About Us

My name is Colleen McCann. I run Clarkhill Farm alongside my family including my daughter Tess!

The McCann family farm was first started by my grandfather Brian. Less than 100 years ago he was born in the stone houses below! Building which we called “Clarkhill Houses” growing up. The name deriving from our parish town-land in Mullaghbawn where the farm is located called Clarkhill.

The farm is now run by my father Oliver, alongside the rest of my family. I am the second oldest of four. With two sisters and a brother. All of us farming mad! My dad has dedicated his life to building his family farm. His ambition was to build a herd of cows “he could stand and look at” and to “make good land out of bad land”. 

We farm a mix of crossbred Native and Continental Cattle. We do this as we believe it improves hybrid vigour. We prefer the Native breeds such as Aberdeen Angus, Hereford, and Shorthorn for our maternal lines as they are traditionally a better mother. Whist using a mix of Continental genetics from a mix of AI and our own stock bulls using breeds such as Limousine and Charolais for the paternal line to improve carcass conformation and size. 

I developed a passion for sustainable, locally produced food whilst studying for a degree in Agriculture in England. I fell in love with the concept of “Farm to Fork” and believe that diversifications such as this will help the small-scale family farms in Northern Ireland not only survive but thrive! 

My vision for Clarkhill Farm finally became a reality in June 2021 when we started selling our first beef produce!