Every evening the contents of their inbox is the main topic of conversation for the Whyte family in Co Westmeath. How many orders have landed into whyteagri.ie, and from where?
This is the first thing transition year student Jack Whyte checks when he gets in from Moate Community School.
The agri-website, up and running since November of 2023, is a quintessential family business with everyone playing a part in its success. It now sells a huge range of products across the cattle, sheep and equine sectors, which are delivered to the 32 counties from their farm at Keenoge, Ballymore.
With everyone in the household “mad about farming”, Pascal and Dolores were on the lookout for a long time for an opportunity to start a business and diversify from their small sheep and cattle enterprise, having previously bred horses.
“We were a good while looking for a family business that everyone could get involved in. We just fell on this one [the website],” explains Dolores.
Indeed, Pascal, who has over 30 years experience in agricultural sales, adds that it was always his dream to start a business, but he never felt he had the skill set to do it. Now, by bringing the younger generation on board, the “team effort” by everyone has realised a life-long ambition.
“They are the brains behind it,” he says, pointing to the children around the table. “We’re the run-around people,” he adds, smiling. “That’s the truth of it. They [the children] do all the PR, putting up all the orders and the customer service. It’s a family effort.
“They’re [the children] very good on the IT side; we’re sort of lost on that. We’re old school,” he adds, laughing.
Jack (17) explains that he photographs all of the products in a rudimentary studio he has created upstairs and puts them up on the website. He also does the VAT at the end of the month, all of which he has learned since they started the enterprise.
Ben Whyte with Patch the dog checking on his pedigree Keenoge Suffolk sheep. \ Barry Cronin
Learning on the job
“I like the online work. It goes well with the farming because I have a big interest in that as well,” he says.
Promotion is a big part of any online business, so Jack and Ben (14) are also budding videographers, making clips for TikTok and social media to show off their wares.
Ben is also passionate about showing sheep. He has a pedigree Keenoge Suffolk flock of sheep who are his pride and joy. His sister Kate (18), who is doing her Leaving Cert this year, also helps out at different stages. Two years ago, she and her Moate CS classmate Aíne Shortall won a Teagasc award at the BT Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition in the RDS, Dublin, for their innovative project using herbs to treat parasites in horses.
“We went from zero to where we are today,” enthuses Pascal, who grew up on the family dairy farm in Ardagh, Co Longford. “We have been at it for a year and a half, and we’re doing quite well. The orders are coming in. It’s a steady ship at the moment.”
Today, the family are all talking about an order overnight from the Aran Islands.
Calving and lambing essentials are the big sellers at the time of our visit, however, dairy hygiene and hoof care products are popular all year round, explains Jack.
He puts new products on the website every week and hopes to grow their stock from the current 750 to over 1,000 in the future. Looking ahead, he sees more and more farm products relying on technology or robotics.
“We’re always trying to source new products,” interjects Pascal, before adding that they have already been to the EuroTier show in Germany on the hunt for new ideas and will shortly travel to Holland.
Dolores Whyte with Patch the dog. \ Barry Cronin
Advice
When asked what the hardest thing about setting up a family business, Pascal says, “Jumping into the pool, taking the first step. That and the website.” Dolores agrees that taking that move into the unknown was daunting, but ultimately it has paid off with a viable business.
“We’re very passionate about it [the business], and we work very hard at it. When we come home in the evenings, it’s the topic of conversation,” says Pascal, who continues to work full-time in agri-sales. Dolores, who hails from Taughmaconnell in Roscommon, teaches horticulture to people with special needs in Ballinasloe, Co Galway.
Both point to the advantages of keeping the business online only, allowing them to be very competitive on price without the overheads of staff or bricks-and-mortar while enjoying the flexibility it offers.
“It suits the family set-up at the moment,” explains Dolores. It’s a good way to go [operating online] because farmers don’t have a lot of time on their hands. A lot of them are working part-time. You find a lot of them are looking online at night and ordering. We see it as a very good model for the future.”
The internet means a business can operate from anywhere, Pascal believes. “The advice we’d collectively like to give is don’t be afraid to try things out. Research. Don’t dive into it, but research it well first.”
Perhaps they were fortunate with timing or lucky, he says, but one thing is for sure, it’s working.
“There are a lot of variables. If we didn’t have the children to help, we wouldn’t have been able to do it, though,” he says, candidly.
“You have to be prepared to put in the work too,” chips in Dolores, to provide an efficient and timely service that gets repeat customers.
“At the moment there are 750 products on the website. That took a lot of time. It’s great to have the family input because if it was just one person steering it, it would be fairly daunting.”
