We need small-scale food production as an answer to a lot of our problems, according to Janet Power and Jenny Watkins, the couple behind Gorse Farm in Bunclody, which supplies organic salad leaves to SuperValu supermarkets in Wexford and Wicklow.
Having established a thriving enterprise on just 3ac, they said they see value in doing the work, demonstrating that a living can be made through small-scale production.
“We as a country could be a lot more resilient and we need to encourage and support young people to enter the small farm sector,” Janet said,
Succession is still very much biased towards males and this is something we need to look at as a country, they contended.
“We are grateful that we have land. The fact is that this is out of the reach of so many other women and young people,” she added.
Against the backdrop of the 50th Pride festival celebrations taking place in Dublin this weekend, the couple said that being different, in whatever context, can be challenging. However, they said they feel accepted and supported where they live.
“What motivates us is to show how diversity brings strength and resilience, both in how we farm, and manage the land and in what we bring to our community,” said Janet.
Jenny was given a 3ac site by her uncle. Along with her business and life partner, Janet, she established the small scale horticulture venture in Dromcollogher on the Carlow/Wexford border, in the summer of 2016, in an area dominated by beef and sheep enterprises.
“We were both interested in horticulture, both interested in local food production. Without much deliberation, we said that we would give it a go,” said Janet who grew up on a dairy farm in Co. Limerick.
While on an internship in Kildinan farm in Co. Cork, after graduating from the Organic College, An tIonad Glas, Jenny had observed the success of a ‘cut and come again’ mixed salad leaf horticulture business supplying local supermarkets.
They decided to replicate this business model at Gorse Farm: “We put up a couple of polytunnels. We got a couple of mushroom tunnels, sourced locally in Co. Carlow, and we got a container,” said Janet.
By the following September, they had a product to sell.
“We went down to the local SuperValu in Bunclody and just presented them with this mixed salad bag. Their response was immediately positive: ‘Yeah, that looks great. Bring us in five or 10 of them on Monday and we will see how we get on.’ It just continued on from there.
“Within a few weeks, we tried and succeeded with the same approach in the SuperValu in Enniscorthy, which is owned by the Pettitt family.
“Having successfully established in Enniscorthy, we had a straightforward route into their other stores in Wexford town and Gorey,” she continued.
Salad production is the core of the business and provides 80% of their income. Gorse Farm salad is also available in restaurants and cafes across Wexford. It was established so quickly, that by 2018 the farm had reached peak salad leaf production.
Janet and Jenny took two very different paths before arriving at a life together on Gorse Farm. Janet studied science and worked in the pharmaceuticals industry for 10 years.
At the age of 32, she left her career to look for a complete change in lifestyle.
“I was looking for something that was more in keeping with my own beliefs and interests,” Janet added.
After a few years of travelling abroad and volunteering through the Willing Workers on Organic Farms (WWOOF) programme, Janet found herself back in Limerick and enrolled at the Organic College (An tIonad Glas) in Dromcollogher,
Jenny who had grown up in Co. Carlow, graduated in 2008 as a ceramic artist. However, due to the recession and the lack of opportunities available for artists at the time, she looked to what she had – a 3ac field given to her by her uncle – and decided to study organic horticulture.
She had recently graduated when Janet arrived in Dromcollogher. They soon found each other and eventually decided to build a life and small-scale venture together.
Thanks to Jenny’s parents living next door, as an interim measure they were able to access electricity and water quickly. This low input set up meant that the tunnels were ready by July and a winter crop was planted immediately.
The Pettitt family have since built a SuperValu store in Bray, Co. Wicklow and Gorse Farm is now selling product there too. Gorse Farm salad is also available in a number of restaurants and cafes across Wexford.
It was established so quickly that by 2018 the farm had reached peak salad leaf production.
Small-scale food production
Janet and Jenny also get income from other fruits and vegetable crops.
“We have done veg boxes, particularly during Covid when there was huge demand. We have the honesty box which we fill up in the summertime. It’s a nice way to sell produce that we wouldn’t be channelling through the supermarket,” Janet said.
Gorse Farm now has five polytunnels covering 600m² of land, as well as 1500m² of uncovered land dedicated to mixed salad and vegetable production.
The salad leaf business will not be getting any bigger, according to Janet: “It’s as big as it is going to get. There is a lot of routine – we follow a certain formula. It works well for us.”
Gorse Farm is registered with the Irish Organic Association with Jenny currently sitting on the board.
They are participating in the Basic Income Support for Sustainability (BISS) and are receiving financial assistance for their business through the Organic Farming Scheme (OFS), both of which are funded by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM).
The OFS encourages farmers to produce organic food through financial supports and is additional income which is used for further investments in the Gorse Farm business.
As female farmers with an alternative enterprise, Janet and Jenny feel they are well respected in the community for having created and sustained a successful business on a small parcel of land.
“We often receive positive remarks from neighbours about the hedgerows and diversity of native tree cover we have established. I think most people appreciate also the level of work we put into our farm,” said Jenny.
With the core business established, there are a lot of other developments currently happening on the farm.
The couple hope to provide training courses on the farm in the near future and also intend to return to Social Farming soon.
Tree planting, in the form of hedgerows and shelter belts, is an annual occurrence during the winter months.
“While the business offers a great sense of achievement, we probably feel most proud about the level of biodiverse habitat we have created on our farm in the last eight years,” said Jenny.
“It’s a simple enough lifestyle but we make it work. We enjoy it but there is a certain amount of pig headedness in it too. It’s nice to be self-employed and it’s lovely to grow your own food. It’s a privilege to be able to do that,” she added.
More information is available on the CAP Network Ireland website.