Everyday, in bakeries and mills, bread, cakes and cereals are left on the shelves. However, Sean Tully Animal Feeds takes this surplus food – adds distillers grains and sugar – and produces two animal feed rations; one for beef and one for dairy.

These rations are generally fed with straw or silage and should be supplemented with minerals as appropriate.

From Garbrattan, Co. Cavan, Sean Tully has been using surplus products from the human food chain for many years on his farm. He started feeding brewers grains to his cattle forty years ago.

Over the years, he began to take in breakfast cereals and cakes. However, these products weren’t working well everywhere.

“Some farmers were using a number of products to make a ration, which took up a lot of space. When they ran out of one product, they would increase another. This led to inconsistency and underperformance.”

Sean began to mix the products to produce a consistent and convenient ration. The resulting moist beef ration is 14% protein and the moist dairy ration is 16% protein – both have a dry matter content of 63%.

“These high energy rations are very palatable and increase digestibility and intake, which will inevitably lead to better performance,” he added.

“Our ration is the same everyday. We’re using byproducts, but we adhere to the same regulations as the mills. We use maize meal as well.”

What Goes Into The Ration?

Raymond, Sean’s son, told AgriLand what surplus food is being used in the rations.

“We mix surplus food and byproducts together. We mix surplus bread, maize distillers grains, pot ale syrup, oat feed, maize meal, breakfast cereal, cake and dextrose.”

The same products go into each ration, but in different quantities.

“We have a number of suppliers. We source our products locally where possible. However, in order to satisfy demand a lot of our bread and breakfast cereal comes in from England.

“We have a specially commissioned and computerised mixer to ensure a consistent mix every time. The feed is made early in the morning; it goes straight onto our own lorries and out to the farmer.”

Quality Standards

Raymond explained why the company set up its own lab, adding: “I test all of the rations and the incoming products. Labelling of products is very important to us, and for EU regulations, when we say 14% protein, it is 14% protein.

“Having our own lab ensures that we have same-day results, which is extremely useful in testing incoming products and allowing our product to remain consistent”

These results are checked with an independent lab to ensure that the results are consistently correct.

“Although we’re using byproducts and surplus foods we are required to adhere to the same regulations and standards as the regular feed mills.”

Sean explained that it took many years to learn how to make the rations correctly.

“It took a long time, with the assistance of long standing, loyal customers who took the time to give us honest feedback on the product, to get it to the level that we’re getting it to now.

“Nobody has got it down to the level that we’re getting it to. Companies in the UK are asking us for advice on how to make these rations.

“It’s not a simple process. When I started, I thought I would go out and mix it and it would be easy. The way you mix it; the rotation in the mix; the time; the products; and when you put the products in; all affect the ration.

Many people can bake a cake, but they don’t all taste the same.

Traceability And Origin

“We have the same level of traceability as the standard feed mills. We only buy from Universal Feed Assurance Scheme (UFAS) approved suppliers in the UK and Ireland. We are Bord Bia and UFAS accredited.

“All of the lorries – that bring product in or out of our company – are approved. We won’t hire unapproved hauliers.”

When asked about importing bread from England and how Irish rations are so important as part of Ireland’s green food image Seán stated: “There are a lot of cereals being imported into this country. The main reason we have to import these products is because they’re not available here.

“Origin Green is about sustainability. Our feed is using surplus and byproducts. If it doesn’t stay within the food chain (human or animal), it will become a waste material. We’re bringing the products into the animal food chain and making very good use of it,” Raymond added.

Fodder Crisis

The rations are mainly sold to large feedlots and dairy farms. Some local farmers also use the rations. This year, Tullys have received enquiries for feed from silage hauliers who are running out of fodder for their customers in the west of Ireland.

Sean Tully Animal Feeds uses by-products from the bakery, confectionary and brewing industries to produce nutritionally-balanced moist beef and dairy rations. We visited their County Cavan base – where the rations are blended for distribution to farmers nationwide – and spoke to Raymond Tully to find out more about this exceptional family-run operation.

By taking surplus products (bread, cakes, cereal) from the human food chain and blending them with distillers grains and sugar, Sean Tully Animal Feeds produces two high-quality moist rations – one for beef and one for dairy – which are going down a treat on farms nationwide.

Twenty-eighteen has been their busiest year to date and, with the escalating fodder crisis expected to deteriorate to unprecedented levels this winter, it seems like demand for this practical, high-energy feed has yet to spike. Sean, Gwen and Raymond – the family team who head up this pioneering business – are bracing themselves for a hectic end to the calendar year…

“Sean has been in this business since 1979,” says Raymond, reflecting on the genesis of this organic, sustainable and environmentally-friendly enterprise. “He set up the company with his wife Gwen, Sean Tully Animal Feeds Ltd, five years ago and I joined him two years ago. The business has gone from strength to strength these last few years.”

