Wexford man Joe Healy is a third-generation pig farmer who runs both Healy Pigs Ltd. and Wexford Pig Development Ltd. He’s also chairman of the Mid region of the IFA’s Pigs & Pigmeat Committee. We travelled to the Model County to meet a man who’s been immersed in the pig sector for three-and-a-half decades.
As a man who has worked with pigs all his life, Joe Healy decided to give something back to the sector that sustains him by getting involved in the IFA’s Pigs Committee. He’s been chairman of the Mid region for the past four years and continues to do all in his power to advance the cause of pig farmers in Leinster and the midlands.
The Carlow native has been involved with the IFA at committee level for 14 years now and admits that getting involved in this capacity was a natural development for him: “I have an interest in the political side of it, within reason,” he states. “It’s good to get out of the unit from time to time and meet other people and talk to them.
“I suppose economics are the same in any business and the challenges we face would be familiar to many. We’ve been working off world market prices for 30 years now and we’ve become accustomed to these variables.
“It’s a tough sector to be involved in. We’re getting €1.64 per kilo at the moment but that was down to €1.36 during the Spring. In this business, that’s a lot of money because you are down to cents per kilo and every cent counts. It’ a volume business for a very small margin and price fluctuations can make a massive difference.”
Now in his 50s, Joe has been working full time in pigs since the early 1980s. He attended Multyfarnham Agricultural College and did the management course in Athenry up until 1985. “I moved to Wexford at that stage, to a 250-sow unit, where I was assistant manager and then manager,” he recollects. “I was there for a number of years and set up my first venture in 1990.”
Wexford Pig Development Ltd. was born and Joe runs this business alongside Kevin Riordan. In 2009, the unit was reshaped and modernised to accommodate 700 sows (each of which produces 27 pigs per year). A mill was added and production levels were brought to a whole new level.
“The emphasis is on quality feed, the cost of feed, meeting production targets and producing healthy pigs. All of our units are minimal disease and that’s something we take very, very seriously.”
By focussing on one area of farming, Joe has been able to achieve excellent results. “I specialise in pigs only and we don’t do anything else,” he confirms. “So we have become very good at what we’re doing. I have an interest in general agriculture but never had a land base to work off. With pigs, you only need two or three acres, so that’s ideal for me.”
Healy Pigs was conceived in Ballinastraw, Glenbrien in 2002 to specialise in the fattening and finishing of pigs. “We’ve developed that business along the way,” says Joe, who is married to Ger, with two daughters -,Eadaoin (an architecture student in UCD and Orla (Leaving Cert student). “We’re in a good area for barley and wheat. We mill our own feed and we try to get the quality right whilst keeping costs as low as we can.”
Joe’s pigs are sold to Dawn Pork & Bacon in Waterford, at 86 kilos dead.
Between the two operations, gainful employment is generated for around 20 people, including Joe’s son, John, who works in finishing. “We haul all of our own pigs and feeds. Biosecurity is one of the obvious benefits of this. We have more control over that side of things, which is very important,” Joe reveals. “We try to be as self-sufficient as we can, which keeps overheads down and makes the business more efficient.”
With margins so tight and constant overheads like feed, electricity, security, labour and transport eating into profits, it’s an unforgiving sector to work in, so what’s the appeal? “I enjoy the intensity of it. I like planning things and figuring out things and trying to meet targets. It’s a lot more intense than dairy and there are a lot more animals involved and it’s full-on seven days a week. But I enjoy the seven days.
“We breed all our own replacements and never have to buy sows. We never have to purchase replacement stock and nothing walks onto the farm. We use A.I., which lends itself towards maximum biosecurity. Live animals are too dangerous to be bringing onto the farm and health is everything. You can’t do anything to compromise the health of the animals. We implement a rigorous hygiene programme and all visitors and staff have to shower and change clothes when they come in.”
In his capacity as chairman of the Mid region of the IFA’s Pigs Committee, Joe intends to continue to present pig farmers in the region with a representative voice. The most important issues being addressed by the Committee include pig prices, feed prices, legislation (welfare, environment), education, training and promotion The Pigs Committee has also developed a world first DNA traceability programme, ‘DNAcertified’, which allows consumers to clearly identify the origin of their pork products.
“There is a strong committee there, led at national level by Pat O’Flaherty, and the DNA certification has enhanced the market in the past six years,” he concludes. “We liaise between farmers and the Department and other institutions, which I believe is important. As a collective group, the Committee is quite strong and I enjoy representing people.
“The cost of feed is a big issue and we’d be hoping to secure an extension on slurry application. Irish pig producers fully support An Bord Bia and the important work they are doing in promoting us; we appreciate all the help we can get.”
Healy Pigs Ltd.,
Ballinastraw,
Glenbrien,
County Wexford
Tel: 087 2511277
Taken from Irish Tractor & Agri magazine Vol 4 No 9, November/December 2016
