Based just outside Navan, Co Meath, Marry Farms Ltd produces around 350 pigs each week from a modern, fully integrated system. Irish Tractor Agri & Plant spoke with Gareth Marry to learn more about the enterprise, the state of business for it at the moment and the charity work that he has been involved in in Uganda in recent times.
The story behind the enterprise is one that stretches back decades – beginning with just two sows bought by an ambitious agricultural student.
Today, Gareth Marry runs the farm his father established in 1984, continuing a family tradition that has grown into a large-scale pig operation while adapting to the realities of a constantly changing sector.
“We’re near Navan in Co Meath,” Gareth explained. “My father built the farm originally in 1984 and I’ve been running it since 2015.”
The foundations of the business were laid long before the current farm was built. Gareth’s father first entered pig farming as a teenager after studying at Warrenstown Agricultural College.
“My father would’ve started pig farming when he was about 16 or 17 years old. When he left college, he bought two sows and started from there,” he said.
From those modest beginnings, the business gradually expanded. Over the years, Gareth’s father built four pig farms across different sites and grew the herd to more than 2,000 sows.
When the time came to pass on the enterprise, Gareth and his brother Jonathan stepped in to continue the work.
“By the time he was finished there were four farms,” Gareth outlined. “Myself and my brother inherited the business and I’m running two sites and the brother is running two sites. While we’re family, we’re trading as different businesses.”
At Marry Farms Ltd, the focus is firmly on efficiency and integration. The farm employs four full-time staff and runs approximately 550 sows.
Each week around 28 sows are served, with about 24 farrowing, producing roughly 350 pigs. All pigs born on the farm are reared and finished on site before being sent for processing.
“It’s a fully integrated farm,” Gareth said. “Everything that’s born here we fatten here and then sell to Rosderra Meats.”
The processor, which handles more than half of Ireland’s pig processing capacity, is also the most practical option geographically.
“From a logistical point of view they’re the closest pig factory to me. I find they pay a fair price and there’s consistency there. They know they’ve got a consistent supplier and it works in both our favours,” said Gareth.
Like many in the pig sector, Gareth keeps a close eye on market trends. At the moment, prices are hovering around breakeven levels — a familiar challenge for producers.
“This time of year would always be seasonally the lowest price of the year. We’d be hoping to get a price rise around the first week of March,” he explained.
Typically, pig prices strengthen through the spring and summer months before declining again towards the end of the year. However, international issues can quickly influence the market.
“There’s an African swine fever disease in Spain and that seems to have put downward price pressure on the European pig price,” Gareth said.
Despite the volatility, maintaining strong processor relationships and efficient production systems remains key to staying viable.
Alongside managing the farm, Gareth also contributes to discussions affecting the wider industry. He currently serves on the IFA Pig Committee, following in his brother Jonathan’s footsteps.
Through this role, he is involved in conversations around the issues facing pig farmers nationwide, from market returns to regulatory pressures.
While Gareth’s work is rooted in Co Meath, his experiences in recent years have also taken him much further afield.
Through fellow pig farmer Michael Maguire, he became involved in charitable work in Uganda. Maguire had previously spent time farming there and invited Gareth to visit.
“I got talking to Michael and asked him would it be alright if I travelled out with him to see it. We’ve travelled out three times now,” said Gareth
Those visits eventually led to a fundraising effort to help a convent run by Irish nuns known as the Sisters of St Kevin. Although the convent had access to a large farm, they lacked the machinery needed to work the land effectively.
Through fundraising efforts, Gareth and Michael raised more than €40,000 to purchase a tractor, trailer and plough for the convent. Gareth travelled to Uganda last July to deliver the machinery in person.
“They have a large farm but they couldn’t farm much of it because they didn’t have machinery,” he explained. “Hopefully we’ve made a very positive long-term farming impact there.”
During the same trip, Gareth also visited a charity called Hands of Hope, which works with children living in some of the poorest slum areas.
The charity provides education, meals and a safe environment for children who would otherwise have little opportunity. While there, Gareth agreed to sponsor a child named Joshua.
“For €30 a month he gets a basic school education and two meals a day,” Gareth said. “It’s nice to know that you’ve helped out someone that’s less fortunate.”
Back on the farm in Co Meath, Gareth remains focused on ensuring the long-term sustainability of the business.
Like many pig producers, he hopes stronger market conditions will help secure the future of the sector and encourage the next generation to remain involved in farming.
“The hopes for the business are that the market moves into a profitable direction and that we can continue to be more efficient and more productive,” he said.
From two sows bought by a young agricultural college graduate to a modern 550-sow integrated operation producing hundreds of pigs every week, Marry Farms Ltd reflects decades of commitment and growth. And through Gareth Marry’s charitable work in Uganda, the impact of that family farm now stretches far beyond the fields of Co Meath.
First published in Irish Tractor & Agri magazine Vol 14 No 1, Spring 2026
