Tonight I'm delighted to be heading over the Irish Sea to County Wicklow to talk to Dairy Farmer John Kelly @j0hn_k
We talk about the area where he's farming, before going on to talk about his childhood in Derry, Northern Ireland, and the tragic suicide of one of his brothers at age just 13. We then hear about what it was like growing up in the troubles, and dealing with bomb threats at school.
We discuss the family's move to Wicklow, and how he settled in as an awkward teenager, before hearing about his adventures as a shooting guide for trigger-happy Italians, and working on a farm in the South of France, before heading over to England to the greatest University on Earth - Harper Adams!
We hear about how he worked with horses after Uni, including a stint at Coolmore, one of the biggest studs in the world, and how he met his Wife, and how they haven't stopped having children since!
We then talk about children and bringing them up on farms in depth, swap Dad hacks, and especially go into farm safety and kids.
We also go into how he grew his sheep flock, became a national monitor farm, and wrote a sheep column in the Irish Farmers Journal, before making the change to dairy farming, and now milking 230 cows.
We then discuss the importance of finding a work-life balance, returning to sports, running, mental well-being, and social media.
All this and lots, lots more!
John's a great farmer and family man, and it was an absolute pleasure to talk to him tonight. Check it out folks..
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