A CO Offaly beef farm has been chosen as one of McDonald’s “flagship farm” suppliers in Europe due to its high standards in animal welfare and environmental performance.
Ray and Mary Dempsey from Coolderry have put down rubber flooring in their cattle pens and planted fertiliser-free eco-habitats for birds and other wildlife on their 105-hectare farm.
Other flagship farms have provided water beds and foot baths for cows and planted trees to encourage chickens outdoors.
The fast-food multinational, which is promoting the farms as models of good practice for its 500,000 suppliers in Europe, believes these methods will control costs and ensure a reliable supply of food.
Mr Dempsey said he felt privileged McDonald’s had selected his farm to participate in the scheme. “There is also a personal sense of achievement as over the years we have worked hard in our farming business to achieve and maintain a good standard of beef production, recognising the requirements of the consumer and their expectations of traceability and animal welfare.”
Mr Dempsey has installed reed beds for water treatment as well as rubber slat covers in finishing pens. Cattle prefer to lie on a soft floor in winter, but it is also expected that they could increase animal growth rates.
Anton Stokman, a dairy farmer from the Netherlands who is in the new programme, provides his 200 cows with water beds to increase sleep time and blood flow. The animals also get foot baths each week to reduce lameness. The result, he said, is happier cows that live longer and produce more milk.
McDonald’s buys more than 200,000 tonnes of beef, 150,000 tonnes of milk and 1 million tonnes of potatoes in Europe at a cost of €1.75 billion.