See whyteagri.ie
Every evening the contents of their inbox is the main topic of conversation for the Whyte family in Co Westmeath. How many orders have landed into whyteagri.ie, and from where?
This is the first thing transition year student Jack Whyte checks when he gets in from Moate Community School.
The agri-website, up and running since November of 2023, is a quintessential family business with everyone playing a part in its success. It now sells a huge range of products across the cattle, sheep and equine sectors, which are delivered to the 32 counties from their farm at Keenoge, Ballymore.
With everyone in the household “mad about farming”, Pascal and Dolores were on the lookout for a long time for an opportunity to start a business and diversify from their small sheep and cattle enterprise, having previously bred horses.
“We were a good while looking for a family business that everyone could get involved in. We just fell on this one [the website],” explains Dolores.
Indeed, Pascal, who has over 30 years experience in agricultural sales, adds that it was always his dream to start a business, but he never felt he had the skill set to do it. Now, by bringing the younger generation on board, the “team effort” by everyone has realised a life-long ambition.
“They are the brains behind it,” he says, pointing to the children around the table. “We’re the run-around people,” he adds, smiling. “That’s the truth of it. They [the children] do all the PR, putting up all the orders and the customer service. It’s a family effort.
“They’re [the children] very good on the IT side; we’re sort of lost on that. We’re old school,” he adds, laughing.
Jack (17) explains that he photographs all of the products in a rudimentary studio he has created upstairs and puts them up on the website. He also does the VAT at the end of the month, all of which he has learned since they started the enterprise.
Ben Whyte with Patch the dog checking on his pedigree Keenoge Suffolk sheep. \ Barry Cronin
Learning on the job
“I like the online work. It goes well with the farming because I have a big interest in that as well,” he says.
Promotion is a big part of any online business, so Jack and Ben (14) are also budding videographers, making clips for TikTok and social media to show off their wares.
Ben is also passionate about showing sheep. He has a pedigree Keenoge Suffolk flock of sheep who are his pride and joy. His sister Kate (18), who is doing her Leaving Cert this year, also helps out at different stages. Two years ago, she and her Moate CS classmate Aíne Shortall won a Teagasc award at the BT Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition in the RDS, Dublin, for their innovative project using herbs to treat parasites in horses.
“We went from zero to where we are today,” enthuses Pascal, who grew up on the family dairy farm in Ardagh, Co Longford. “We have been at it for a year and a half, and we’re doing quite well. The orders are coming in. It’s a steady ship at the moment.”
Today, the family are all talking about an order overnight from the Aran Islands.
Calving and lambing essentials are the big sellers at the time of our visit, however, dairy hygiene and hoof care products are popular all year round, explains Jack.
He puts new products on the website every week and hopes to grow their stock from the current 750 to over 1,000 in the future. Looking ahead, he sees more and more farm products relying on technology or robotics.
“We’re always trying to source new products,” interjects Pascal, before adding that they have already been to the EuroTier show in Germany on the hunt for new ideas and will shortly travel to Holland.
Dolores Whyte with Patch the dog. \ Barry Cronin
Advice
When asked what the hardest thing about setting up a family business, Pascal says, “Jumping into the pool, taking the first step. That and the website.” Dolores agrees that taking that move into the unknown was daunting, but ultimately it has paid off with a viable business.
“We’re very passionate about it [the business], and we work very hard at it. When we come home in the evenings, it’s the topic of conversation,” says Pascal, who continues to work full-time in agri-sales. Dolores, who hails from Taughmaconnell in Roscommon, teaches horticulture to people with special needs in Ballinasloe, Co Galway.
Both point to the advantages of keeping the business online only, allowing them to be very competitive on price without the overheads of staff or bricks-and-mortar while enjoying the flexibility it offers.
“It suits the family set-up at the moment,” explains Dolores. It’s a good way to go [operating online] because farmers don’t have a lot of time on their hands. A lot of them are working part-time. You find a lot of them are looking online at night and ordering. We see it as a very good model for the future.”
The internet means a business can operate from anywhere, Pascal believes. “The advice we’d collectively like to give is don’t be afraid to try things out. Research. Don’t dive into it, but research it well first.”
Perhaps they were fortunate with timing or lucky, he says, but one thing is for sure, it’s working.
“There are a lot of variables. If we didn’t have the children to help, we wouldn’t have been able to do it, though,” he says, candidly.
“You have to be prepared to put in the work too,” chips in Dolores, to provide an efficient and timely service that gets repeat customers.
“At the moment there are 750 products on the website. That took a lot of time. It’s great to have the family input because if it was just one person steering it, it would be fairly daunting.”
See whyteagri.ie
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