Egg-Citing life on Magners Farm

Magners Farm is located near Moyglass Village in Fethard, Co Tipperary, the heart of the Golden Vale of Ireland. The farm is home to Kylie and husband Billy and their four children. The farm is also home to 800 free range pasture-fed hens as the farmers are passionate about good food and sustainable agriculture. Kylie had an admiration for farming from a young age. “I grew up in Central West New South Wales in Australia on a mixed farm. My dad died when I was 12, so I was very lucky to be able to spend a lot of my school holidays with a very beautiful farming couple named Neale and Velma Lavis and their family. “They owned a thoroughbred and Hereford cattle stud and I learnt a lot about farming and the thoroughbred industry from them.”

After Kylie’s studies, she landed her dream job in advertising at Coolmore Stud, which is where she met husband Billy. After the couple welcomed their fourth child, they decided to move back to Australia for seven years. The couple returned back to the Emerald Isle on sad news. “We travelled back to Ireland in 2016 after Billy’s dad Noel’s passing and made the decision then to return to Ireland in 2017,” recalls Kylie. “We had bought our farm back in 2004 and decided to return there to live and begin an agricultural enterprise. Funds were short, we loved hens and eggs,” stated Kylie.

“Magners Farm Pasture Range Eggs came to fruition with the limited resources we had. We started our business with 10 hens. When we began to sell their eggs we were able to purchase more hens.” The happy hens graze on chemical free grass with clean and fresh air. “Happiness is a really important variable in raising any livestock,” says Kylie.

“The more relaxed and close to their natural environment they are, the better they are able to perform. So plenty of exercise, vitamin D from the light, access to feed which is totally organic and groups which are small lead to hens with very little stress.”

Today people seem to be harking back to a more traditional way of eating, something Kylie agrees with.

“Obviously there is a massive uptake in eating habits as people begin to reduce meat intake and many head for a vegetarian or vegan lifestyle. For us, it’s all about balance. Sourcing locally grown, seasonal food. Sustainable farming practices which are respectful of the land and the animal. Less wastage and less inputs into our system.”

Kylie has not looked back since starting the farm in 2017 as she believes there are many benefits being self-employed.

“With four children, it’s brilliant to be able to be so flexible with our time. We can adapt to their needs, school pickups, sporting outings can be accommodated. It’s great to involve the children in the business. To see them come up with suggestions based around management of the farm, sales outlets, marketing is really fantastic.” A day in life of both a farmer and entrepreneur can be various in many ways. “There is always something different going on. It’s a mix of farming, accounting, marketing, distribution, client liaison. The best part really though is being outside every day’ great work companions.” There have been endless highlights for the farmer and her family. “To have our own label and see our eggs which our hens have worked hard to lay heading to people’s kitchens to be enjoyed is very rewarding,” says Kylie.

There is no stopping the Magners family as they have endless plans for 2020. “We have some exciting plans for 2020 to further expand on our pasture range eggs. Some of those revolve around the management practices on our farm and mobilising our flock,” says Kylie. “We have plans to integrate more livestock – cattle and sheep into our mix. As our demand is exceeding what we can supply, we also hope to increase our flock whilst still maintaining our standards of welfare.