In agriculture today, the nutritional needs of farm animals are well understood and may be satisfied through natural forage and fodder alone, or augmented by direct supplementation of nutrients in concentrated, controlled form. The nutritional quality of feed is influenced not only by the nutrient content, but also by many other factors such as feed presentation, hygiene, digestibility, and effect on intestinal health.
With the rapid rise of the industrial food animal production system, an increasing number of animals once raised on pastures are now raised in feedlots. Feedlot-raised animals are kept indoors for the majority of the year, and they are given feed formulated to speed their growth to market weight and supply them with essential nutrients, while minimizing costs to operators.
Bulk animal feed has been proven to enhance the growth of livestock whether it be cattle, sheep, pigs or poultry and more and more farmers are focusing on this type of feeding.
There are many haulage operators that specialise in the delivery of animal feeds to wholesalers and direct to farmers.
So we decided to take a closer look at this process and to do this we profile Cavan based G Keogan Haulage Ltd. Located in Ballyjamesduff, this haulage company is an independent supplier of bulk animal feels to a large customer base.
This family run business was established in 2002 by Gerry Keogan who had a background in the haulage industry before being offered an opportunity to set up his own company and alongside his wife Patsy, they worked hard, starting off with just one truck to running a fleet of seven today.
Unfortunately, the Keogan family was hit with tragedy in December 2015 when Gerry passed away, but Patsy along with her two sons Darren and Gerard have continued his work ethic of ensuring that they provide a level of service that their customers have come to expect.
“The business has been going for 15 years now and we have grown steadily over that time. Gerry worked hard all his life and he was proud of what we had achieved, so our aim is to continue building what we started,” said Patsy.
From the headquarters in Cavan, G Keogan Haulage Ltd operates from local mills as well as Belfast and Dublin, delivering to customers in many counties across the country.
“We would have the same customer base for many years. We are an independent haulier and would deliver to all over the country, starting in our home county of Cavan where many of our Pig Farmers are based, but also including the likes of Longford, Offaly, Galway, Mayo, Antrim, Tyrone and Donegal to name just a few of the counties we would deliver to.”
Hauling mainly pig meal and some sheep and turkey meal as well, their customer base has remained loyal to them. “We have a well-established and loyal customer base that has been with us for many years. We work hard and strive to maintain and improve the quality of service we provide for them.”
To ensure that their service runs smoothly, Patsy revealed that they take great care of their fleet and focus a lot on maintenance.
“During the diesel crisis, we focused more on maintaining the fleet and general checks would be carried out on a regular basis. We run a fleet of seven trucks and they are made up of three Scania, two MAN and two Volvo. We added a new MAN to the fleet last year as our workload increased.
“We are always investing back into the business and it is important to do so. We are happy with our workload at the moment, but if there is an opportunity to expand further than I think we will.”
Since 2009, G Keogan Haulage Ltd has been members of the Trade Assurance Scheme for Combinable Crops (TASCC). This is a scheme that ensures full traceability of crops from harvest to the end user. There are a number of regulations and legislation that has to be adhered too in regard to TASCC and Patsy revealed that they have always kept records of their work.
“We always had traceability so when we joined it was basically a formality for us. There is a system in place to record all deliveries, and external yearly audits are conducted to ensure that we are compliant in all our processes. Everything from being registered with the Department of Agriculture, Haulage Licence, insurance, traceability, staff training, and hygiene procedures are checked. Sanitizers must be food compliant as the trucks need to be cleaned internally on a regular basis.”
Patsy added that records of every load that they carry must be kept for up to the three years, and she added that she is happy with the structure that they have in place.
“It certainly pays to be organised. We keep records for up to three years that is the requirement. We also have trackers on all our trucks and this was a great investment. If a vehicle is delayed at a delivery or while loading we can see at a glance, this helps us to reorganise other deliveries quickly and efficiently, while for fuel consumption it has also made a big difference.”
Patsy is part of a small group of women that work in the pre-dominantly male industry, but there is no doubt that her work ethic and that of her two sons will ensure that the company name is associated with bulk animal feeds for many years to come.
Contact Details:
G Keogan Haulage Ltd
Aughalion,
Ballyjamesduff,
Co. Cavan
Mob: (086)2536239
Taken from Irish Tractor & Agri magazine Vol 5 No 3, April/May 2017
