Cavanagh Free Range Eggs Ltd recently celebrated winning an Irish Quality Food and Drink Award in the Eggs category. It’s the latest prestigious accolade to come the Co. Fermanagh company’s way, having also received a gold star at the 2014 Great Taste Awards.
Having travelled to Dublin’s Mansion House for the glittering 2015 Irish Quality Food and Drinks Awards ceremony on September 16 last more in hope than expectation, Cavanagh Free Range Eggs proprietors John and Eileen Hall were both surprised and delighted with their win.
“We are still in shock,” Eileen admits.
“We never thought it could be possible to win this prestigious award. Getting shortlisted was a fantastic achievement, but to actually win the category is absolutely amazing. It makes the time and effort that we put into producing our multi-award winning eggs worthwhile.
“Winning the Great Taste Award in 2014 was excellent too, but this is just the icing on the cake!”
The Irish Quality Food and Drinks Awards were open to all food and drink retailers, producers and manufacturers across the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. They set out to recognise excellence in food and drink product development from a wide variety of companies across Ireland.
In awarding Cavanagh Free Range Eggs a gold star in the 2014 Great Taste Awards, the judges described their product as: “a good golden yolk – well rounded with a firm, clean white. A delicious flavour… creamy and deliciously natural.” Great Taste is organised by the Guild of Fine Food and is the recognised benchmark for speciality food and drink worldwide.
In addition, Eileen was a finalist in the 2015 Irish Farmers Journal FBD Women & Agriculture Award, which was a further boost for the family-run business’ growing reputation.
John, from Newbliss, Co. Monaghan, and Eileen, from Castlepollard, Co. Westmeath, married in September 2000 and bought a 70-acre farm in the townland of Cavanagh near the border town of Newtownbutler. They built their first free range hen house the following year and housed their first flock of birds, numbering 5,100, in January 2002.
The couple’s first son, Brian, was born in March 2002, and their second son, Aaron, was born in August 2003, the same month as the second hen house was completed. Two more hen houses were built in 2005 and 2011, and last year saw the construction of a fifth hen house, which has allowed the family to increase their flock to 42,000 (they plan to grow the flock by another 25 per cent in 2016). Having grown up on the farm, both sons show a keen interest in the business.
The Hall’s have transformed what was a beef and sheep enterprise into a thriving rural business which produces 250,000 free range eggs per week (13 million per year) and also employ five full-time staff. The hens have the freedom to roam in large fenced paddocks, which are dotted with mature oak, ash and chestnut trees. Additional woodland has also recently been planted which will act as shade as it matures. The tranquil fields around the barns are ideally suited for hens as they can forage during the day and return to the safety of their individual barn perches at night.
“We firmly believe that contented hens lay the best quality eggs,” Eileen says.
Up until February 2012, the eggs went to a local packer. But following the launch of the Cavanagh Free Range brand in March 2012, the Hall’s set up their own packing centre to grade, pack, market and deliver their eggs local and further afield to shops, hotels, restaurants, farm shops and wholesalers.
“Since investing in a Moba 2000 egg grading and packing machine, we are able to do everything here on site,” Eileen adds.
The green and yellow Cavanagh Free Range Egg packs have become a common sight on shop shelves, including those of Spar, SuperValu, Costcutter, Nisa and Day Today. The company also supplies a number of hotels, including The Merchant Hotel in Belfast and the Lough Erne Golf Resort in Enniskillen, which hosted the G8 Summit in 2013, as well as several cafes and restaurants throughout Ireland.
“Our name is getting out there. We’re the only egg producers to have won Irish Quality Food and Drink and Great Taste Awards. That, and the quality of our free range eggs, is standing to us,” the affable egg producer notes.
“Our emphasis on high welfare standards is also beginning to pay dividends for us. Consumers are a lot more conscious about animal welfare standards nowadays, and as there is no longer a huge difference in price between free range eggs and those laid in enriched cages, they are increasingly choosing free range egg brands. People like to know where their food is coming from at the end of the day.
“The five-star Merchant Hotel in Belfast was the first hotel to recognise the quality of our eggs. And when the G8 Summit was held at the Lough Erne Golf Resort, our eggs were the only ones used, so there’s a good chance that world leaders like Barack Obama and David Cameron ate some of our eggs during their time spent there!”
Cavanagh aims to supply the high end of the hospitality and food service sector with their exceptional quality eggs. They look to enhance the current range of eggs on offer in the supermarkets and to provide the consumer with the option of purchasing a flavoursome egg resembling the eggs of a bygone era by producing them in the traditional way on their own farm.
Following rigorous audit checks, the business was accredited by SALSA (Safe and Local Supplier Approval) last year. The Cavanagh eggs are also produced to Lion Code standard. The Lion scheme is the only UK egg-specific assurance scheme that meets the stringent standards of the EN 45011 international accreditation standard.
Cavanagh Free Range Eggs Ltd
58 Clonkee Road,
Cavanagh,
Newtownbutler,
Co, Fermanagh,
BT92 8FH.
Telephone: 028 6773 7889
E: [email protected].
Web: www.cavanaghfreerangeeggs.co.
Taken from Irish Tractor & Agri magazine Vol 4 No 1, January 2016
