JFC Agri Team at the National Ploughing Championships 2019.

JFC Agri Team at the National Ploughing Championships 2019.

The Management of JFC Group wish to confirm that JFC Civils operations facility in Stratford-Upon-Avon, UK experienced a fire on 16th October 2018 which destroyed a warehouse and stock. The cause of the fire has not yet been identified. All employees and on-site personnel followed safety procedures and were safely evacuated from the site. The Manufacturing facility which produces CorriPipe™ and CorriDuct Twin-wall Pipe was not impacted therefore production will resume following a site investigation and official clearance.

We wish to thank the various fire departments, the Fire Chief, emergency professionals and the local Environmental Agency for their dedication and support in managing and controlling this fire and to acknowledge the bravery and quick response of the JFC employees.

We apologise to the neighbouring businesses, public, our suppliers and customers for any inconvenience caused and would like to assure our customers that orders will be processed via the JFC Group’s alternative production facility until the Stratford-Upon-Avon site is fully operational.

JFC Agri Team at the National Ploughing Championships 2018.

At a time when it is difficult and expensive for farmers to get workers, this automated Feeder can be programmed by one person to feed 140 calves.   A micro-chip on the calf’s ear ensures that each calf gets the correct amount of milk every time and if they don’t the Feeder informs the operator.

It has taken almost three years of painstaking research and development plus countless trials on many farms for the R&D team at JFC in Tuam to perfect their labour-saving device which they now launch on the Irish market.

The research and year-long farm trials involved many sleepless nights and long days monitoring the feeding habits of calves according to John Concannon and his son, Damian a member of the R&D team at the firm’s Tuam headquarters.   He says that the R&D team have been extremely dedicated and spared no energy or efforts in perfecting this product through the most rigorous of trials.

So confident is the JFC Group of having come up with a world class product that they have created a separate factory for the Evolution’s manufacture at their Tuam headquarters.

An extension to the existing factory involved expansion into what was the adjoining former HomeLee Bedding plant.  It has been completely refurbished and fitted with new specialist manufacturing and assembly lines.   Each Evolution goes through a rigorous quality assurance test on a computerised calf-feeding simulator before leaving the factory.

“It’s a good news story for Tuam and a major technological leap for an Irish firm to be manufacturing an automated Calf Feeder as sophisticated, yet as easy for one person to operate as this one.  We are ready to launch this product internationally” says John Concannon, Chairman and Managing Director of the JFC Group.

The Evolution Calf Feeder provides 24/7 feeding for the farmer. “The Control Unit has a computer interface which reads the calf’s tag and mixes the milk powder at the correct temperature.  It is connected to 4 Feed Stations where the calves drink the amount allocated to each of them and then move away to allow the others to do likewise” explains Damian Concannon.

His father John says that “the ear tags are made locally by Cormac Tagging in Tuam and if a calf doesn’t drink his allocated amount of milk the Feeder alerts the farmer to check if the animal may be suffering from a health issue”.

“It also leads to quieter more contented calves as they get accustomed to queuing up for their milk and there is no rush towards buckets or spilling milk as only one calf at a time can fit into each Feed Station. When the calf has got it’s fill it just backs out and the next calf moves in” says John.

Damian says “if the farmer notices that one of his/her calves is not thriving as well as the others he/she can programme the Feeder to target an increase in the amount of milk for that animal.  It is as simple as putting that calf on a different Feed Curve which will allow the animal to get more milk so that it can catch up with the rest of the calves.  The Evolution can feed four calves at the same time in the different Feed Stations and with varying amounts of milk for each one if required”.

“Dual-hoppers allow for two different types of calf milk replacer to be used eg. a farmer can use a high-protein milk to get young heifers weaned and breeding as quickly as possible with a more cost-efficient milk specific for male calves destined for the beef herd” added Damian.   This feature in conjunction with the 7 Feed Curve options makes the Evolution Calf Feeder one of the most versatile on the market.  “Versatility is important to ensure calves of varying age, breed and health are all catered for and that farmers specific rearing objectives are met” says Damian.

John Concannon commented that the last few years of research and development has been costly but it is now rewarding to know that JFC have achieved perfection with the product which is the only one of its type manufactured in Ireland.

“Enterprise Ireland has supported us in the development of this product and there are a lot of advantages with this automated Feeder compared to old way of feeding calves, even with our famous JFC Multi-Buckets,” says John.

“This is a cost-effective and time saving way of feeding calves with such accuracy that you can trace what every calf is getting. The Evolution will be used by a lot of beef as well as dairy farmers and it is fully grant aided.   We hope to have at least 100 of them manufactured and sold both here and in the UK between now and the end of the year,” added John.

The Evolution is a self-cleaning Feeder which carries out a cleaning cycle twice daily.   “It feeds the calves and then does the washing-up” says Damian.

