming. Now in his late 80s, James, who works the farm along with his wife Anna and son Donald, says farming is almost unrecognisable from what it was when he started out.

“I was born on to the farm. When I was younger, we had shorthorn cattle, which were the main cattle at the time along with Hereford and Angus. We had five cows, which was an average-sized herd at the time, but we gradually increased over the years.

“There were good years and bad years, but with the massive increase in herd size and investment on farms, these days the highs and lows are a lot more spectacular. Nearly every house had a cow back then and there were three times as many farms as there are now, but with fewer cows,” he recalls.

Tuberculosis had a major impact on both animal and human health over the course of the 20th century. James says that, while efforts were made to curtail the spread, they were ineffective, especially as the disease remains prevalent today.

“When first TB arrived, we had 20 cows. We were lucky we didn’t lose many. We were one of the first herds in Cavan to get a herd number when they were giving out the numbers, 05 was our number.

“Back then cattle came from the west, through the midlands then to the east coast and on to England as stores. They decided, if they eradicated TB in the west at its source before it came across Ireland, then it would die out, but it’s still going now, and it’s after getting worse in recent times.”

The type of farming in the area has also changed, with one sector now almost completely absent.

“Tillage went out of Cavan altogether. Back then everyone had a couple of acres of oats, a plot of potatoes for pigs and their house, as well as flax in some cases. Cavan was never as good as places like Meath to grow crops because the ground was heavier and it was harder to cultivate and it wouldn’t dry out as well as other areas, but it was still there. Now potato growing north of the Kells/Carnaross area has almost died out, but there are a few people still doing it, but very few," observes the octogenarian.

As well as seeing big changes in farming practices, the manner in which farmers sell their goods has also changed dramatically over the decades.

“Fairs were much bigger back then until marts took over. Ballyjamesduff Fair used to be held regularly, we’d walk cattle to it. It was a good town for cattle, they’d all come from the west, and be sent up to Dublin afterwards to the boats. The town was covered with cattle. It also had a mart as well, which is still there but, in most places, fairs were the main place to do business. Now marts are dying out a bit, the big ones are doing well, but there are less small ones,” recalls James.

Ring side on your smart phone

Modern technology has changed how a lot of farms do business. However, James says it’s only natural for technological advancements, which changed all areas of modern life to spread to farming as well.

“Marts have all gone online. You can look at it on your phone and not go if you want to buy stock. I live quite near the mart so I don’t use it, but it wasn’t a big surprise to see it go online. Everything has moved on to phones. They were able to establish it very quickly.

Covid would have helped it a bit. It was only a matter of time before it became established, they have apps for car parks, booking spots etc. So it was only a matter of time before it happened in farming,” he marvels.

James is happy to see younger generations of his family work on the farm with him and Anna but says they were all free to make their own choices.

“I have five kids - three boys and two girls. My son Donald is running the farm now. It’s great to see the next generation coming behind me, they all worked on the farm before they got their own jobs.

“Donald went to agricultural college and went to Holland for a few months before he came back. If the next generation want to go into farming, I’d love to see it but only if it’s what they want to do themselves. Farming is a hard gig to be in these days but it’s always been hard, you have to make the right decisions at the right times," he surmises.

Although he claims to be retired, James is still an active and a constant presence on the farm.

“I enjoy farming. There is constantly something to be done and always a need for a pair of hands. Labour is expensive and it can be hard to get people. There used to be no issue getting people to help with things like silage, but it’s getting harder. Potential labourers are more likely to work on building sites where there are shorter hours and weekends off," James finds.

Love of the land will no doubt keep James active on the farm in Lisgrea for a time yet.