McAuliffe Pig Farm run three farms in Co Kerry and Shane McAuliffe talks to us about the day-to-day running of the business.
Pig production ranks third in importance behind beef and dairy in terms of economic value at the farm gate in Ireland. The 2010 Census of Agriculture found that there were 1,200 farms in Ireland with some pigs.
However, the reality is that pig farming has moved from being a common feature of thousands of farmyards to a highly specialised intensive operation.
In 1989, the introduction of the Pigmeat Quality Assurance Scheme (PQAS[24] in Ireland established a series of measures and controls which all participating pig farmers undertake as best practice in their pigmeat production. The scheme is regularly revisited and updated.
Ireland has a low density of pig production when compared to the larger pig producing regions across Europe, but for this month’s edition of Irish Tractor, we profile one of the country’s largest pig farms.
Three generations of the McAuliffe family have been involved in pig farming as it all started off with Shane’s grandfather Jack back in the 1960s before his father Mike took over.
Today Mike owns four separate pig farms where he produces more than 50,000 pigs each year. In addition, he runs a successful haulage business, McAuliffe Trucking, one of south west Ireland’s longest established haulage companies.
McAuliffe Trucking was set up in 1972 when the Kerry Group opened up North Kerry Milk Products in Listowel. Jack McAuliffe realised that whey was a relatively cheap feed source for pigs, so he bolted an old tank onto an aging Bedford and begun to draw whey to many pig farmers around the country, particularly up to Cavan.
In 1975, he went into a truck dealership in Cork city and enquired about the cost of a new Hino artic truck. The salesman presumed the Kerry farmer who walked in wearing wellingtons was joking with him but he told him the price. “Right so, I’ll take two,” replied Jack and today McAuliffe Trucking operates a fleet of approximately 20 trucks and provides a comprehensive haulage and food distribution service throughout Ireland, the UK and continental Europe. In addition to this, a sister company, Kerry Truck Sales, which was established in 2001 is the main DAF dealer for County Kerry.
Shane graduated from Cork Institute of Technology in 2011 with a BSc in Agriculture. A year later he graduated from Waterford Institute of Technology with BSc Hons degree where his research focused on PCV2 vaccination in piglets and biosecurity practices on Irish pig farms. He then spent a year in Wales studying a post grad in Livestock Sciences at Aberystwyth University. He is currently studying part-time for a Masters in Intensive Livestock Health and Production at the Royal Veterinary College of London.
After returning to Ireland, Shane spent time working for Animal Health Ireland as their Technical Working Group Rapporteur and looking after marketing for Truly Irish Country Foods. In 2015 he joined Interchem as their Swine Technical Sales Manager. Interchem sell, market and distribute Ceva and HIPRA vaccines in Ireland. Shane’s role with Interchem includes the management of the Interchem Pig Health Herd Plan. The objective of this project is to improve herd health levels in Ireland focusing on respiratory disease.
Interchem provides service to pig farms by combining the seroprofiling of gilts to finishers combined with regular abattoir checks of respiratory disease by an online system. The seroprofiling is conducted through the HIPRA laboratories in Spain and offers a fast and reliable diagnosis and complete consulting service to field veterinarians to combat infectious diseases that have the greatest impact on pig production. Using the Ceva Lung Program, Shane spends time in abattoirs evaluating the presence, incidence, circulation patterns and impact of Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae and Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae. This adapted lung scoring allows veterinarians to determine the appropriate vaccination protocol and monitor the results of vaccination on pig farms.
Shane is also Secretary of the Irish Pig Health Society, Secretary of the Irish branch of the European Pig Producers (EPP) organisation and a member of the Irish Farmers Association National Pigs and Pigmeat Committee. He is also Chairman of the Irish Farmers Association Pig Health sub-committee. Shane is a huge supporter of VIVA (Volunteers in Irish Veterinary Assistance) and in 2016 raised €13,000 to help fly 260 gilts to families in Rwanda.
Explaining how the McAuliffe family got into pig farming, Shane explained: “My grandfather actually had a chicken house, but unfortunately it burnt down and he then went and bought a few pigs. From there, the business has grown over the years and when my father Mike took control of the company, it was expanded even further.
“In 2000, we built a 400 sow unit on a greenfield site and then in 2009, a 1,000 sow unit was also developed on a greenfield site. More recently, we have added the first commercial freedom pig farm in Ireland where 550 sows are allowed to move freely after farrowing.”
As part of the ‘ThriveRite.Eu’ FP7 project, pigs on the McAuliffe Farms were fed seaweed extract to naturally boost their immune systems and reduce their dependency on antibiotics. The results showed enhanced productivity through average daily gain and feed conversion, a reduction in mortality, a reduction in pathogenic bacteria, increased antibody transfer to piglets, enhanced gut health and an increased antioxidant content in pigmeat.
All the pigmeat produced by McAuliffe pig farms is sold under the brand name of Truly Irish Country Foods where Mike McAuliffe is CEO of the company.
Truly Irish Country Foods was established in 2009 by a group of pig producers. Frustrated with the quality of meat been sold to Irish consumers they said enough was enough. The quality of pork been sold in Ireland did not accurately reflect what they as Irish pig farmers were capable of producing. A co-op was formed by the farmers with pigmeat producers nationwide.
Truly Irish is not only a brand but a guarantee of quality. A guarantee that, as farmers, they refuse to compromise on quality for profit.
“The welfare of the animals is our main concern and it is an area that we place a huge emphasis on. We are compliant with all the legislation and regulations that are in place. There are a lot of challenges to be met on a regular basis in pig farming. Furthermore, we are Red Tractor farm assured.
“The commitment we have to producing healthier pigmeat is also linked to the challenges and threats within the European pigmeat sector. A key consumer trend which is driving development is the growth of the health food sector. The Truly Irish brand recipes have been changed so now the pork and bacon products are high in protein, have reduced salt, have low sugar content and contain natural oats.
“Companies in the pigmeat supply chain should look at ways of differentiating their pigmeat products. The ThriveRite seaweed trials showing that the increased antioxidant level and improved shelf-life in the products can further boost the reputation of Irish pigmeat and distinguish itself on the international market,” added Shane.
“Some European consumers are becoming more critical with regard to intensive livestock production and the implications of environmental pollution. We have carried out research with a product made by a company called Dionergy. They have enabled us to significantly reduce our slurry emissions including our phosphorus by over 70%, our ammonia by 36% and our hydrogen sulphide by 99.99%.
“By 2050, we will have 9 billion people to feed. Intensive livestock production systems need to embrace technology and drive forward with sustainability. There will be many challenges coming down along the line but I am confident Irish pig farmers can meet these head-on and overcome them.”
McAuliffe Pig Farm,
Castleisland,
Co Kerry
Taken from Irish Tractor & Agri magazine Vol 5 No 6, September 2017
