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Derek Keeling

Location: Oldtown, north Co. Dublin

Derek Keeling farms with his father Derek snr. approx. 390 ha of owned and rented land in north County Dublin.  The farm grows mainly winter cereal due to the soil type with winter wheat and winter barley being the predominant crops however they also grow some spring wheat after potatoes. The Keeling’s swap ground with a local potato produce for rotation purposes and for access to additional land.

Farm Desctiption:

Breakdown of the land use on the Keeling farm
CroppingApprox. area 2016Average yields 2014-2016
Winter wheat 270 11.6
Winter barley 70 10.2

The Keeling farm has always placed significant importance on keeping records with soil results from the late 70’s and early 80’s available.  A weighbridge was put in place over 10 years ago to record the crop yields for each individual field, these are recorded on the day of harvest.  Over time Derek can see trends emerging from each field and this helps greatly in the decision making process for future cropping.