Tuesday July 07 2009 (Irish Independent)

Kerry sheep farmers are tackling falling margins head on, with a new producer group aiming to open up a range of outlets for local lamb.

The Ring of Kerry Lamb Marketing Group will be launched at the Malton Hotel, Killarney, today.

The producer group, which is supported by the South Kerry Development Partnership, will sell more than 2,500 lambs for around 40 producers, and has targeted several potential outlets for their stock.

One of the more high-profile markets will be the hotel sector. Twenty six top chefs from restaurants around the county will attended today’s launch, where they will taste top-quality, locally produced lamb.

In addition, they will be able to examine samples of vacuum-packed lamb from the producer group.

Michael Gottstein, a local lamb producer and Teagasc sheep specialist, said the initial reaction of the chefs to the concept had been very positive.

He said the idea that restaurants would be able to sell local produce was of obvious benefit. However, he insisted that the county of origin label would not be the primary selling point for Ring of Kerry lamb.

He said the emphasis would be on delivering an excellent product on a consistent basis.

“This is all about guaranteeing quality and ensuring that customers do not have a bad taste experience If a wrong type of lamb is sent to the factory then it won’t be killed,” he said.

However, the Teagasc man said that training would be provided to group members to help them choose the correct stock for slaughter and for sale.

All lambs will have to be castrated and tailed. In addition, lambs will not be allowed to be killed directly from the shed.

The producer group has entered into an agreement with a local butcher, who has been trained in innovative ways of presenting lamb. Another farmer has bought a refrigerated van to deliver the produce to the group’s customers.

The hotel market is not the only initiative being targeted by the Kerry farmers. They also plan to sell frozen lamb directly to consumers — what the group has termed the ‘deep freeze market’.

In addition to special store lamb and replacement female sales, the producers plan to organise light lamb sales, which will be aimed at building a live export trade.

The overall goal is to lift farmer profit to at least €20/ewe.

“This is not a get rich quick scheme. What we are looking for is a fair price for our produce,” Mr Gottstein said.

The producer group hopes to grow its membership and also to increase the number of lambs they market.

The producer group is headed up by former Kerry footballer and sheep farmer, Timmy Fleming.

Padraig Moran, the award-winning sheep producer and shearer from Waterville, is another of the better-known members of the group.

Anyone interested in joining can contact Timmy Fleming on 086 163 4681

- Declan O’Brien

FORGET the days when lettuce consisted of a few limp green leaves at the side of the plate. Down in Kenmare, organic farmer Billy Clifford of Whitethorn Farm is serving up eight different varieties of salad for a customer base which includes two of the county’s most exclusive hotels.

Among the varieties of greens grown on the farm at Killowen is the exotic-sounding Japanese mizuna. Herbs such as basil, coriander and parsley are produced in lavish quantities also for the town’s restaurants.

A UCC arts graduate, Billy originally began to experiment with self-sufficiency on the home farm. About eight or nine years ago, he went totally over to organic methods and began to offer vegetables for sale.

He now uses one and a half acres intensively for vegetables and raises some suckler cows. Ever before organic farming became popular, his interest in the concept grew out of a general concern for the environment and theway farming was going.

By the time he came to grow vegetables commercially, he had already eliminated fertilisers completely from the farm. One of his very first customers was local restaurateur Maura Foley, then based at the Lime Treeand now running the equally successful Packie’s of Henry Street in Kenmare.

The Kenmare wholefood shop, The Pantry, was one of his significant customersin the early days also and still continues to be. The `big names’ on his customer list include Sheen Falls Hotel and the Kenmare Park Hotel.

Everything is propagated in polythenetunnels on the farm and the crops include early potatoes, carrots, lettuce andherbs. Courgettes, cucumber, cherry tomatoes and basil are also grown inthe tunnels.

“Half of the outside area is under lettuce,’’ Billy said. “Anything we’reasked for we’ll grow.’’

Some of the more exotic varieties grown at Whitethorn Farm have included cantalopes and cape gooseberries though Billy jokes that he doesn’t want to be asked for thegooseberries again.

Acres of lettuce conjures up visions of a snail’s paradise, especially since slug pellets are banned. How does he keep the slugs at bay?

Having written at length about the topic in a specialist magazine, Billy hesitates at the thought of being long-winded. He explained that outdoors the margins are strimmed tightly while the tunnelsare `patrolled’ between 10pm and midnight to hand-pick the slugs.

“I don’t have to do it as much as before,’’ he said. “I can remember one night when a friend and myself killed 1,000 slugs. You get verygood at it.’’

Billy supplies both Brook Lane Hotel and No.35 with fresh organic produce. At No35, We believe in supporting local producers. Billy’s farm is located outside Kenmare. This reduces the travel time of the vegetable and ensures that they are always fresh.

Billy is a member of the Irish Organic Farmers and Growers’ Association. He is helped in the business by his wife, Wilhelmina, his son, Robin, andhis sister, Catherine.

Wilhelmina grew a lot of dried flowers at one stage but the market becamesaturated.

The market for organic vegetablesis growing in Kenmare in response to the customer base createdby the quality hotels and restaurants and the cosmopolitan population the town and the surrounding area.

“The demand is growing all the time,’’ Billy said. “Another guy started doing salads the year before last. There are two of us at it now.’’

The Cliffords are practically self-sufficient from a food point of view because as well as growing their own vegetables, they kill their own cattle.