As one of the largest growers of potatoes and onions in Ireland, Country Crest’s passion for producing the best quality food drives everything they do.
From the relationships they have established with local Irish and international farmers and the loyalty of their workers, to their sustainability principles and their commitment to innovation and constant improvement.
With brothers Michael and Gabriel Hoey at the helm, such passion has allowed the Lusk, Co Dublin-based enterprise to grow and such passion has ensured that their customers get only the highest quality food available.
Their vision is to become an ever more successful and diverse Agri-Food business, while remaining true to their core and, most importantly, true to nature. They know how important it is to respect and nurture the purity and power of the land because this will influence our lives now, and for generations to come.
Country Crest is a promise of passion, purity and integrity in everything they do. And will do.
The Hoey family boasts a farming heritage in North County Dublin spanning 100 years and, today, their company Country Crest is still producing the freshest produce on the family farm.
The fourth generation of the Hoey family, Michael and Gabriel, established Country Crest in 1993.
Set up to grow and pre-pack fresh potatoes for the retail sector, Country Crest has built strong relationships with the best Irish growers and national retailers who appreciate their passion for authenticity, innovation and the best possible produce.
Back in February, 2013, the Hoeys placed their trust in Monasterboice, Co Louth native Thomas Murphy to oversee the smooth running of their 3,000 acre farm as manager and he hasn’t let them down.
“If you didn’t enjoy it’s not a job you could do,” Thomas remarked to Irish Tractor & Agri magazine.
“It’s a brilliant place to work,” he added. “It’s very much a family orientated farm rather than a commercial enterprise. Both Michael and Gabriel spend a lot of time down here on the farm and Michael regularly jumps behind the wheel of a tractor or a combine harvester. He’s more of a doer than a boss.
“Gabriel takes a keen interest in the cattle end of things. Both of them are here to help, not to stand over you as a boss and they are fairly unique in that sense.”
In 1995, Minister Noel Davern officially opened a new facility for washing, grading and packing potatoes. The €3.8 million investment represented a state-of-the art development for Country Crest and resulted in a doubling of staff.
Ten years later, the Hoey brothers set about reviving an almost obsolete industry, making a €4 million investment in a state-of-the-art onion grading, packaging and primary storage facility.
This state-of-the-art 3,000 tonne storage and drying facility harvests their Irish onion crop.
In 2008, they recognised the opportunity to add to their existing produce business by establishing a prepared foods divisions, focusing on quality vegetable accompaniments and main meal dishes which leads to the creation of Ballymaguire Foods.
Winter and spring cereals, as well as grasses, are also grown on their agri-food site, thereby creating the most sustainable food sources for their Ballymaguire Foods meal solutions division.
The company’s focus on sustainability was enhanced with the introduction of an 80 metre on-site wind turbine which supplies over 60% of their energy needs in 2009.
The integration of sustainability with their business philosophy, coupled with the implementation of a variety of innovative sustainability initiatives, results in Country Crest winning the 2011 Bord Bia Food & Drink Industry Sustainability Award.
They were then invited to become a pilot company for Bord Bia’s Origin Green Sustainability Development Programme.
Country Crest now also boasts their own cattle feeding unit on site. This allows them complete and assured traceability of quality beef, specifically the cuts they use for their prepared foods division.
Traceability is an integral part of the company’s ethos and a practice that remains of the highest priority across all divisions: fresh produce, farming and prepared foods manufacturing.
Working around the clock at peak season, Thomas’s responsibility is to ensure that the farm runs efficiently and profitably and he is highly skilled in all aspects of the farm business. He is currently gearing up for the start of the potato sowing season.
“This is our down time at the minute, ever since we finished harvesting the potatoes in the second week of November. We’ve a qualified mechanic looking after all the maintenance work on the machinery to make sure that everything is good to go for the Spring.
“We get a good bit of hedge cutting done at this time of year and also help out with the cattle. Cattle is a big thing for us and Niall Harford is running that end of the farm for me. He’s been with us five to six years now and he has more knowledge on cattle than I have – so I don’t interfere, I just do what he says!
“We also have a full butchers in our farm shop in Donabate and that’s also a big outlet for our meat,” Thomas revealed.
Open Monday to Saturday (9am to 6pm) and Sunday (10am to 6pm), The Country Crest Farm Shop is located at Jones Garden Centre, Donabate, Co Dublin. Proudly celebrating local Irish flavours, families and food talents, whether you buy crisp fresh vegetables, succulent cuts of the finest meat, hand-made quality meals or a farmstead cheese, you really are ‘shopping local’ at the Country Crest Farm Shop.
Country Crest
Rathmooney
Lusk,
Co. Dublin.
Tel: +353 1 843 7061
Fax: +353 1 843 9492
E-mail: [email protected]
Website: www.countrycrest.ie
Taken from Irish Tractor & Agri magazine Vol 6 No 3, May 2018
