HMH Farms Helping to Bridge the Gap in Jamaica’s Goat Meat Importation Bill

The management of HMH Farms in Bushy Park, St. Catherine, is looking to capitalise on the domestic demand for goat meat and quality animal stock.

Managing Director of the farm, which specialises in livestock, genetic goat meat, and tabletop eggs, Hjort Henry, is cognisant of Jamaica’s importation pattern and, as such, is intent on repositioning his operations as the solution to boosting the 15 to 20 per cent of goat meat produced locally for domestic consumption.

Mr. Henry, who copped the 2022 Jamaica Business Development Corporation (JBDC) Building Opportunities for Strong Success (BOSS) Man of the Year Award, says “we hope to help close the gap in the country’s importation bill of goat meat and food items such as eggs and broiler chicken”.

He adds that winning the award is a major achievement, not just for him but the business in general.

“Winning this award really gives me validation for my journey, HMH Farms and for persons who are looking to do business with us. It also offers to our customers that added reassurance that the person behind the business is competent,” Mr. Henry further states.

The farm, which occupies four acres of land, has approximately 1,000 chickens and 54 goats that supply eggs and meat to other local businesses.

Genetic goats are also reared and sold to other farmers looking to improve their breed stock or herd quality.

Despite Mr. Henry being on a mission to achieve significant outcomes, his foray into entrepreneurship was born out of a need to create a passive income.

Beginning in 2019, just before the onset of COVID-19, his greatest concern with the then-newly established business was the pandemic’s restriction of movement.

Mr. Henry tells JIS News that COVID-19 shifted many persons’ perspective, “and forced us to realise that food security is essential and that we need to focus more on agriculture and consuming foods from farm to plate”.

“I actually found that more persons were interested in getting something directly from the farm because they were unable to go to the supermarket or wholesale, either because of the restricted movements or the fear of the pandemic itself,” he points out, noting that he, too, was affected by the pandemic.

Consequent on this, Mr. Henry says he “took a positive spin on it [and] started the farm”.

HMH Farms had the good fortune of having the Jamaica Business Development Corporation (JBDC) Accelerator Programme to offer additional guidance throughout the initial months of the operation.

Launched in 2017, the six-month intensive programme aims to provide businesses with access to finance and allows participants to benefit from training, mentorship, networking, increased sales, business growth, and financing opportunities.

Mr. Henry points out that “throughout the Accelerator Programme, we had to complete a series of deep-dive business assessments, make presentations to Board members, [undertake] assessment of numbers, [as well as] increase in operational capacity, increase in production, increase in sales, and proper structure and governance”.

He adds that there were also persons who came on board to access their businesses and highlight areas for improvement.

Notwithstanding the challenges, Mr. Henry and his three-member staff were able to stay the course.

Detailing a typical day on the farm, he tells JIS News that each begins at 6:00 a.m. with an observation of the animals, after which they are given fresh water and food.

“We feed the birds first, because their day starts a little bit earlier. They are up from about 4:00 a.m. because of our automated light system. The layer birds have to get 16 hours of light, so we have a timer that comes on at 4:00 a.m. So, for that two-hour window, before somebody reaches them at 6:00 a.m., they’re there waiting for their food, so we feed them first,” Mr. Henry points out.

He says the goats are, thereafter, attended to before some are released on to the farm to graze.

Mr. Henry explains that while some goats would go out to graze, “the mothers who are heavy in kid or within a month of giving birth would stay in”.

“We ensure that they get their supply of hay and vitamins in their water, as some mothers may have pregnancy complications or a bad pregnancy, also called pregnancy toxemia. As such, they are kept inside for close monitoring,” he adds.

Pregnancy toxemia occurs when drastically low levels of glucose in the blood damage the brain and result in dehydration, kidney failure and potentially death.

Mr. Henry says after all the animals have been fed, “we do our first collection of eggs at about 10:30 a.m., the second at 12:30 p.m. and then the final collection at 4:30 p.m.”. This, he informs, allows for the collection of roughly 830 eggs daily.

While entrepreneurship has its ups and downs, Mr. Henry tells JIS News that what he enjoys most about the journey is being able to bring his idea to life, which has created employment for others.

On the downside, he shares that “the journey can be quite lonely”.

“You are accountable for every decision which may or may not work out in your favour, and you must live with and, hopefully, learn from that decision,” he adds.

Mr. Henry recounts that in the earlier stages of the operations, it was difficult to measure the success of the business based on profitability.

But as time progressed, he documented the milestones that needed to be reached, prayed over them, and formed a support system of close family and friends to help him achieve each.

“When we acquired the land, it was four acres of bush. So, we had to put in road, light, water and a bridge to get on to the land. As we went along, we created a to-do list for each task that needed to be accomplished, and that was how we measured the growth and success of the business,” Mr. Henry shares.

To this end, Mr. Henry encourages new business owners to develop a plan or a goal and document this.

“By putting it on paper, you’re taking it out of your head and bringing it to life. Once on the paper, pray over it and form a strong support team, and then break down the plan into small steps and just take your time and go at it,” he says.