There aren’t too many families in Ireland where five brothers are working in the same sector, but this is exactly the case for the Woulfe brothers from Ardagh, Co Limerick.

Leader of the Woulfe pack, if we decide these things by age, is Jim Woulfe, who is CEO of Dairygold; while the youngest is David – he runs the home farm.

The brothers in between are Liam, who is MD of Grassland Agro, Richard (who owns his own accountancy practice in Rathkeale where he has a lot of farming clients) and Micheal, who is vice president of the enzyme business in Kerry Group.

Jim Woulfe: leader of the pack

Jim Woulfe is passionate about Ireland’s agri-food sector and has a knowledge about the industry that is rivalled by few.

His journey from graduating in dairy science to taking on the role of chief executive in Dairygold in 2009 tells a story of steely determination, and his philosophy is captured in his commitment “to making tomorrow better than today”, a phrase constantly used which “sums up everything we are about”.

The DNA in Jim, which drives his continuous determination to see Dairygold succeed, was nurtured, he acknowledges, in the family home in Ardagh.

“We were always active from a young age. On arriving home from school, you would barely take time to eat your dinner before you were out farming or playing sport. When it came to the end of the day, you were gasping to get study done.

“We were consistently encouraged by our parents to be proactive and doing, expanding our horizons. They believed getting well educated would serve us well and that we could come back farming if that was what we really wanted to.

“Our parents were very progressive, with our late father Dick running a mixed farming enterprise with core dairy activity, while our late mother Mary was a principal teacher. So there was no lack of enterprise, leadership or career encouragement in the family home.”

Before dairygold

Encouraged by a passion for the dairy sector and his parents, on qualifying in Dairy Science from UCC in 1979, Jim joined Ballyclough Co-Op, the business that would later merge with Mitchelstown in 1990 to become Dairygold. Since then, Dairygold has become a business with an annual turnover of €850m.

“I had a variety of jobs and roles up until 1997, starting out as production manager in milk powders/butter before moving to a farm liaison and advisory role and then, following the Dairygold merger in 1990, becoming the society’s milk supply manager.”

Right through his career, he focused on continuous on-the-job learning and personal development.

He recalls that “1997 was a big year career-wise. I was asked by the CEO at the time to take on the personnel management role in the business, in today’s terms head of human resources, the HR manager role, which was a very senior role in the organisation.

“At the time, I recall being told that I was chosen based on knowledge of how the co-op worked, its culture and needs, rather than prior in-depth experience in a HR job.

“I can’t stress enough how important is it to always be open to change. When I became head of HR, I knew this was vital. I undertook various studies at the Irish Management Institute and completed a diploma in strategic HR, which gave me the confidence and knowledge to do the job.

“I was dealing with parts of the industry I had no prior experience in, areas such as agri-trading and meats, multi-site locations and a multi-union environment. Until 2002, when I took over as head of agri-business, the HR role provided a great learning experience.”

This was followed by a seven-year stint as head of agri-business, and in July 2009 Jim was appointed CEO of Dairygold, a role which presented plenty of challenge.

“At the time, it was perceived by some as a bit of a poisoned chalice, but I never saw it that way. I always believed in the people in Dairygold, and in its members and customers, and I was confident that with hard work and direction we could go places.

“Becoming CEO, you obviously feel proud and have a sense of achievement, but also you feel the responsibility. You want to do the role and the people justice.”

That Jim has certainly done. Since 2009, Jim and his leadership team have turned the co-op’s fortunes around, refocused the company’s goals and generated steady growth. Currently in his seventh year as CEO, Jim is now focused sharply on the future growth of the co-op and the opportunities available within Dairygold for young graduates.

“Graduate programmes are a big part of our recruitment. We have recruited 60 graduates in the past four years alone. We are also advocates of well-structured personal development programmes. We encourage staff to always seek continuous improvement and to upskill.

“The agricultural sector is so varied, with so many opportunities, from technical support, nutrition, sales and marketing, health and safety, process engineering, to accounting, supply chain, logistics, IT and others.

“The opportunities in the agri and dairy/food sectors are far greater now than ever before, and it’s really important for young people to know this.”

“The main advice I have for people is be open to change. Change is good and constant, so be ever ready to embrace it. It may not always be easy, but if you are willing to learn and develop to your potential it is worth it.

“Take each and every opportunity you get to learn. Those opportunities may be few and far between and some don’t come back.”

Jim joked that while downtime has been in short supply since 2009, spending whatever free time is available with family and through involvement in the GAA means that his life-work balance is in order.

While vision, determination and his love for farming are clearly evident, he is the first to admit the wonderful support base he has, from his wife Ann and his three daughters, as well as his brothers, the Dairygold board and committees and work colleagues alike.

David Woulfe

The youngest Woulfe, David, is farming the home farm, an expanding dairy enterprise in Ardagh, Co Limerick.

He is a member of the Dairygold general committee and a representative of Ardagh/Old Mill on the Regional Committee of Dairygold. Sharing similar traits to his brothers, the 47-year-old began working full time on the family farm in 1986, and since 2001 has been expanding the business to meet the requirements of the market.

“I did my leaving cert back in 1986, and I had the option to go to college, but I decided to stay and take over the farm. Since 2001, we have been expanding. I am calving down 130 cows, up from 55 in 2001, and come calving time in spring we employ two part-time workers”.

In a professional sense, the brothers are all interlinked. Working in different parts of the agricultural sector allows each brother’s knowledge to benefit the brothers equally.

“We speak regularly on the phone. I ring them if I need advice from a corporate point of view on the industry. If they need advice of what is happening at farm level, I would let them know. It allows us all to get a good general picture on the industry as a whole.”

Responsibility is something all five brothers have in common in their professional lives, and the traits needed to acquire these jobs David believes, were developed thanks to their upbringing.

“Both our mother and father would have instilled a good work ethic in us. They believed in hard work. No matter what you had on, the calves still needed to be fed in the morning. Something like this has a lasting effect on a person”.

David now has his own family. He is married to Mary and has three children Conor (13), Saoirse (11) and Katie (nine).

Driven, determined and having leadership traits similar to his brothers, David has balanced his time throughout the years between various roles he has held within the community – something he has done from a young age.

“I would have always loved getting involved in the community, especially with the local GAA club, St Kieran’s. I was treasurer as far back as 1990, when I was 21, and would have managed the junior A hurling team when we won the Limerick junior hurling championship in 2012, which was a great achievement for the club and area.”

Recently David was elected as club chairman for St Kieran’s. The link between the Woulfe brothers and the community was ever-present. All five brothers played together, with David playing as recently as 2012, at the age of 43.

They say to be a successful farmer one must have a passion for it, and David certainly fits the bill. Though he admits the profession gets tough at times, he loves the industry he is in.

“I enjoy the challenge it throws up. I love the fact it is centred around the local community. For me, there is nothing better than getting involved in the local village. I love meeting people, so being involved in agriculture here is perfect for me.”

David’s numerous roles in the community, from both agricultural and a sporting sense, proves that though farming is a tough profession, there is a capacity for a healthy work-life balance.

If you are interested in a career in the agri-industry, come along to the Irish Farmers Journal and open eir Agri Careers Fair, which takes place in the RDS on 3 March 2016. For more information, click here.