SMALLHOLDING WITH SHEEP, COUNTY FERMANAGH, NORTHERN IRELAND: Louise gained her knowledge of farming from her grandfather who kept a small herd of cattle, and she now keeps sheep on the 12-acre (5-hectare) smallholding which he farmed. She farms a flock of around 30 breeding ewes and one ram with a friend, and also has some laying hens and geese for personal use.

The farm includes several small paddocks, a river, and ancient woodland bordering the disused Bundoran railway line, and top of Louise’s agenda is encouraging wildlife and improving the land for future generations. She’s already planted several hundred metres of native hedgerows and is encouraging native flora such as foxgloves and cow parsley to attract pollinators. She would also one day like to turn some of the disused buildings into self-catering cottages, as additional income into the business.

At present the farm does not bring in enough income to support Louise so she has a full-time job as an administrator, and she’s also training to become a self-employed reflexologist.

Louise’s interest in farming dates back to childhood when she spent all her weekends with her grandparents, helping them move cattle on their smallholding or simply exploring the countryside. She was keen to pursue a career in agriculture but wasn’t encouraged at school. “In the nineties I couldn’t see many women working in agriculture so I didn’t really think it was an option,” she says. Instead she went to university to study journalism studies and film and media, and lived in Scotland for nine years and England for two before coming home to Fermanagh in 2020 when her mother was unwell. Eventually she took back some of the land that had been owned by her grandfather, and started her own farming venture. “I feel my grandfather with me frequently,” she says. “I think we would have had a lot of fun farming together had we had the opportunity.”