John Boylan made it to the top in farming, not just in dairying but in the Irish Farmers Association where he once challenged for the top job as president.
Now, at 57 years of age, the Monaghan-born farmer is getting out of dairying and quitting farming for good.
That will mean selling off his 250-strong herd and the land bank he built up with his father over the last 40 years which he describes as "exciting".
Now, however, the excitement has gone out of farming for him and he has put his farm and cattle up for sale at a price of €8 million.
"Milking cows can be slavery and when you reach the stage when you have to take on an extra 70-80 cows to pay for another unit of labour, it's too much," he says.
"I look back with pride and I enjoyed the challenges and the ups and downs of it all but I have had enough. I want to try something else and I have outside interests that I want to pursue now.
"When I started to produce milk I was selling it for 1s9p per gallon and I am leaving the industry getting 90 cent a gallon," he said.
He had land leased 20 miles from his Carrickmacross base at one stage and that created all kinds of difficulties for him at the time."That has been a long and challenging road but an enjoyable one and I suppose I would do it all over again if I had to," he says.
None of John's three children are interested in taking over the family farm. "Young people have so many options now and they can have a better lifestyle and choices that we never had."
John, who is seeking €20,000 per acre for his land, intends to sell on his herd and is confident they will be in demand.
"There are plenty of people out there who want to continue milking but there is some uncertainty with the new exchange system and the fact that no one is quite sure how this area will play out," he says.
However, he is convinced that because we have the climatic advantage of growing grass quite easily and the know-how to manage dairy herds better than most in the world, there is no danger the industry will die.
"There are major challenges but none that cannot be overcome with hard work and initiative." He believes the key to future certainty is the long term leasing of land with decent tax breaks for the energetic people who want to go that road.
Meanwhile, he believes some entrepreneur will see the value of his property, which is only 40 minutes drivetime from Dublin airport, and will want to develop part of it not for farming but for housing or industry.
