Manor Farm scooped the Agribusiness of the Year award for Food or Beverage producer in November, so we caught up with Environmental and Quality Control Manager Joyce Johnston, who was at the Ballsbridge Hotel on the night on the company’s behalf.
Manor Farm may be a well-known establishment when it comes to producing chicken in this country, but Environmental and Quality Control Manager Joyce Johnston explains that the company is still proud to pick up awards of any description as this is testament to the dedication of all staff working so hard behind the scenes to ensure top quality chicken is produced every time.
Speaking on the company’s Agribusiness of the Year award success in November, Joyce enthused that “it was lovely to get that recognition”and that publicity like this would always be welcomed and celebrated at Manor Farm.
Carton Bros is the parent company that produces Manor Farm chicken and is one of the oldest family businesses in the country. The company dates way back to 1775, when it was first born in the very heart of trading in the Dublin markets.
Originally in those heady days – more than 200 years ago – chickens would be brought from the farmyards all around the country to the Dublin markets and Carton’s would sell them on. The traditional way this was done was where farmers would send their live chickens on the train marked for Carton’s where they would then be sold and the money would be sent back to the Farmers by return (less a commission of course). Nowadays things are a little different, but Manor Farm has maintained its strong relationship with farmers and plays a crucial role in the production of chicken in this country.
Joyce works in the company’s custom built factory in Co Cavan and told us more.
“We’re based in Shercock, Co Cavan and there are almost 900 staff working with the company,” she said. “I’m the Environmental and Quality Control Manager and I’m working here 10 years now.”
Manor Farm is proud to employ almost 900 people across Ireland, and, after a major €13m overhaul a few years ago, their production plant in Shercock is now one of the most modern and sophisticated in Europe. Business is good for Manor Farm now as it continues to further improve its Processing Facilities above industry standards. The aim of the Manor Farm is dedication to quality throughout all its facilities to produce the best chicken possible. Manor Farm is continually innovating and producing new recipes to bring delicious new chicken products to the table and has been awarded many awards over the years to mark these achievements. This is why people tend to choose Manor Farm’s chicken first ahead of other competitors, and business right now is reflecting that, according to their Environmental and Quality Control Manager.
“We’re very, very busy here right now, thankfully,” said Joyce. “Where I am is in the Farm Processing Plant and our orders seem to be growing and growing right now, so it’s great to see and hopefully things will continue to stay busy for us again in the New Year.”
In November, the second annual Agribusiness of the Year awards took place at the Ballsbridge Hotel in Dublin, where hundreds of agribusiness industry professionals recognised and celebrated the outstanding achievements within the sector. There were 19 prestigious trophies presented to the very worthy winners, one of which was Manor Farm Irish Chicken for its excellence as a food producer.
Manor Farm scooped the award for the Food or Beverage Producer category, with Joyce describing it as a terrific honour for the company and one which saw other businesses in the same market congratulating them afterwards.
“Myself and one of the director’s Justin Carton attended the event at the Ballsbridge Hotel and it really was a great night out,” she beamed. “We find that awards like these are a great way to get your name out there and this would be our second year attending the Agribusiness awards.
“When you’re in house working it’s great to get glammed up and attend events like these and you also get to meet a lot of other business at them as well. We had a lot of companies coming up congratulating us afterwards, so it was lovely to get that recognition.”
Recognition is always welcome and Manor Farm are undoubtedly recognised as a company with a rich poultry tradition. Along with their recent Agribusiness award, Manor Farm were the first chicken company to be awarded the Irish Quality Mark and were also the first company in Ireland and Britain to be EEC approved.
They were also the first chicken company to be ISO approved and to win the Overall National Hygiene & Food Safety award.
Manor Farm have their own feed mill producing dedicated poultry feed only, whilst the contracted hatchery is Irish Department of Agriculture approved, ACP registered and adheres to all guidelines laid down by Manor Farm. Their contracted farmers grow only for Manor Farm and must comply with all the processes and guidelines that the company have defined to grow the best chickens possible.
The production plant at Shercock has underwent a major €13m overhaul and is now one of the most modern and sophisticated on the continent. Indeed big things are happening out Sherock-way and Joyce explained that it’s part of a plan that Manor Farm’s owners have put in place.
“The new development in Shercock is part of a five-year plan for the company in seeing what we can do to make Manor Farm better,” she outlined.
“Vincent and Justin (Carton) have come up with it and it’s basically to try and make us the chicken supplier of choice. The hope is that the changes and further improvements in the processing facilities will see staff numbers grow as bird numbers increase. The Manor Farm brand will be more visible in the marketplace and be seen as a marker for the highest quality Irish chicken.”
Going by Manor Farm’s track record so far, it’s sure to be a success.
Manor Farm Irish Chicken
Address: Bracetown Business Park, Clonee, Co Meath
Tel: +353 1 801 4142
Fax: +353 1 801 4048
Web: www.manorfarm.ie
E-mail: [email protected]
Taken from Irish Tractor & Agri magazine Vol 5 No 1, January/February 2017
