For as long as he can remember, 30-year-old George Finlay has heard people say that there’s no future in farming.
And for as long as he can remember, he’s been determined to prove them wrong.
“I always wanted to show everyone that it’s possible to make a living off 100 acres,” says the Co Wicklow sheep and suckler farmer from the Glen-of-Imaal.
“That’s my goal and that’s why Hannah and I set out to do this.”
“This” being the Ballyhubbock Farm sheep’s milk ice cream brand, which George and his wife-to-be, Hannah Sheerin, established in 2018, in an effort to bring something truly unique to the Irish food scene.
Not that there wasn’t a history of diversification at Ballyhubbock before then. Originally a dairy farm run by George’s grandfather, his own father – also George – left dairying in 1986 to go into sheep and sucklers.
“I actually still have the calendar from the last day he milked down in the milking parlour where I milk the sheep now,” says George.
With five children to rear, however, George Snr and his wife Olive set up Ballyhubbock Bakery on the farm over 20 years ago to supplement their income; but George says that the farm was always the family’s “anchor”.
“The farm was always there and it was never going to go,” he says, though he worked on both growing up.
“I’m able to bake cakes and make apple tarts and do all that without a blink of an eye!” he laughs.
Farming first
Still, farming was his first love, though even as a small child following his father around at the mart or factory, he remembers people talking about the struggles they faced to make a viable living.
Undeterred, however, he went on to study at Kildalton Agricultural College, where he won “Sheep Student of the Year” before returning to farm the 108 acres in partnership with his father, where they have 250 commercial ewes and 20 suckler cows.
He also worked off-farm in everything from stone masonry to building, but explains that “in the back of my head, I always wanted to do something different with the farm”.
“We were going to do a campsite, we were going to do paintballing,” he lists of some of the ideas. “But I wanted to do something more with stock.”
Fortunately – in more ways than one – about five years ago, George met his fiancée Hannah through mutual friends. A vet’s daughter from Baltinglass, Hannah always had an interest in nutrition and food, and after studying health and performance science at UCD, joined the Kerry Group graduate scheme, followed by a research project with Teagasc and now works in quality assurance with Glenhaven Foods in Arklow.
But when George told her he’d love to diversify on the farm, she was fully on board.
“For me, to be able to bring a product from farm to fork was something that I was always hugely interested in,” she says. “So when he told me about it, I just encouraged him to go for it.”
Sheep dairying
Of course, finding the right idea was the challenge. 
While a lot of local farmers had gone into dairy cows, George discounted this option as the farm is broken into two blocks and would require serious infrastructural investment.
Another form of dairying did appeal, however. While in college, George had visited a farmer who was milking sheep for cheese-making and the idea had lodged in the back of his mind. Years later, he saw a similar farm featured on the Escape to River Cottage TV cookery show and began to wonder if it could work in Ballyhubbock.
And after doing some research with Hannah, the couple decided to invest in 36 East Friesland ewes, which George describes as the “Holstein of the sheep world”.
“They yield more and they milk for longer in the year,” he explains.
Stock secured, the next step was to re-convert the farm’s former milking parlour, which had been used in more recent times for lambing. They also re-seeded the field adjoining the parlour and divided it into paddocks, invested in a four-cluster mobile milking unit and modified a secondhand headlocking unit, with George estimating that he and Hannah spent €30,000 of their own savings to get up and running, though they also went to the bank for further support later on.
“We could have cut back, but when I was doing the parlour, I wanted to do the parlour right,” says George.
Ewe scream for ice cream
Next, what to do with the sheep’s milk? 
While most people who milk sheep in Ireland are producing cheese or yoghurt, again, George and Hannah wanted to do something different, which is why they decided to try ice-cream.
Hannah’s experience was invaluable in setting up this side of the business, especially when it came to the paperwork, while they were also fortunate to have the use of the family bakery to make the product on-site. The couple also worked together to develop their recipes, with five flavours: original, vanilla, raspberry crumble, lemon curd and chocolate ganache.
Though Hannah explains that they did not foresee that many people would have a mental block initially when it came to trying a sheep’s milk product.
“A lot of people, when they hear sheep’s milk, they mightn’t like goat’s milk and they will put up a barrier and think, ‘Oh no, that’s not for me’,” she explains. “Whereas if you try it, it’s actually such a gorgeous milk.”
Moreover, she explains that it actually has many nutritional benefits that a lot of people are unaware of.
“The milk itself, when you compare it to cow’s milk, has double the protein,” says Hannah as just one example, adding that it also has double the calcium, is naturally homogenised and is easier to digest for a lot of people with intolerances to other forms of milk. The fact that it is naturally sweeter means that they don’t have to add as much sugar when making the ice cream, while they also don’t add any cream.
“It’s just 100% milk,” says Hannah.
Having been accepted to the SuperValu Food Academy programme, Ballyhubbock Farm ice cream is currently available in SuperValu stores in Baltinglass, Blessington and Sallins, as well as independents like Ardkeen Quality Food Store in Waterford and Dollard & Co and Fresh in Dublin, as well as some local restaurants.
And while it’s early days for the business – which is still a side line to the conventional farm and Hannah’s job – the couple have exciting plans ahead. They recently launched a 100% sheep’s milk halloumi cheese and plan to milk up to 60 ewes next year, as well as install a 12-unit parlour.
Though there is also the small matter of fitting in their wedding this October as well…
“I might be drying off (the ewes) a little bit early this year!” laughs George.
For further information, visit
instagram.com/ballyhubbockfarm/ or
call 087-9259 558
Read more
Birds of a feather together at Butler's Organic Eggs
Meet the two women making a living from farming half an acre
For as long as he can remember, 30-year-old George Finlay has heard people say that there’s no future in farming.
