Kylie Magner from Magners Farm in Moyglass, Co Tipperary has been selected as the winner of the second Irish Newbie project, new entrant competition. Kylie is a free range poultry farmer who has recently added beef and sheep enterprises on the farm.
Having returned to the farm after a period working abroad Kylie was eager to make the 20 acre farm a viable fulltime option for herself and her husband Billy. Kylie set about developing a free range poultry business converting existing buildings and selling eggs at local markets. In recent times online sales and farm-date selling have been the mainstay of the business in light of the Covid 19 pandemic.
Kylie is keen to diversify and add to the range of products offered. The first addition came with the development of a chicken broth product that is produced from spent hens, this product is in high demand and eliminates waste from the system. Cattle and sheep have been added to the farm to graze ahead of the hens, this adds new beef and lamb products to the farms offering of produce as well as complimenting the hens grazing pattern.
Kylie has developed a portable hen coup that is suited to her rotational grazing model. The design has been evaluated on the farm across a season. The Hen Coup is being developed as a complimentary business that will add another revenue stream in the future. An egg packing licence affords Kylie another opportunity, as well as packing her own eggs for sale she is also authorised to pack eggs for others. There is a strong focus on business planning and cost control on the farm as well as striving to produce high quality food.
