Eimear and Terence tell of their shared love of farming

“I’ve been out on the farm since I was practically fit to be out,” said Terence, a beef and sheep farmer from Belleek.

“It’s just a way of life. It’s something I’ve always enjoyed doing.”

And 45 miles away in Clogher, his wife, Eimear (née McGovern) had a similar upbringing.

“From a very young age, I was out farming,” she recalled. “I was only three years old when I took my first heifer to an agricultural show!”

In many ways, Terence and Eimear’s paths in farming were destined to cross. They first met at a Charolais Bull Sale in 2019.

“Terence was asking for my advice that day!” Eimear joked. “We had that shared interest in cattle, that common ground. For me, I knew it was always going to have to be a farmer!”

The couple bonded over their collective love of agriculture, and many date nights were spent on the farm lambing ewes.

“When we first got together, Terence was right in the thick of lambing,” she recalled.

“Those were our date nights, spent in the lambing shed for a few weeks.

“It was a change for me, being from a small suckler farm. But I could count on Terence to show me the ropes!”

The couple tied the knot in the summer, and Eimear has been busy adapting to life in Fermanagh.

Naturally, when she isn’t working full-time as a Territory Manager for Agrimin - an agricultural business that supplies cattle and sheep trace element boluses - she enjoys nothing more than getting stuck into farm work with her husband.

“Eimear is a great help, and we get on very well working together,” Terence said. “We make a great team, I have to say. We don’t always agree, but 99 per cent of the time, we’re on the same page.”

In farming, no two days are the same, and this is certainly true at the McGarrigle farm.

On the farm, the main enterprises include a herd of Charolais cross Limousin suckler cows and a flock of commercial ewes.

Meanwhile, a handful of Dutch Spotted sheep are also kept as a hobby. Suffice to say, there’s never a dull moment.

“It’s hard to describe a typical day when it comes to farming,” Terence continued. “During this time of year, it’s much the same work.

"But come March and April, everything’s going on, between lambing, calving, and slurrying.

"There’s always plenty happening, and the hours are long.

“But when it’s all said and done, it’s not the worst job in the world. People call me mad, but I love calving cows and lambing ewes.

"I love turning the ewes and lambs out to the field after they lamb. There’s something very enjoyable about that.

“It feels like a good result, even though it can be hard to get to that point. Selling the stock is also a highlight, because you see the fruits of your labour.”

Eimear is well-known in farming circles in both Tyrone and Fermanagh. On her home farm in Clogher, her father, Séan McGovern, breeds pedigree Charolais cattle, and Eimear has picked up many prizes at agricultural shows.

This success saw the McGovern’s being selected to take part in the hit farming programme, 'Rare Breed: A Farming Year' in 2018.

For Eimear, this platform helped her to highlight the importance of women in agriculture.

“Being on Rare Breed was a great experience, and it helped me show the reality of women working in the sector,” she said.

“I am pleased to say that over the years, and even since Rare Breed, attitudes toward women in farming have definitely changed.

“When I started showing cattle, I was literally the only girl, but things are very different nowadays.

"It’s great to see more girls getting into the showing scene, and I’ve made so many great friends through this activity.”

She continued: “The same was true when I started working in the agriculture industry after I graduated from Greenmount Agricultural College.

"It was daunting, and sometimes it felt that men would have preferred to speak to other men about topics such as animal health.

“Despite this, I feel I have proven myself. I am where I am in my career today because I can speak out, and reassure farming men that we are just as good as they are!”

Eimear added that her early exposure to agriculture inspired her to pursue a farming-related career path.

She initially studied at Greenmount Agricultural College, before securing employment at Fane Valley as a sales advisor, and later as a retail manager.

Then in 2021 she returned for a Master’s in Business for Agri-Food and Rural Enterprise at Queen’s University, Belfast. This opened doors to her latest role as a Territory Manager for Agrimin.

This busy and rewarding role allows her to apply her practical know-how acquired on the farm and technical knowledge gained from her studies.

“It’s always good to keep your options open, and studying agriculture at Undergraduate and Master’s degree level allowed me to do just that,” she said. “My motto has always been, ‘Every day’s a school day'.

“It doesn’t do any harm to keep learning and bettering yourself, no matter what industry you’re in. You never know where you could up!”

Eimear’s experience is a testament to the growing opportunities in agriculture for both men and women.

Undoubtedly, farming is a treasured way of life for this young couple. Of course, as is the case on any farm, some days are more challenging than others.

For Terence, unpredictable weather is a major headache on the farm.

“The biggest challenge in farming right now is, believe it or not, the weather,” he said.

“There have been plenty of bad days, and it has a bigger impact here in Fermanagh than it does in other counties.

“The ground around here in Belleek is heavy. They say that farming in Fermanagh is different from farming anywhere else, and that’s certainly true here.

“The cost of things is also a big concern. Prices have risen so much in recent years, and it’s hard to know where it will end.”

Similarly, Eimear feels the future of farming is uncertain, especially after the change to inheritance tax thresholds in the Labour party's recent Budget.

“The inheritance tax change has been a massive blow for farmers,” she explained. “If we are blessed to have a family, this will have a huge impact. I don’t think people realise how important this is going to be.

“Young farmers simply don’t have the money to pay big tax bills for succession.

"Farmers need to speak out about these changes. It’s going to have a huge impact on the next generation.”

She added: “Reductions in the Single Farm Payment are also a concern. If this continues, farmers will find it increasingly difficult to make a living.”

With so many pressures facing the agricultural industry, Eimear believes it’s important for farmers to look after their mental health.

“A farm can be a lonely and isolating place, so both men and women should take care of themselves,” she said.

“Farming is hard work, but there’s more to it than that. It’s important for farmers to get out and about whenever they can.

“Something as simple as going to a mart can make such a difference. Even just discussing what’s happening on the farm that week with a like-minded person can have a positive impact.”

Despite these many challenges, Eimear and Terence are determined to keep farming. For them, it’s what brought them together, it’s their way of life, and it’s their passion.

“Things can be uncertain, but you just take every day as it comes,” Terence concluded. “My mentality is that you shouldn’t get too distraught if something happens.

“In farming, you’re always going to have some kind of problem. You just have to sort things out as best you can.

“That’s the way it is in this game. It can be hard, but you wouldn’t change it.”