Business

Co Antrim farm business completes £400k investment programme

Stephen Comer, senior business manager at First Trust Bank is pictured with four generations of the Allen family outside their new pig rearing unit. Tilly Allen is pictured with her great granddaughter Lucy, her grandson David and son Robert.
Stephen Comer, senior business manager at First Trust Bank is pictured with four generations of the Allen family outside their new pig rearing unit. Tilly Allen is pictured with her great granddaughter Lucy, her grandson David and son Robert. Stephen Comer, senior business manager at First Trust Bank is pictured with four generations of the Allen family outside their new pig rearing unit. Tilly Allen is pictured with her great granddaughter Lucy, her grandson David and son Robert.

A RANDALSTOWN farm business has completed a £400,000 investment programme, allowing for expansion into pig rearing.

Allen’s Farm has just concluded a five-year programme of investment in operations, which most recently included the acquisition of an additional 15 acres of land and the development of a state-of-the-art pig rearing unit

The new facility, which is equipped with mechanised feeding machinery will enhance productivity at the farm, which supplies some of the biggest names in agri-food

Since 2014, Robert Allen and his sons David and Paul have expanded the farm’s livestock to include a 200 strong dairy herd, 100 suckler cattle, 400 ewes, two large poultry houses and the latest addition of 600 pigs.

David Allen said the ongoing diversification allows the farm to keep ahead of changing industry trends.

"Our goal is to maintain a profitable and sustainable business for future generations of our family and with support from First Trust Bank, we have brought our investment programme to life over the last number of years," Mr Allen said.

“Having diversified into poultry farming in 2015, we are proud of our animal husbandry skills and decided to build upon this by moving into the pig industry. The addition of the pig rearing unit has transformed our business in recent months - we are now able to house and feed up to 600 pigs which are fattened to around 100kg before slaughter."

Stephen Comer, senior business manager at First Trust Bank added:

“The key to success in the agri industry is foresight. This is something that the Allen Family have taken to heart and continually assess their operations for growth opportunities in light of changing consumer and customer demands. Some of our most successful farming clients are those who have invested in modernisation and diversification, a trend that is likely to continue in light of ongoing economic and political change.”