Kevin Kiernan supplies 1'000s pigs per annum

30/05/2017 Pigs
Kevin Kiernan supplies 1'000s pigs per annum

The Assistant Farm Manager is Colleen Donohoe, from New Inn, Co. Cavan is  a B.Agr.Sc graduate from Dundalk Institute of Technology.


 

FOCUS ON KIERNAN PIGS....


 

Kevin Kiernan   manages five modern pig units in Counties Cavan and   Offaly.


 

Their high health status units are averaging 28 pigs sold per sow which is a remarkable achievement.


 

So these pig farms supply thousands pigs for processing every year to a number of bacon factories.


 

Kevin is a son of the late Buddy Kiernan who made pig production a major agribusiness in Cavan, Longford and the surrounding counties.


 

The Farm Manager of the New Inn unit is Martin Sheridan from Mount Nugent who did the Teagasc pig Management course at the Mellows Agricultural College in Athenry.


 

The Assistant Farm Manager is Colleen Donohoe, from New Inn a B.Agr.Sc graduate from Dundalk Institute of Technology.


 

Kevin’s wife Margaret does the office administration.


 

Their son Darragh has recently joined the pig business and other four children (Shauna, Kelda, Enya & Caolain) help out at weekends when available so this really is a family business.


 

The New Inn farm has a pedigree Landrace herd which is crossed with Large Whites.


 

Their pig and forestry business employs 80 people.


 

Pig production is fully integrated as they manufacture their own pig feed, do all their own haulage and have their own construction crew to renovate and upgrade their piggeries.


 

The slurry is delivered weekly from the New Inn farm by two trucks, each with a capacity of 5,800 gallons to tillage farmers in Louth and Meath.


 

They comply fully with the Nitrates directive and the ultra-modern  pig unit at New Inn, Co. Cavan is across the road from the Lavey GAA pitch and club house.


 

It is nicely landscaped, there is no smell of pigs and the buildings are hidden by a green wood of deciduous trees


 

Kevin has purchased five McAree animal feed silos since Christmas three of which were of an 80 tonne size.


 

To date he has purchased 50 feed silos from McAree because he believes “they make the best bins, they last longer, give a very good service and can customise the bins as required.


 

They can fit different ladders, safety rails etc.”


 

The reason they asked McAree Engineering in Ballinode, Co. Monaghan to manufacture those massive 80 tonne bins was because of the volume of feed storage they need.


 

According to Kevin “we use 900 tons of pig feed every month at the new inn pig unit.


 

We did not have enough storage and did not want to be hauling 27 tonnes of raw materials in our trucks at weekends to top up smaller feed silos”.


 

The top class pig diet is formulated by Aidan O’Toole from Devenish Nutrition in Belfast.


 

The ingredients used in the diet includes barley, wheat and soya beans.


 

Much of the barley is grown locally in the Louth and Meath area.


 

Kevin makes the point that the pig industry creates very significant employment in the Republic and Northern Ireland as the two factories they supply each employ 1,000 workers.


 


 

Pictured (L2R) are Kevin Kiernan, farm owner, Colleen Donohoe, from New Inn, Co. Cavan, Assistant  Farm Manager  with Martin Sheridan from Mount Nugent,  Farm Manager of the New Inn pig unit and Eamon McMeel, Sales Manager, McAree, Engineering Ltd, Ballinode, Co. Monaghan.


 

 


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