The Irish Soft Fruit Growers Association was established back in 1992 and speaks on behalf of soft fruit producers throughout the Ireland. Chairman Gary McCarthy highlighted the good work that’s going on and their ambitions for the future.
The association represents 90% of the Irish soft fruit grown and sold through the retail multiples.
Current chairman Gary McCarthy of McCarthy’s Strawberry farm has been an ever present on the committee right from the beginning and his finger prints are all over the great progress that has been made in the sector since.
He highlights a knowledge and idea sharing approach amongst its members as being the cornerstone of the Association’s continued development.
“It all started when there was a bus load of strawberry growers away on an education trip to Holland 25 years ago,” Gary explained. “I met up with the likes of James Kearns from Wexford and Pat Clarke from County Meath and we stared chatting.
“Back then practically all strawberries were grown outdoors in Wexford. We had been salad growers on our farm but had just started to get into strawberries. I had good knowledge on glass houses and tunnels, which were coming in at that time for soft fruit, and a good knowledge of production. The traditional fruit growers possessed the expertise in strawberries.
“Bord Bia helped us get started and have supported the industry ever since. Now practically 100% of strawberry, raspberry and blueberry production is grown indoors in Ireland.”
Irish strawberries are synonymous with the Irish summer but growers, like Gary, have made sizable investments on their farms to extend the production season.
“Strawberries are now available to buy from April to the end of October. That has come from continuous improvement by the whole industry. Everybody upped their game and production and that’s a good news story.”
The growth in strawberry consumption has been welcome news for the industry, and a reward for the hard work made to grow the category. Strawberries are an increasingly popular choice among consumers as a tasty, low calorie, convenient snack.
“The market has been fairly buoyant in recent years. As an industry, we have invested heavily over the years in tunnels, glass and plastics and that has enabled us to really up the standard. Customers expect top quality every time, and rightly so. Demand has steadily increased over the last 10 years and that’s another big positive.”
McCarthy’s Strawberry farm is a third-generation family business located between Sallins and Straffan in County Kildare. Gary is following in the footsteps of his father Albert and grandfather Thomas. His nine-year-old daughter Hazel isn’t afraid of getting her hands dirty when duty calls!
The family business has been trading for more the 40 years and they are proud to say that they specialise in fresh quality approved Irish strawberries for the Irish market even to this day.
Each step in the process from planting to harvesting, packing and delivery is supervised by family members. This ensures that quality is always the main focus at all times. As soon as the strawberries have been picked they are chilled immediately to ensure that the “just picked” freshness is maintained for maximum shelf life.
McCarthy’s friendly staff has always been a key asset in their work place. Seasonal employment is consistent on the farm with over 35 staff members during the busy harvesting time but Gary predicts that there likely to be trouble over the horizon in that regard.
“The one negative we’re constantly hearing about from members and are experiencing ourselves is a labour shortage.
“It’s nearing critical levels and has the potential to be a huge problem over the next year or two. Not so long ago we had no difficulty in recruiting reliable and dependable staff but now what we’re finding is that a lot of them are back on the building site or working in hotels or retail.
“A lot more nice, clean jobs have come on stream and you can’t blame people for wanting to go down that route but that’s what we, as an industry, are up against. Strawberry production is very labour intensive. The produce is picked and packed by hand and that’s a big challenge for us as we look ahead to the future.”
On a more positive note, National Strawberry Week – which has been on the go for the past decade – has proven to be an inspired idea. The annual campaign takes place over the first week in June and celebrates all that is good about the Irish strawberry sector.
It aims to encourage consumers to enjoy more strawberries as the summer season approaches and Irish crops are at peak production.
National Strawberry Week is designed to be a consumer information campaign which includes an on pack competition, primary school activities and an interactive website that includes delicious seasonal recipe suggestions.
Strawberries are an ideal healthy treat, low in calories and provide the perfect way to get one of the five recommended portions of fruit and vegetables a day. They are also naturally high in vitamin C.
“National Strawberry Week reminds people about the quality, freshness and taste of Irish strawberries and helps us achieve one of our main aims which is to keep Irish strawberries on the shelves of our supermarkets and shops all the time.”
McCarthy Strawberries
Daars
Sallins
Co Kildare
Tel: 01 627 0140
Web: www.mccarthystrawberries.ie
Taken from Irish Tractor & Agri magazine Vol 6 No 1, February 2018
