Meet the Poultry farmer - Belview Eggs

Dermot Herlihy began egg production in 1978 with 5,000 hens expanding to 3 Enriched Colony Systems by 2010. In 2020, Belview established their free-range unit at Carrickbaggot, Co. Louth. Find out the Signpost farm measures undertaken in Energy Efficiency, Carbon Footprint and Manure Management
Belview Egg Farm Ltd
Free Range Egg Production
Dermot Herlihy began egg production in 1978 with 5,000 hens expanding to 3 Enriched Colony Systems by 2010. In 2020, Belview established their free-range unit at Carrickbaggot in County Louth. The unit is divided into 4 multi-tier laying houses, each containing 15,000 birds and has a central egg collection room.
The farm is located on 168 acres of land. Point-of-Lay pullets are transferred at 16 weeks of age to the production house. Birds are given access to the range every day. Hens produce on average 346 eggs during the laying cycle of 60 weeks.
Farm Manager John Roche who has 10 years’ experience with poultry runs both farms, with two full time and six part time staff. Rachel Johnson is the General Manager in Belview Eggs, with Dermot Herlihy as Managing Director.
Signpost Farm Measures Undertaken
Energy Efficiency
Energy efficiency is key in layer systems due to the amount of energy used in the system. Belview Eggs will establish the energy used by each system in the unit. By establishing the kW being used, methods to reduce this can be identified.
Carbon Footprint
Belview Eggs will aim to reduce the carbon footprint of producing Free Range eggs. To do this, the carbon footprint must be established. Once established, methods will then be identified and put in place to reduce the CO2 produced per dozen eggs.
Manure Management
Belview Eggs export manure primarily to tillage producers in the local area. In conjunction with the tillage advisers a Nutrient Management Plan will be developed and implemented on the importing tillage farms.
Belview Egg Farm Ltd features as one of three Signpost farmers in the August Teagasc Signpost Programme e-Newsletter | You, A friend or colleague can subscribe to this e-newsletter by clicking the subscribe button below
The Teagasc Signpost Programme e-Newsletter will issue monthly and you can read it here each month on on Teagasc Daily.
Signpost Programme Partners
The Signpost Programme is a collaborative partnership of farmers, industry and State Agencies, working together for climate action