Demand for rations has been exceptionally high so far in 2018 and will almost certainly remain so for the duration of the calendar year. “We do a lot of stockpiling during the summer months to get us through the winter and we’ve had that surplus stockpile there to fall back on to satisfy the exceptional summer demand,” Raymond reveals. “We’ll have to stockpile even more than usual now in preparation for the winter months. We’ve been flat out and the strong demand means there’s been no quiet June / July this year, but we’re not going to complain about that!”

The main ingredient in the rations is surplus bread, which is imported as fresh milled bread, packed with starch and energy. “We use bread from the UK and Ireland as there isn’t enough available here in Ireland to meet our needs. We also use breakfast cereal, which is imported from the UK.

“We input cake from a local bakeries as well as grain distillers and pot ale syrup. We also use oat feed, which is a by-product of porridge, and sugar from the confectionery industry.

“All of the ingredients that go into the rations are extremely fresh,” Raymond continues. “These by-products are from the human food chain, you essentially have human-grade food with no toxins whatsoever going into the animal food chain, delivering outstanding results.”

The ingredients are mixed together in a specially-commissioned, computerised Keenan / Alltech mixer, with the expertise of renowned nutritionist Gerry Giggins called upon to ensure the production of two consistent, high-quality rations that enhance performance, whilst improving animal health and welfare.

The high-energy moist beef ration boasts 14% protein and the moist dairy ration has 16% protein, each with a dry matter content of 63%. As the rations are palatable, they increase digestibility and intake, helping the animal thrive.

“The benefit of moist feed is that it is more palatable to the animal, which can eat more,” Raymond continues. “Not only do cattle enjoy it, but it’s also high-energy content.”

Furthermore, the rations can be used as standalone feed or to complement other rations, for example in the case where a dairy farmer continues to use nuts in the milking parlour.

Of course, consistency is key to ensure that farmers know precisely what their cows are eating. “Our computerised system records exactly how much of each ingredient goes into each mix. Consistency is vital as you have to feed them the same ration all the time, otherwise the animal won’t do well.”

This dedication to producing a dependable, high-quality ration ensures an ever-growing base of repeat customers. “We are very loyal to our customers and they are loyal back. We have a lot of regular customers nationwide and have new ones coming on board all the time. But it’s easier to keep a customer than to find a new one, which is why we look after them with the best possible products and service.”

Serving farmers across counties Cork, Kilkenny, Tipperary, Wexford, Wicklow, Westmeath, Meath, Kildare, Louth, Laois, Galway, Mayo, Cavan, Monaghan and everywhere in between, Sean Tully Animal Feeds carry out all their own deliveries and operate a fleet of three rigid trucks – two MANs and one Volvo. Investment in the fleet is ongoing and, to this end, they’ve just taken possession of a brand-new MAN. The two new lorries and the walking floor make deliveries as efficient and convenient as possible.

Deliveries are made in bulk and two of the lorries have split bodies, which means two drops can be made on one trip. Back at base, Sean busies himself with making sure that all the fresh rations are mixed and ready to go as and when required…

“He’d be up mixing at 4am and the first lorries would head out between 5 and 7. When they come back, they could go out again and do another run the same day,” Raymond notes.

“The ration itself would have a shelf life of two-three weeks and part of our service is that we like to get it to the customer as fresh as possible to maximise that.”

At present, employment is generated for a team of nine. “We’ve expanded from five people two years ago so we are in a period of expansion and would be delighted if we could keep that up. Sales have increased year on year and obviously 2018 has been our busiest year to date.

“With the drought and the fodder shortage this year, we’ve had more demand from dairy farmers in the summer than ever before. More new customers are contacting us through word of mouth and we’re expecting them to come back and do business with us again in the winter as long as we provide them with a good service.”

The rations are An Bord Bia approved, UFAS accredited and licensed with the Department of Agriculture. The formulae have been perfected… “It’s only in the last three years that it has really taken off. There was a lot of trial and error for a couple of years before that until Sean got the formula just right. It took a long time to perfect it and there are a lot of factors to take into account, like which product goes in when, how much of it to add and how long to leave it in the mixer. Sean has that experience now and he knows exactly how to do it.

“There won’t be any wholesale changes to the rations at this stage as we are really happy with them. But we constantly review them and we have our own laboratory here on site where they are tested on a daily basis.”

As farmers themselves, the Tullys know that their rations work extremely well in a practical setting, “We have 250 Friesian bulls here, which we feed up to 14-16 months. We feed them our own rations, along with straw and minerals from Devenish and we achieve excellent weight gain,” Raymond concludes. “We’re making good money off it ourselves so we know how well the rations are performing. They are tested in the lab and used regularly on our own farm, so we can guarantee excellent performance.”

Sean Tully Animal Feeds Ltd.,

Garbrattan,

County Cavan.

Tel: 049 4331958

Mobile: 087 1602764

Email: admin@seantullyanimalfeeds.com

Taken from Irish Tractor & Agri magazine Vol 6 No 7, November 2018