DAVID Irwin, of Redhouse Holsteins, is a fourth-generation dairy farmer from Benburb, Co. Tyrone. 

Milking 170 pedigree Holstein cows on the home farm, David has worked tirelessly to improve genetics performance, and this has resulted in many cows performing consistently at the top of the United Kingdom in terms of combined fat and protein.

David has also cultivated a large following on the social media platform TikTok, and has emerged as a straight-talking advocate for farmers on a range of issues, ranging from Bovine TB and ammonia emissions to changes to inheritance tax thresholds. 

We sat down with David to talk about his farming policy, his social media success, and how, for him, farming remains a way of life. 

Can you tell me a bit about the history of your farm and your farming policy?

I am the fourth generation here, and my family has been here for 102 years, having moved here from Scotstown in Co. Monaghan.

We were always farmers before that; my father is from a farming family, and my mother is from a farming family, so no matter which way you branch out, we were all farmers!

We focus on dairy now, with 170 cows milking, basically trying to take as many kilos of combined fat and protein out of the cows as possible, with the current goal of hitting 1,100 kilos of combined fat and protein per cow per year. We aren’t far off that.

We also do 40 to 50 acres of spring and winter barley. Dairying is the main focus now, but throughout history, we were mixed farmers, with beef, arable, and hens here at one time.

What is your earliest farming memory, and when did you decide you wanted to be a farmer?

I can just remember being very small, and cows being very big!

I had always planned to be a farmer, but when I was a teenager, I was more interested in girls and rugby!

My father always told me he didn’t think it was a great idea for me to come straight home, so I went to university.

I didn’t study agriculture; I studied Electronic and Software Engineering, with the idea that if farming went south, I would have the qualifications needed to get a proper job.

I did my degree at Queen's from 2006 to 2008, and then I came straight home after that and I have been at home for 17 years.

What does a typical day look like on the farm?

My typical day doesn’t look the same as it used to. I have three daughters now, aged 5, 3, and 1.

My typical day used to be up and out, getting a million things done, but now it’s up and getting the children ready for school before going out to the farm.

My wife works full-time as well, so it can be hectic.

When I start my farming day, it’s generally by organising three fellows who work for me.

We make sure everything is done, and done right.

We feed baby calves, check calves on the automatic feeder, and do all that routine stuff.

We milk three times a day, at 5.30am, 1.30pm, and 9.30pm.

Every day is different, and there are a million things to do.

There is a lot of fieldwork coming up now.

What is your farming mentality or how do you approach farming in general?

You get out what you put in. I try to leave no stone unturned in any aspect of my farm business or any other aspect of my life, which can be a bit of a torture at times.

I can’t sleep at night if I know I haven’t done something to the best of my ability. That breeds success, in a way.

The other thing that’s vital is having a good team. We have good staff, we pay them well, and we try to hold onto them, which is very difficult these days.

I pay a host of advisers in different areas to work alongside me.

I am very much of the opinion that free advice is usually free for a reason, so I work alongside expert nutritionists, soil biologists, mineral specialists, and vets to achieve results.

I don’t claim to be an expert in a lot of areas, but there are experts who we work alongside, and that drives success.

How did you get involved in the thriving agri TikTok scene, and what has made your page so successful?

I have been doing Facebook and Instagram for years before TikTok.

Things have changed, and times move on, and the younger generation is very much on TikTok.

In terms of social media, while I very much enjoy it, I have no hesitancy in saying that the overarching goal of why I do it is because we generate a large amount of our income through pedigree Holstein sales - bulls, heifers, calves, and embryos.

I felt that if I was going to hit that young generation, I had to start on TikTok.

In terms of my videos, I don’t put a lot of effort into them. I just take the camera out and walk and talk people through what I am doing, and why I am doing it.

It just seems to have been a hit. It was originally a platform to advertise, but that has evolved into trying to do right by farmers when we are constantly being attacked from every single angle you can imagine, from bureaucracy to government legislation.

I am trying to use my voice to highlight what’s right and to fight for agriculture, and it's given me a lot of contacts and opportunities.

What do you feel the future holds for both your farm and the farming industry?

The future of farming is uncertain, and that's the reason why I am fighting at all levels around everything farmers are being attacked with.

I am fighting around TB, ammonia, phosphates, nitrates, and recently, the whole inheritance tax issue.

I feel that if we don’t fight, the future is fairly bleak.

Farming is being destroyed, and I feel I have to fight hard because I want there to be a future in this place.

I have three little girls, and I would love to see them able to make a living out of this farm.

I want to expand the farm and give them the opportunity to continue on, but with current legislation, I can’t expand at all.

I don’t know what the future holds, but I hope the future is bright.

Unfortunately, there are so many issues at present and the future seems quite dark.