“I did a two-year apprenticeship in organic animal and vegetable farming,” he says. “Then I came home to Ireland with my wife Yuki in 2003.

“We bought the two fields here in Athy because I’d always had a deep interest in agriculture and horticulture and I wanted to start my own farm, but with a unique twist.”

Liam chose the Kildare holding because of its suitability for organic farming.

“The soil here is perfect,” he says. “It’s deep loam, which makes it ideal for working with in any weather conditions. It’s not too light and not too heavy. It has a gentle slope and is naturally very fertile.”

The land was bare, with no buildings or crops in place when Liam bought it, but that soon changed.

“We began converting the land to organic in 2003 and achieved full Irish Organic Association (IOA) certification three years later,” he says.

Despite his training, it was a steep learning curve

“We grew our first crops in 2004 as a trial. We just grew a few things such as lettuce, bunch carrots and peas. I think the best way is to try something yourself — that’s when you really learn.”

Liam continued to develop the land, erecting four polytunnels of varying sizes and continuing to trial-grow an array of fruit and vegetable crops to determine which worked best for him.

“I always wanted to sell organic produce directly so when I established a large enough quantity the first year, I began selling from the farm,” he says.

“Initially it was just a very small amount of purely our own produce, but as we went on, we decided to expand our range to give customers more variety, and we began importing some seasonal produce from within Europe.”

Liam began taking some of his produce to the newly established Carlow Farmers’ Market.

“The market started off well and has been thriving since, with lots of local producers getting involved. When I started selling there it was just me, now it takes four of us to manage the stall every Saturday,” he says.

With the help of Kildare LEADER, Liam bought a stall trailer, from which he now sells his produce on the farm.

“It is really convenient. We have extended by adding two canopies either side of the trailer as things have gotten even busier since the pandemic hit,” he says.

“I think people now appreciate more where their food comes from and how it is produced.”

Liam grows 18 different crops of fruit and vegetables, and it’s busy all year round on Moyleabbey farm.

“March through June are busy months with soil preparation and sewing and planting,” he says. “June to October is our peak season where the greatest amount of produce can be harvested.

“Then from November to February some of the more tender plants tend to stop growing, but much of the others continue all year through.”

Liam hires contractors to take care of some of the heavier work on the farm and does the rest himself.

“Good, fast machinery is needed for some aspects, and it saves us time by hiring people who specialise in this type of work,” he says.

Liam’s working day is long and the work can be labour-intensive.

“Typically, I work 60-70 hours a week, which I don’t think is uncommon for farmers in general,” he says.

“We grow most of our crops outdoors and some in our polytunnels. Everything is maintained and harvested by hand.

“We till, weed and ridge with tractors. Ridging is a cheap and effective way of weeding and works particularly well for growing crops such as sweetcorn, broad beans and leeks. We complement the tractor work with hand-weeding and harvesting.”

Being organic, Liam doesn’t use any chemicals or pesticides and relies on crop rotation and natural methods only.

He also buys produce from eight other local producers and continues to import a small amount of seasonal fruit and vegetables, such as oranges and avocados, from within Europe.

Liam doesn’t do ‘field scale’ crops as he feels they wouldn’t suit his farming system.

“You need good machinery and specialist equipment for sewing and harvesting the likes of carrots and potatoes.

“We hand-harvest everything and don’t try to compete with machinery,” he says.

Instead, Liam has perfected the art of producing smaller-scale crops such as French beans, cucumbers, apples, pod peas and strawberries.

“Strawberries are in season so they’re keeping us busy,” he says. “We don’t do standard varieties. We grow them for taste.”

Liam buys his strawberry plants yearly and grows them outdoors in high ridges.

“We do six different varieties of bare-root strawberry plants, to extend the season, but we still only get eight weeks,” he says.

“Our neighbour makes nice big ridges for us that come up about a metre or so. These ridges make it so much easier maintenance-wise and when it comes to picking the strawberries.”

The ridges are covered in mypex plastic, which allows water and air to get through.

“Holes are burned in the plastic, into which the plants are inserted.

Liam grows quite a bit of his produce both indoors and outdoors, using plastic as he finds it great for keeping weeds at bay and it’s also highly reusable.

Organic livestock aren’t on Liam’s agenda, although he says that chickens would be a welcome addition to his farm.

“They would match our organic farming system very well and there is definitely a demand for free-range, organic eggs, but I don’t have the time or experience to pursue it.”

What level of start-up costs did you incur?

Start-up costs were around €30,000 for a basic shed to store the produce, polytunnels and machinery such as a small tractor.

Q&A: ‘I still put 20pc of the profit back into the business yearly in order to develop it’ 
 

How much time was needed to get the business off the ground?

It took four years to get up and running properly. I started on a part-time basis in 2004 and went full-time in 2008.

Was financing readily available from the banks?

I haven’t availed of bank financing. I know there are different types of loans available for rural start-up businesses, though.

I have depended totally on Credit Union loans for the times I needed financing.

Was there any grant aid available?

LEADER was helpful in early days and gave me a grant for buying my stall, which I use as my farm shop.

I also got grant aid from the Department of Agriculture and the Local Enterprise Office for organic development which was a great help.

Did you find any support bodies or agencies particularly helpful?

I find the Teagasc farm Walks and advisors beneficial .

The Irish Organic Association, National Organic Training, Skillnet and Organic Growers of Ireland have also been fantastic regarding learning more, advice and mentorship.

Have you found any external programmes/resources helpful?

We are registered with WWOOF Ireland (World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms).

Through WWOOF we host young people from all over the world who wish to learn more about organic and sustainable farming.

These people stay with us free of charge and get their meals with us, and in return they help on the farm.

Without the help of these young people, we might not be able to do what we do. We all learn from each other.

Was insurance required?

We just require normal farm insurance, which isn’t difficult to get.

Was planning permission required?

No, I got a planning exemption for the farm shed, and the polytunnels don’t require planning permission as they are movable structures rather than permanent.

What has been your main challenge?

Continuing to finance the business. I still put 20pc of the profit back into the business yearly in order develop it.

Moyleabbey Farm shop operates every Friday from 12-7pm; Liam also sells his produce every Saturday at the Carlow Farmers’ Market from 9-2pm.