I farm: “120 acres of nice, free-draining land. It’s quite gravelly underneath, which is usually good. We’re milking about 90 Holstein Friesian cows and followers as well. We’re lucky enough that they get out to graze at the start of February, right through until November by day.”
Calving: “We’re generally spring calving. We have nothing due yet – that will all start at the beginning of February. We’re still milking a few of the later ones, because of our new ice cream business, Muckross Creamery. We kept going a bit. We’ll dry off for five or six weeks next winter.”
Family: “I’m married to Catherine and we have five children; Elisabeth (13), Kate (12), Peg (six), Patrick (four) and Eleanor (three). The kids love the farm and the two older ones are a great help, even if it’s more notions they have.”
Ice cream: “We kicked off last June. We were looking for something else to do with the farm and at what we have. We always saw Killarney being a booming town in the summer so we did a few ice cream trials there and we’re getting great support for it.”
" We always saw Killarney being a booming town in the summer so we did a few ice cream trials there," says John. \ Valerie O’Sullivan
Growth: “It was all a bit of trial and error to see what would work and what wouldn’t. After a couple of weeks going into Killarney, a couple of local businesses took us on and then it kind of snowballed from there.”
Research: “We did a lot of research into ice cream-making and talked to others such as Joe Daly in Valencia, Tommy Relihan in Limerick and a few others to pick their brains a bit. They were very good to us.” All the local businesses have been good to us really.”
Flavours: “We have the standard vanilla and strawberry. We’ve salted caramel brownie, crunchy caramel pecan and blackcurrant. We did a commission for a local brewery called Casey Brothers, an extra Irish stout and chocolate chip ice cream. The salted caramel brownie seems to be the favourite. It always sells really well, but the pecan is a close second.”
Quotable quote: “Don’t be afraid to try something different.”
Read more
Kerry Group lifts December milk price by 1c/l
€33m to be paid out to Kerry milk suppliers next week
I farm: “120 acres of nice, free-draining land. It’s quite gravelly underneath, which is usually good. We’re milking about 90 Holstein Friesian cows and followers as well. We’re lucky enough that they get out to graze at the start of February, right through until November by day.”
Calving: “We’re generally spring calving. We have nothing due yet – that will all start at the beginning of February. We’re still milking a few of the later ones, because of our new ice cream business, Muckross Creamery. We kept going a bit. We’ll dry off for five or six weeks next winter.”
Family: “I’m married to Catherine and we have five children; Elisabeth (13), Kate (12), Peg (six), Patrick (four) and Eleanor (three). The kids love the farm and the two older ones are a great help, even if it’s more notions they have.”
Ice cream: “We kicked off last June. We were looking for something else to do with the farm and at what we have. We always saw Killarney being a booming town in the summer so we did a few ice cream trials there and we’re getting great support for it.”
" We always saw Killarney being a booming town in the summer so we did a few ice cream trials there," says John. \ Valerie O’Sullivan
Growth: “It was all a bit of trial and error to see what would work and what wouldn’t. After a couple of weeks going into Killarney, a couple of local businesses took us on and then it kind of snowballed from there.”
Research: “We did a lot of research into ice cream-making and talked to others such as Joe Daly in Valencia, Tommy Relihan in Limerick and a few others to pick their brains a bit. They were very good to us.” All the local businesses have been good to us really.”
Flavours: “We have the standard vanilla and strawberry. We’ve salted caramel brownie, crunchy caramel pecan and blackcurrant. We did a commission for a local brewery called Casey Brothers, an extra Irish stout and chocolate chip ice cream. The salted caramel brownie seems to be the favourite. It always sells really well, but the pecan is a close second.”
Quotable quote: “Don’t be afraid to try something different.”
Read more
Kerry Group lifts December milk price by 1c/l
€33m to be paid out to Kerry milk suppliers next week
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