Ireland has some of the best land in the world for growing crops, while certain parts of the country are better than others.
The growing and harvesting of crops is big business in the coastal areas around Dublin, particularly in the north of the county where many people are involved in the farming industry.
For this month’s edition of Irish Tractor & Agri, we profile a family ran farm that provide potatoes, wheat and barley to the Irish market.
Baldurgan Farm is run by the father and son team of David and Peter Garrigan who operate from their land located in Ballyboughal, Co Dublin.
David has been involved in farming crops all his life and has picked up invaluable experience over the years, which has stood him in good stead, especially through some difficult times.
All David’s experience came from what he learned from his father Noel who also spent all his life farming and the knowledge he picked up was handed down to his son.
David and Peter farm in the region of 120 acres of potatoes, feed wheat and feed barley. Their combinable crops are mostly winter, with 60 acres of winter barley and 600 acres of winter wheat.
“I have been involved in farming all my life and we focus mainly on harvesting potatoes, wheat and barley. We have a good customer base that like our products,” said David.
“Our customers have been with us many years and as long as we are producing quality products then they are happy.”
David admitted that a good yield depends on a number of factors with the Irish weather playing massive part in this.
“Of course, the weather is something that you have to work around, but fortunately it has been relatively kind to us over the past couple of years.
“In the winter time, our main focus is on maintaining the plant and ensuring that it is ready for the peak time. We would do some maintenance work ourselves, but more of it is done by local mechanics.
The Garrigan’s list of machinery is impressive to say the least as they operate Fendt, Massey and John Deere tractors as well as Grimme self-propelled harvesters, amazon sprayers to name just some of the plant.
“Indeed any of the machinery that we buy us generally bought from dealers within a few mile radius of us here. We have a good relationship with all the dealers including Grimme, Hanlon’s, Farmworks, Leinster Hydraulics, Kevin Woods and John Kenny.”
David has been aided full time by his son Peter since 2008 after he graduated from farming college, while they also have two full-time employees.
A typical day for the Garrigan’s sees them grade and pack potatoes in the morning, followed by deliveries and then digging in the afternoon. They have an automated unit for grading and packing, and have enough cold storage in the yard for 1,300 tonnes of potatoes, keeping them at 2-3°C.
“The acreage of potatoes that we grow varies from between 120 and 150 acres each year. We would rotate the potatoes throughout the farm in a once every four years rotation. The potatoes are sprouted first, with controlled light and temperature, and are planted in March.
“Our potatoes go to local packers, such as a Super Valu and Centra, and also to the chipping market. We also supply a lot of wholesalers. The varieties we grow are Queens, Maris Piper and Rooster. Maris Piper is our main variety – it is a white skinned potato grown for the chipping industry.”
David revealed that an influx of potatoes from foreign markets is not helping the Irish grower at all and he feels that the Government should be doing more to protect them.
“The cost per ton of potatoes is down and the volume going out is not as large as it used to be. There is an oversupply coming in from the U.K and mainland Europe, which is not helping our cause.
“All we want to do is make a living and the Government are not helping us achieve that. We just want fair play and to sell our potatoes for a reasonable price. This situation needs to be addressed soon otherwise, you could see a lot of potato growers go out of business.”
David admitted that grain prices are low at the moment. “The grain prices are very disheartening. Like most farmers, we are regretting that we had not forward sold this year. We sell our grain straight off the combine, as the potatoes take up so much yard space, to Whites Agri and Drummonds Agri. This which worked out well this year as the grain moistures are low.”
So what does the future hold for this hard working family? David and Peter are looking at expanding the business, while the machinery will be upgraded when necessary.
“We would hope to expand and maximise our potato enterprise, although this is difficult with the amount of acreage we have. We may look into gaining more land, or trying new ways to maximise our current yield. We need to find a new market and make the potatoes more marketable and easier to sell. At the moment, there are too many potato growers and the market is saturated.”
David & Peter Garrigan
Baldurgan Farm,
Ballyboughal,
Co Dublin.
Taken from Irish Tractor & Agri magazine Vol 3 No 3, April 2015
