Spotlight on the Hunniford family

They run farms on both sides of the Irish Sea and not only are the Hunniford’s large beef and cereal farmers, they are also apple growers and run a successful agri-contracting business.

They have run the farm in Portadown for three generations and farm over 800 hectares. On the farm they are involved in the finishing of beef cattle, store lambs in the winter, growing cereals, apple orchards, and are also involved in anaerobic digestion (AD) for renewable energy.

The AD plant was the first of its kind in Northern Ireland (NI) and utilises abattoir waste from some of NI’s major red meat and poultry plants. The digestate that is produced from the AD plant is in turn used to fertilise the crops being grown and to ensure the running of the farm is as efficient as possible.

The Hunnifords have been members of the UFU for many years and Victor and Richard Jnr are currently involved in various committees both at group and county level.

They actively participate in all group activities including meetings and are involved in the silage and cereals competitions. This year they had the honour of winning first place in the NI spring barley and winter wheat sections.

The Hunnifords believe membership of the UFU has been prudent to their business - great support and advice has always been on hand when needed, especially from within the local group office.

A piece of advice they would give to other farmers is the need to invest in new technologies and machinery enabling movement with the times and it is their belief that good planning, hard work and long hours pay off!