It is a money-saving and time-saving device that feeds at a consistent volume and temperature thus producing better quality and more evenly finished cattle for the ever-changing and technologically advancing Agri sector.

“Plastic is our forte at JFC and our R&D team have come up with a hygienic automated Calf Feeder which is a massive leap for us from when we developed the JFC Multi-Bucket which caused a lotta’ laughs on TV a long time ago,” concluded John Concannon with a laugh.

JFC launch the Evolution Calf Feeder in Ireland at the National Ploughing Championship on Tuesday, 18^th September.

The Tullamore Show is Ireland’s largest one-day show, averaging 60,000 visitors in recent years.

JFC Agri Team at the Tullamore Show 2018.

The 19^th IALA Conference 2018 is the largest international gathering on the aids to navigation in which national, industrial, and associate members from around the world gather to discuss new technologies and new policy directions for the enhancement of safe waterway. The  Conference 2018 under the theme ‘Successful Voyages, Sustainable Planet’, will look to discussing ways to coordinate the continuous improvement and harmonization of marine aids to navigation to the benefit of safety of navigation and protection of the environment.

JFC Marine were delighted to showcase to the international market our latest range of Aids to Navigation solutions.

This world-class exhibition and conference help bring together marine professionals, businesses and organisations to improve their strategies for measuring, developing, protecting and operating in the world’s oceans. JFC Marine with over 30 years’ experience manufacturing innovative plastic products, manufacture and supply a complete range of precision engineered navigation buoys complete with Atons systems.

JFC Marine will showcase to the international market our latest range of marine aids to navigation solutions at the upcoming Oceanology International 2018. See us at the Enterprise Ireland Pavilion.

February: 

JFC Agri – Dairy Tech – Stoneleigh Park, Coventry, UK

7^th February: https://dairy-tech.uk

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March:

JFC Agri – Rickerby Show – Currock Road, Carlisle, UK

7^th – 8^th March: www.rickerby.net

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April:

JFC Agri – International Fair of Agricultural Technology: Czech Republic

8^th – 12^th April: http://10times.com/agricultural-technology

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May:

JFC Agri – Badminton Horse Trials – Badminton, UK

2^nd – 6^th May: www.badminton-horse.co.uk

JFC Agri – Balmoral Show – Balmoral Park, Maze Long Kesh, Lisburn, Co. Antrim

16^th – 19^th May: http://www.balmoralshow.co.uk/index.html 

JFC Agri – Agro 2018: Braga, Portugal

10^th – -13^th May: http://tofairs.com/expo.php?fair=101754

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June:

JFC Agri – Royal Cornwall Show – Whitecross, Wadebridge, UK

7^th – 9^th June: www.royalcornwallshow.org

JFC Agri – Royal Highland Show – Ingliston, Edinburgh, UK

21^st – 24^th June: www.royalhighlandshow.org

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July:

JFC Agri – OKRA: Oripää, Finland

4^th – 7^th July: http://www.okramaatalous.fi

JFC Agri – Tarmstedter: Tarmstedt, Germany

6^th – 9^th July: http://www.tarmstedter-ausstellung.de

JFC Agri – Ingliston, Edinburgh – Great Yorkshire Showground, Harrogate, UK

10^th – 12^th July: http://greatyorkshireshow.co.uk/

JFC Agri – Royal Welsh Show – Llanelwedd, Builth Wells, Powys, UK

23^rd – 26^th July: www.rwas.wales/royal-welsh-show

JFC Agri – Libramount Fair: Belgium

27^th – 30^th July: http://www.foiredelibramont.be

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August:

JFC Agri – Bonniconlon Show – Bonniconlon, co Mayo, Ireland

6^th August: http://www.bonniconlonshow.ie/

JFC Agri – Tullamore Show – Tullamore, Offaly, Ireland

12^th August: http://tullamoreshow.com/

JFC Agri – Landtage Nord: Wüsting, Oldenburg

24^th – 27^th August: http://www.landtagenord.de

JFC Agri – Norla: Rendsburg, Germany

30^th August – 2^nd September: http://www.norla-messe.de/

JFC Agri – Burghley Horse Trials – Peterborough, Stamford, UK

30^th August – 2^nd September: www.burghley-horse.co.uk

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September:

JFC Agri – Spoga Equine Show: Cologne, Germany

2^nd – 4^th September: http://www.spogahorse.com

JFC Agri – Space: Rennes, France

11^th – 14^th September: http://uk.space.fr

JFC Agri – UK Dairy Day – Telford, Shropshire, UK

12^th September: www.ukdairyday.co.uk

JFC Agri – National Ploughing Championships: Tullamore, Ireland

18^th – 20^th September: http://www.npa.ie/

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November:

JFC Agri – EuroTier: Hannover, Germany

13^th – 16^th September: https://www.eurotier.com

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December:

JFC Agri – Winter Fair: Balmoral Park, Lisburn, Co. Antrim

13^th December: http://www.winterfair.org.uk