Combining dairy with duck – the successful formula for one West Cork farm.

Based on this experience – and showing tremendous foresight - a decision was made by the couple to go with ducks, and thirty years later, Skeaghanore Duck is one of the most successful and recognised brands on the Irish market.

It started small – the Hickeys raised just thirty ducks that first year, which they slaughtered and plucked by hand. Over the past three decades, however, Skeaghanore Duck has grown steadily and has won a host of prestigious awards, including Blas na hEireann Irish Food Awards.

The brand also picked up a remarkable three stars at the Great Taste Food Awards for its Aldi Free Range Goose. Other standout achievements includes Skeaghanore Irish Smoked Duck Breast and Skeaghanore Irish Smoked Chicken Crown being recognised by Dunnes Stores’ Simply Better’ range.

Marketing success has been matched with physical growth. The couple’s son, Daniel, who will take over the duck operation, points out that “In 2014/15, we reached a milestone with the construction of a new factory, equipped with a comprehensive processing facility, including a full cooking unit.”

Daniel explains that with all processing completed on the farm, everything produced in Skeaghanore Farm is fully traceable from farm to fork. “It’s also important to us to have two strings to our bow. Having a duck business alongside a dairy operation gives us tremendous peace of mind, and each picks up the slack if the other is struggling.

In terms of succession, Daniel says that his siblings have all done a stint in the business, but he’ll be the one to take over the reins for the next stage of the company’s expansion.

“We’ve had tremendous help and guidance from local Ifac Partner, Gearoid Condon, and have also worked with the Food & Agribusiness team in ifac. I’m 33 at present, so with the 35-year age cap for stamp duty approaching, this has taken on an added urgency.” 

“Part of the overall process has involved a transition to a limited company, and Gearoid has been very good at handling an operation that has a lot of moving parts.”

Daniel has two young daughters, and jokingly says that his wife Aileen considers herself a single mother when it gets near to Christmas. “Thankfully, she’s from a business background so she appreciates the extra stresses of a predominantly seasonal product.”

The seasonality aspect of duck is diluted considerably by supplying the restaurant sector, which provides more of a year-round demand. With a winning formula already in place, you can expect even more from Skeaghanore in the years to come as the next generation makes its mark.