Over the past half a century, Ashleigh Farms has evolved into one of Ireland’s premier pig production enterprises. We headed south to Cappagh in County Waterford and caught up with owner Jim McGrath to find out more about this forward-looking, self-sustainable, third-generation family operation.
From the humblest of beginning – starting with just two outdoor sows in the 1960s – Ashleigh Farms has developed into an impressive 1,400-sow, fully-integrated, birth to bacon operation that is very much the blueprint for pig production in Ireland.
The genesis of the business goes back five-and-a-half decades, to when David and Annastatia McGrath introduced a couple of sows to their modest dairy enterprise; since then, under the watchful eye of their son, Jim – who has more than 40 years’ experience of pig farming – and his wife, Eleanor, it has developed into a prosperous family business.
All involved at Ashleigh Farms – and sister enterprises Ashleigh Environmental and Ashleigh Milling – have a real passion for pig farming as they strive to produce high quality pork as efficiently as possible with a keen emphasis on welfare, innovation and the environment. Ashleigh Farms’ goals are to remain at the forefront of all aspects of pig production, to grow steadily and remain sustainable in the industry. These objectives are being consistently met, nay exceeded.
“My mother and father had a small dairy farm in West Waterford and they bought those first two sows in the late 1960s,” Jim reflects. “My dad became ill during the late 60s / early 70s and I left school at 15 and came home farming. When I turned 21, Dad signed the farm over to me, which was almost unheard of at that time. I became increasingly involved and started to increase the numbers.
“I milked cows for a number of years but pig farming was my passion. We rent some land now and do some dry stock but our main focus is very much on the pigs.”
Jim was up to 110 sows by the early-mid ‘70s and was actively building the business up. “I married Eleanor in 1980 and we worked together and drove it on from there,” he notes. “We had six children, so we had to multitask, but between us we moved the business on to the next level.”
The Caliso Bay unit at Kinsalebeg, County Waterford was purchased and redeveloped in 2000. Today, the two units together comprise one of the best-performing pig farms in Europe, producing a highly impressive number of pigs per sow per year.
The team at Ashleigh Farms place a major emphasis on animal health and welfare, production output and staff development. Acutely aware of the importance of biosecurity, they produce their own breeding stock, transport their own pigs and manufacture and deliver their own feed.
The feed ingredients are high-quality raw materials sourced from approved suppliers and strict quality assurance protocols are carried out to ensure only the highest quality feed is available to the pigs. Diets are formulated by specialist nutritional companies and are constantly monitored and reviewed to ensure that Ashleigh Farms are achieving the maximum efficiency.
“We currently run 1,400 sows – 900 at home and 500 on the second unit,” Jim confirms. “Around 2006, my son, Jason, joined the business after completing Construction Management at college. In 2013, another son, James, came back from Australia and joined the business as well. A third son, Ken, who worked in finance in London, is back and is managing our new venture, Ashleigh Environmental – so it’s great to have the three lads all working with us in the family business.”
A staggering 3.5million kilos of pig meat is produced to the very highest standards per annum, all of which goes to Rosderra Meats. Performance-wise, Ashleigh Farms is in the Top 5%, which comes down to their vigilance and the dedication of their eleven-strong staff.
Regarding the keys to the ongoing success of the exceptional pig production enterprise, Jim states: “Staff is No.1, as far as I’m concerned. Also, pig health is prominent because feed conversion and growth rate would be a major struggle without it. And having our own milling operation, which produces 12,000 tonnes of feed per year – having control over that is vital in that we know exactly what our pigs are getting.
“Reducing antibiotic usage and biosecurity are also important. Nobody is allowed on the farms unless absolutely necessary and they have to be two-days pig free, take showers before entering and wear the clothing and footwear we provide. Everybody here is very conscious of how important biosecurity is within the units themselves.”
Meanwhile, Ashleigh Environmental is developing an innovative bioenergy solution for pig farmers. Their Biowave technology is an integrated microwave system for efficient production of biogas from anaerobic digestion of pig manure to create a sustainable waste management system. The technology is designed to generate more methane compared to traditional AD – thus increasing the energy yield – and it also reduces AD running costs by reducing the amount of feedstock required.
Ashleigh Environmental is developing this innovative new renewable energy through Horizon 2020 Fast Track to Innovation (FTI) funding. “We had the idea going back a number of years to produce biogas from pig manure on its own, without maize or silage or any other carbon,” Jim explains. “Five years ago, in co-operation with a UK research institute, we brought an idea to the EU and got a grant to produce a lab-scale model. We showed that it can work on a lab-scale so we then sought a grant to see if we could commercialise it.
“We secured the EU Horizon 2020 Fast Track funding last year and started the project in April, 2016. We have completed the system design phase and it’s going to be trialled on our own farm first to see if it’s viable as a system that could be used by other pig farmers. It’s still in the R&D phase but we are hopeful that it will be commercially viable. We feel strongly about the fact that renewable energy has huge role to play in the future of agriculture”
The feed mill was opened in Kinsalebeg some nine years ago and Jim points out that the thinking was more about keeping control over quality rather than reducing costs, although both obviously help. Hauling their own livestock and feed adds to the self-sustainable nature of the operation. As for the high performance levels, he reveals that the introduction of Danish breeding stock for a number of years led to a marked increase in pig-per-sow numbers. “Being very strict on quality feed and biosecurity also helps,” he adds.
With margins so tight, how difficult is it to make money in pig farming? “Unfortunately, we have no real control over what we get for our pigs,” says the Waterford man. “The last number of years has been difficult for all pig farmers, the market for pigs and feed is very volatile but we have learned to manage both the good and bad years in a way that keeps our business sustainable. We operate by monthly cash flow and all costs are recorded down to 0.1% of a kilo. We also have complete control over each section of the business and understand exactly what’s happening on the unit from week to week so we can quickly pinpoint any problem and fix it.”
So everything is literally run like clockwork? “Exactly – what we do at 3pm on Monday will happen at 3pm on Monday 52 times in the year. Having the three lads back involved means we are well placed to grow the business further. The young blood is a real boost and it’s great for me to see them having the same love of pigs that I have.”
Jim was also a founder member of Truly Irish in 2009 and was its first chairman. “A group of pig farmers got together to promote Irish pork and bacon, due to mislabelling, where we were doing a top-class job as producers but housewives were being misled. Truly Irish is owned by 84 pig farmers, who produce Truly Irish bacon, sausages and pudding. The manufacturing is subcontracted out and the bacon is produced to our specification, packaged in Truly Irish packaging and delivered to supermarkets.
“We do our own marketing and supply high-quality, locally-sourced foods that support local enterprise and protects local jobs. The Truly Irish name has become synonymous with quality and products other than pork – butter, cheese, granola and porridge – have been added to give us brand extension,” concludes the proprietor of one of Ireland’s premier pig production enterprises.
Ashleigh Farms Ltd.,
Ashleigh House,
Ballinameela,
Cappagh,
County Waterford.
tel: 058 68172
mail: [email protected]
web: www.ashleighfarms.ie / ashleighenv.com
Taken from Irish Tractor & Agri magazine Vol 5 No 2, March 2017