And for as long as he can remember, he’s been determined to prove them wrong.
“I always wanted to show everyone that it’s possible to make a living off 100 acres,” says the Co Wicklow sheep and suckler farmer from the Glen-of-Imaal.
“That’s my goal and that’s why Hannah and I set out to do this.”
“This” being the Ballyhubbock Farm sheep’s milk ice cream brand, which George and his wife-to-be, Hannah Sheerin, established in 2018, in an effort to bring something truly unique to the Irish food scene.
Not that there wasn’t a history of diversification at Ballyhubbock before then. Originally a dairy farm run by George’s grandfather, his own father – also George – left dairying in 1986 to go into sheep and sucklers.
“I actually still have the calendar from the last day he milked down in the milking parlour where I milk the sheep now,” says George.
With five children to rear, however, George Snr and his wife Olive set up Ballyhubbock Bakery on the farm over 20 years ago to supplement their income; but George says that the farm was always the family’s “anchor”.
“The farm was always there and it was never going to go,” he says, though he worked on both growing up.
“I’m able to bake cakes and make apple tarts and do all that without a blink of an eye!” he laughs.
Farming first
Still, farming was his first love, though even as a small child following his father around at the mart or factory, he remembers people talking about the struggles they faced to make a viable living.
Undeterred, however, he went on to study at Kildalton Agricultural College, where he won “Sheep Student of the Year” before returning to farm the 108 acres in partnership with his father, where they have 250 commercial ewes and 20 suckler cows.
He also worked off-farm in everything from stone masonry to building, but explains that “in the back of my head, I always wanted to do something different with the farm”.
“We were going to do a campsite, we were going to do paintballing,” he lists of some of the ideas. “But I wanted to do something more with stock.”
Fortunately – in more ways than one – about five years ago, George met his fiancée Hannah through mutual friends. A vet’s daughter from Baltinglass, Hannah always had an interest in nutrition and food, and after studying health and performance science at UCD, joined the Kerry Group graduate scheme, followed by a research project with Teagasc and now works in quality assurance with Glenhaven Foods in Arklow.
But when George told her he’d love to diversify on the farm, she was fully on board.
“For me, to be able to bring a product from farm to fork was something that I was always hugely interested in,” she says. “So when he told me about it, I just encouraged him to go for it.”
Sheep dairying
Of course, finding the right idea was the challenge.
While a lot of local farmers had gone into dairy cows, George discounted this option as the farm is broken into two blocks and would require serious infrastructural investment.
Another form of dairying did appeal, however. While in college, George had visited a farmer who was milking sheep for cheese-making and the idea had lodged in the back of his mind. Years later, he saw a similar farm featured on the Escape to River Cottage TV cookery show and began to wonder if it could work in Ballyhubbock.
And after doing some research with Hannah, the couple decided to invest in 36 East Friesland ewes, which George describes as the “Holstein of the sheep world”.
“They yield more and they milk for longer in the year,” he explains.
Stock secured, the next step was to re-convert the farm’s former milking parlour, which had been used in more recent times for lambing. They also re-seeded the field adjoining the parlour and divided it into paddocks, invested in a four-cluster mobile milking unit and modified a secondhand headlocking unit, with George estimating that he and Hannah spent €30,000 of their own savings to get up and running, though they also went to the bank for further support later on.
“We could have cut back, but when I was doing the parlour, I wanted to do the parlour right,” says George.
Ewe scream for ice cream
Next, what to do with the sheep’s milk?
While most people who milk sheep in Ireland are producing cheese or yoghurt, again, George and Hannah wanted to do something different, which is why they decided to try ice-cream.
Hannah’s experience was invaluable in setting up this side of the business, especially when it came to the paperwork, while they were also fortunate to have the use of the family bakery to make the product on-site. The couple also worked together to develop their recipes, with five flavours: original, vanilla, raspberry crumble, lemon curd and chocolate ganache.
Though Hannah explains that they did not foresee that many people would have a mental block initially when it came to trying a sheep’s milk product.
“A lot of people, when they hear sheep’s milk, they mightn’t like goat’s milk and they will put up a barrier and think, ‘Oh no, that’s not for me’,” she explains. “Whereas if you try it, it’s actually such a gorgeous milk.”
Moreover, she explains that it actually has many nutritional benefits that a lot of people are unaware of.
“The milk itself, when you compare it to cow’s milk, has double the protein,” says Hannah as just one example, adding that it also has double the calcium, is naturally homogenised and is easier to digest for a lot of people with intolerances to other forms of milk. The fact that it is naturally sweeter means that they don’t have to add as much sugar when making the ice cream, while they also don’t add any cream.
“It’s just 100% milk,” says Hannah.
Having been accepted to the SuperValu Food Academy programme, Ballyhubbock Farm ice cream is currently available in SuperValu stores in Baltinglass, Blessington and Sallins, as well as independents like Ardkeen Quality Food Store in Waterford and Dollard & Co and Fresh in Dublin, as well as some local restaurants.
And while it’s early days for the business – which is still a side line to the conventional farm and Hannah’s job – the couple have exciting plans ahead. They recently launched a 100% sheep’s milk halloumi cheese and plan to milk up to 60 ewes next year, as well as install a 12-unit parlour.
Though there is also the small matter of fitting in their wedding this October as well…
“I might be drying off (the ewes) a little bit early this year!” laughs George.
For further information, visit
instagram.com/ballyhubbockfarm/ or
call 087-9259 558
Read more
Birds of a feather together at Butler's Organic Eggs
Meet the two women making a living from farming half an acre
This is a subscriber-only article
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