As a population, we Irish have become more conscious about what we eat nowadays. The increase in awareness to the benefits of eating healthy has resulted in a spike in the popularity of organic food and the emergence of businesses such as the award-winning Beechlawn* Organic Farm of Galway are helping to satisfy the customer demand.
Husband and wife duo Padraig Fahy and Una Ní Bhroin both graduated from The Organic College, Dromcollogher, Co Limerick with Diplomas in Organic Horticulture back in 2000 and a shared concern for the environment sowed the seeds for the setting up of their own organic farm – Beechlawn Organic Farm in Ballinasloe, Co Galway.
The business germinated in 2001 when they began the garden, which they nurtured producing their first fruits in 2002.
“Both of us were interested in environmental issues so setting up an organic farm and growing our own vegetables was the next step,” Padraig recalled when speaking to Irish Tractor & Agri magazine.
“We wanted to do something practical and Una had worked on a number of farms in Ireland. I grew up on a farm and in my mid-20s I found myself drawn back to farming. Both of my grandfathers were market farmers.
Padraig added: “We started growing commercially in 2002, gradually building up the business since then. We started out just the two of us but we now employ six full-time and two part-time employees.
“We had 22 acres in crop last year and eight acres in rotation. Our ambition is to build that up to 40 acres this year, with 30 in production and 10 in rotation.”
To help their customers lead an achievable healthy and organic lifestyle, Padraig and Una grow and supply only fully certified organic vegetables in Ballinasloe and all their produce is available to buy on the shelves of leading retails chains including 14 SuperValu stores and many independent stores like McCambridges of Shop Street Galway, Mortons of Salthill, Quay Co-op in Cork and Cavistons of Glasthule. Since October 2014 Beechlawn veg is also selling in AVOCA stores in Monkstown, Kilmacanoge and Rathcoole. Their leeks also sell in Tesco in the summer under the Tesco brand organic line.
Naturally, their range of products varies from season to season throughout the year. From June to October they harvest salads, beetroot, broccoli, cabbage, carrot, cauliflower, celeriac, celery, courgette, cucumber, french beans, kale, parsnip, potato, pumpkin, tomato, purple sprouting broccoli and turnip.
From November to March they harvest: cabbage, carrots, parsnip, and turnip; winter salads: brussel sprouts, kale, beetroot; and purple sprouting broccoli, cauliflower and celery.
Since Summer 2013, they sell Irish and imported dried wholefoods including Kilbeggan Organic oats, wholegrain brown rice and pumpkin seeds and other items in their home delivery veg box which sells through the internet webshop www.beechlawnfarm.org
As well as their veg being on sale in over 50 shops in Ireland in 2014 and they are no strangers to awards. Four years ago their Organic Veg Delivery box was the winner of the ‘Best Local Organic Product’ award at the Bord Bia National Organic Awards.
As recently as last October, their Sungold orange cherry tomatoes won the ‘Best New Organic Product’ at the same awards. In revealing their decision, the judges commented: ‘We are blown away by the sheer flavour of this product; we could eat them all day! They will especially appeal to children thanks to their delicious sweet taste’.
“We were up against very good companies like Glenisk yoghurt and we won on the totally new taste of these particular cherry tomatoes,” Padraig explained. “As well as the particular cherry tomato seed variety, the judges put it down to our growing method, the high organic matter in the soil and crop. Soil is the secret to successful organic production. It’s vital to get that right with soil tests and making sure you get the micro nutrients right.”
As part of an organic horticulture agronomy group, Padraig and Una have received ‘invaluable input’ in that regard from argonomist John Hogan.
“His advice has proven invaluable in terms of simple things like the ideal distance one should have between plants, the development of sometimes complicated machinery skills, and techniques of working efficiently to save time and money.”
Knowledge sharing amongst the 15 members of the agronomy group has also proven to be a secret ingredient in their winning formula.
“We’re involved in a discussion group with other organic growers where we visit each others’ farms, look at issues, share knowledge and generally come away with really good ideas that we can implement on our farms. In our experience that works well once you can trust others to share the good, bad and the ugly.
“Farm tours and open days for our customers and shops also go well. Just hearing the birdsong and seeing how we balance a large commercial production with looking after natural habitats is an eye opener for visitors. There are a few pests and diseases naturally that creep in every year and attack crops but all in all there are very few losses as we grow so much and such a wide variety.
“We use natural pesticides and fertilisers and other growing methods including netting to keep off birds and insects. We also have several weeding implements for the back of our tractors (Massey Fergusson 135- 1968 and Fiat Agri 1989 with a creep gear for the flat bed weeder – two people lying on beds behind the tractor hand weeding! – and other slow moving implements like the veg planter).
“A new piece of machinery at the cutting edge of organic growing is called a mechanical finger weeder and Padraig is doing some research in to getting one at the moment. It spins around the plant knocking weeds out of the soil or covering them with soil. We may need a bigger tractor for it but that is probably inevitable at the rate the business is growing.
“If tractors were not burning fossil fuels and contributing to climate change we would be happier but we are content that we cannot do it all and for the moment we are doing our bit for the planet by growing them organically and are very grateful for our tractors, they do a lot of work for us! We are always looking out for the next invention in the line of machinery so we will keep our ears to the ground. Electric tractors using wind generated electricity is a dream that may not be too far away perhaps.”
New research done in 2014 also proves that Organic food is more nutritious and better for wildlife and the environment. This link has the science behind the study: www.soilassociation.org/
Listed with the Bridgestone Irish Good Food Guide and with Georgina Campbells guides, looking ahead to the future, Padraig and Una are confident that Beechlawn Organic Farm’s trajectory will continue on an upward trend in the months ahead.
“There is a predicted market growth of 25-30% for this year which comes on the back of a difficult 2013/14. Last year was good growing year but we were working on developing good relations with our suppliers and customers. This year we believe we have the best range of organic crops retail ready anywhere in the country. The economy has already taken a turn for the better and we are seeing that in our veg sales since last September.
“So with good weather, hard work, and positivity we plan to build on our brand name thus promoting our farm and growing the business in a sustainable way in 2015. We encourage people to try our veg, see if you notice a difference in the taste.”
Beechlawn Organic Farm
Beechlawn
Ballinasloe
Co Galway
Phone/Fax: +353 (0)90 9646713
Mobile phone: +353 (0)86 1799007
Email: [email protected]
Taken from Irish Tractor & Agri magazine Vol 3 No 2, March 2015
