Media & Events

Keenan continues to invest and develop its business for the Irish and international market. Since its acquisition by Alltech just over two years ago, Keenan has seen a range of major investments by the Lyons family into its diet feeder manufacturing business.

The autumn-calving dairy herd on UCD’s Lyons Research Farm is currently being fed a mix of maize and grass silage; beet pulp; and soya. Farm manager Eddie Jordan has been asked: ‘Is the operator of the Keenan feeder filling it with a spoon?’

The figures for finishing beef at the Kepak farm in Co Meath are certainly impressive. Situated less than 15 minutes from the Kepak factory in Clonee, Co Meath, the farm was first purchased in the early 1980s by group founder Noel Keating.

The famously green Irish farm might not seem like the most likely setting for the digital revolution. But it is there that one Irish company has established the frontline for an agriculture industry facing global challenges.

An extra 23,000 hectares of catch crops is the aim of the €100-155 per hectare incentive for tillage farmers announced last week by the government. Agriculture Minister Michael Creed said the €2.75m measure will support tillage farmers to supply into the strong market for fodder.