Farm businesses of the future

Box scheme

It was an itch which had to be scratched. This is how Irish farmer John McCormick describes his entry into the world of organic farming at the age of 40.

That was in 1991 and cash was in short supply. He used all his savings to lease some land from the nearby Clandeboye Estate in Bangor, County Down, bought some machinery, a van ‘and that was it’.

Trading under the name of Helen’s Bay Organic Gardens, John started growing summer vegetables and winter greens. He supplied a few local restaurants through the North Down Group wholesaler, but the main thrust of the business was the organic box scheme. He sold direct to the public from his weekly stall at St George’s Market in Belfast, and used the van to deliver to local households during the week.

“The box scheme really took off, but I was limited in what I could offer as a single producer because of the high clay content in my soil. I decided to rebrand as Root and Branch Organics and start buying in from other organic producers.”

About 65 per cent of what is put in the boxes is sourced locally and John buys in carrots, potatoes and eggs. The boxes are priced from £7.50 to £13.50, depending on size and content.

He manages his crops by rotating what he grows over a five-year period. To build up the fertility in the clay-rich soil, he feeds it with organic chicken manure and plants clover.

With four members of staff on board, his fresh produce boxes are now delivered to 300 households a week where two vans cover Greater Belfast, North Down, Lisburn and Hillsborough.

The stall at St George’s is still going strong and John also sells at a bi-monthly market at the Victoria Square Shopping Centre in Belfast.

“Both outlets are very valuable windows to attract new households to join the box scheme while being profitable in themselves as sales centres.”

He has come up with a novel concept of getting the physical product further than the current three-county base.

“We’re developing a series of hub centres. The idea is to leave 10-15 bags in one place and for a £1 discount, people can come and pick it up from there.”

Another benefit is the centres will cut down on road miles and also, he hopes, spread the message of buying and eating organic.

Organic produce

So far, a hairdresser in Belfast’s Botanic Avenue and the Belfast Mission have signed up; not the first places you think of to purchase organic produce, but John sees no reason why you should not be able to get courgettes at the same time as a cut and colour.

“It’s a slow start though, at the minute, we’re finding that people would rather pay the extra pound and have the stuff delivered straight to their door, but I’m hoping it will work in some of the more outlying areas like Fermanagh and Tyrone.

“The internet is hugely important to the business so I’m using Facebook and Twitter to get the word out there and hopefully the hub centres will grow as well as the hispi cabbages.”

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