Since its inception five years ago, Leinster Livestock has established itself as a leading supplier of top quality calves, weanlings, store cattle and cows and calves at foot at the keenest prices. Managing director Martin Joyce explains more.
Leinster Livestock sources livestock throughout Ireland and assembles them at its state-of-the-art, disease-free facility near Granard in Co. Longford before delivering them directly to your farm. All stock is vaccinated and dosed, while paperwork and transfers are carried out online with all receipts provided.
Specialising in the Charolais, Limousin, Simmental, Hereford and Aberdeen Angus breeds, the business sold 9,000 cattle to customers in all 26 counties last year and is expected to exceed that figure in 2020. Leinster Livestock is continuously sourcing stock to fulfil its orders and takes great pride in the quality of its livestock as well as the services it provides to its ever-expanding customer-base.
Martin Joyce isn’t your typical cattle dealer. As the owner of three supermarkets and two restaurants in Dublin, cattle dealing is as much of a hobby as a business to him. And because it’s not his primary income source, he’s able to sell stock cheaper than anyone else.
“It’s not my ‘bread and butter’, so I don’t need to take as big of a cut off a sale as other cattle dealers do,” he explains.
“I sell off the sheet and charge just €30 per head to cover vaccination and paperwork costs. It’s all done in an open, transparent and honest way. We guarantee our customers a professional and trustworthy service.
“My model is similar to Ryanair’s in that I’m focused on buying and selling as many cattle as I can. Everything I buy, I have to sell. I’m a good judge of an animal and recently judged at a weanling cattle show in Castleisland Mart. We provide a complete sales and haulage service.”
Martin assists his purchasing manager Bernard Earley with the buying of stock. They source their beef cattle from marts in the West and dairy-bred calves from marts in the South. The types of cattle they generally go for are high-end Charolais, Limousin and Continental breeds that are quiet and easy to work with.
“When we put them in our shed in two foot of straw, they are easy to sell,” he says.
“Not only is Granard centrally located, it’s also a fantastic spot for cattle dealing and selling. About 95% of our customers are part-time beef and suckler farmers with 50 or 60 acres of land. We buy beef cattle all year round and suck calves from early February to early June. We sell between 250 and 300 suck calves per week during this period.
“Suck calves are a cheaper alternative if you’re only getting started in the business. They have the potential to earn €500 per annum. You can progress to bigger cattle from there.”
To date, Martin has invested nearly €1 million in a purpose-built premises on his 100-acre Granard farm. The fully-approved Department of Agriculture facility can accommodate over 500 cattle at any one time and is managed by Alan Strong. Features include a loading bay for safe loading and unloading of livestock, handling facilities which are second to none, an onsite office with internet access and HD CCTV system and live alarm monitoring 24 hours a day. Only the best haylage and barley straw is used to feed stock, while all livestock are vaccinated and dosed on arrival. Bulls can be castrated if required, while B&B facilities are available all year round. Export facilities and 21 days quarantine lairage can also be provided.
An efficient, reliable and cost-effective transportation service is available throughout Ireland. A licensed haulier, Martin runs his own Scania R500 road train which can transport 60 cattle at a time. All lorries used are approved by the Department of Agriculture and are fitted with CCTV. They are hot-washed and disinfected after every trip.
“Animal welfare and biosecurity are top of our list of priorities. We ensure that the livestock are well looked after during transit. Our stringent procedures meet all Department of Agriculture rules and requirements,” he explains.
Of Mayo parentage, Martin was born in London before moving back to Ireland as a 10-year-old when his father purchased a farm in the Hill of Down near Kinnegad. Martin and his wife Geraldine have four children, Evan (11), Claragh (10), Ayda (eight) and Gearoid (five). The affable 44-year-old has already achieved a lot in life and is delighted to see his livestock business go from strength to strength.
He concludes by saying: “I would like to take this opportunity to thank our customers for their continued support. We are committed to supplying them with top quality livestock and providing a top class service.”
Leinster Livestock
Rinroe House,
Granard,
Co. Longford.
Telephone: +353 (0)86 854 4294
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.leinsterlivestock.com
First published in Irish Tractor & Agri magazine Vol 8 No 2, Summer 2020
