Kevin Carey farms 180 ewes on the Mullet Peninsula and Iniskea islands in Co Mayo. Unhappy with the price he was receiving for lamb in the factory earlier this year, he set up Atlantic Erris Lamb – his own brand of lamb which he sells direct to restaurants and customers.

He farms with his wife, Paula, and two children, Caoimhe and Bobby, and started farming in 2012 after his father passed away.

The two flocks complement each other

“I took it over and built it up, land and stock. I invested in housing and land that came up around me. I started farming in my own right in 2015, leased in a bit more ground and planted some forestry too. I’ve 35ac of spruce for a pension plan,” he said.

An extensive operation, he keeps 120 Mules and 60 mountain ewes.

“The two flocks complement each other. I breed replacements off the mountain ewes and they graze my commonages on the peninsula and the islands. The Mules are retained on the lowland.”

As is typical of coastal land, Carey has a mix of good-quality and marginal land.

Kevin runs a lowland and hill flock of sheep. \ Michael McLaughlin

“All in, I’ve about 40ac owned and 40ac leased in. I’ve 35ac of forestry and 80ac of a share in commonage which is made up of mountainous areas and islands,” he told the Irish Farmers Journal.

The lowland Mule flock lambs from 1 March on, going into the shed for two to three weeks at lambing time before being put back out to grass, while the mountain flock lambs from 1 April.

The reason I invested in them is that they were getting great results from their lambs being finished off grass and forage

“I run two Blue Leicester rams with my mountain flock.

“They give me Mule replacement ewes for the lowland flock.

“They’re run with New Zealand Suffolk rams that I invested in. The reason I invested in them is that they were getting great results from their lambs being finished off grass and forage,” he said.

Atlantic Erris Lamb

“Lambs are finished off grass. Naturally, there’s a lot of clover and multi-species swards on the mountain, the islands and peninsula. They have access to seaweed as well since we’re farming on the shoreline,” he said, adding that he didn’t believe he was getting a premium price for his product so he started selling direct under the Atlantic Erris Lamb brand.

“There are no concentrates involved at all for the lambs and it’s all seasonal. Once my lambs are finished off the grass that’s my next pre-order. It’s not off the shelf.

He hopes to increase the flock size to 250 head over the coming years.\ Michael McLaughlin

“When pre-orders come in, I’m telling people my next kill is three or four weeks away. I’m marketing it largely online and I’ve had big interest locally from restaurants and shops, which is great in these challenging times.”

Craft butcher Valhalla Meats in Longford butchers the lambs and packages the meat.

Price

Carey believes he’s getting a better price per kilo now than when he was sending lambs to the factory.

“I think we’re getting a better price per kilo. There are a lot of costs I didn’t envisage but I hope it will be more profitable by selling direct,” Carey said.

Farmers are at the mercy of the larger processors

His lambs kill out at 20kg and customers can buy 5kg, 10kg or 15kg mixed lamb boxes.

“Selling direct, we’re getting €13/kg. That’s what the customer is paying.

\Michael McLaughlin

“Farmers are at the mercy of the larger processors. We try to produce stock to the spec they want, which is to their advantage. We’re almost giving away free meat in a way if the lamb carcase goes overweight. It’s up to farmers to grab a hold of it and if they have a premium product to market it.”

Future plans

Carey would like to increase the flock size to 250 head between the two flocks and plans are afoot to start a small Moiled cattle operation. He’s also looking at going down the organic route.

“I believe our product is as organic as you can get. That stamp would be a big help. It would be very satisfying to see Atlantic Erris Lamb on menus. There’s a lot of personal satisfaction with that.”