Tom & Geraldine Short
- Sheep and Tillage Farm -

With sea views in one direction and the Wicklow Mountains in the other, Tom and Geraldine Short’s farm at Kilmullen House outside Newtownmountkennedy offers panoramic views of the scenic Wicklow countryside.
 
An 8th generation farmer, Tom Short has always had farming in his blood. 

His wife, Geraldine, is also from a farming family, on her mother’s side, and for them this life is the only one they would choose, despite its challenges. “You battle the elements, but it is a lovely way of life,” she says. The family farm is largely involved in tillage, growing crops, but also continues the county’s proud tradition of sheep farming.

​The couple have four children: Conor (22), Niamh (20),  Brian (18) and Ciara (13). When the children were younger, they purchased 7 ewes to get them interested in farming. The sheep side of the business grew from there.
 
The Shorts work year round to produce lamb, oats, winter wheat, malted barley, oil seed rape and protein beans. Tom works mostly on the land while Geraldine manages all of the paperwork for this busy enterprise. They have one full-time member of staff and several part-time staff during key times, such as the harvest period.

The sheep are kept indoors from mid-December until the busy early lambing season in February and March. Once the lambs arrive, if the weather allows, the animals are moved outside to the fields.
 
Winter crops are sewn in September and left to grow until they need to be fertilised in the Spring. 

They are harvested in August and September which always draws a lot of attention from passers-by who are fascinated with the machinery, particularly the impressive combine harvester!
 
Food products originating from their farm include lamb, porridge and oil seed rape which is used by a Wicklow-based company to produce cold pressed, extra virgin rapeseed oil. The protein beans grown on the farm are used as cattle feed both for their own beef animals and by other local farmers. The malted barley goes to Boortmalt who supply craft breweries such local brewery, Wicklow Wolf.
 
Tom believes that the urban and rural divide has, in recent times, become more defined. Both he and his family are delighted to open their gates as part of Agri Aware’s National Open Farm Day on May 7thso that people can see how food gets from farm to table and get a real insight into farming life.