Waterfall Farms

A name to look out for on menus when dining out in the Cork region, the Waterfall Farms enterprise began in a small way, in 1967 when Declan and Rosemary Martin started growing a few vegetables and salads here, although the farm itself goes back much further. The Martins have developed it a lot since then and the business now comprises two farms with a combined size of about 100 acres, which allows them to rotate the crops and use about a third at a time so the soil can be rested

Declan and Rosemary are still involved but their sons Trevor and Nigel Martin are running the everyday business of the farms now – and, having been through a period of selling to supermarkets, the direction has changed. Keen to move away from reliance on retail sales, they developed a facility that allows them to provide freshly prepared seasonal vegetables to the hospitality and catering trade.

They have poytunnels that allow for successional sowing and all-year harvesting- and now grow a wider range of products, including rainbow carrots, beetroot, turnips, parsnips, a lot of herbs, baby leaves and various varieties of lettuce, that they also sell in their farm shop. It mainly serves individual customers in the local catchment area, but it’s also a place where they can showcase a seasonal range at any given time for students or potential customers, including chefs. The operation is large by Irish horticultural standards but small enough to offer a bespoke service which allows them to be niche. They can do spot-cropping for customers looking for something specific, for example, which is great news for chefs.

While not organic, the farm is a member of Bord Bia's Sustainable Horticulture Assurance Scheme and the brothers are keen to use extensive methods and reduce chemical input as much as possible. Instead they use fleece and netting to protect against pests and plough in manure and silage from neighbouring farms rather than relying on artificial fertilisers. They also grow a high clover mix in the fields that are resting. A method that is becoming more widely used, it naturally captures carbon from the atmosphere and fixes it as nitrogen in the soil, reducing the need for fertilisers.

Horticulture always seems to be the poor relation in Irish agriculture and it needs support - but, with vegetables so much the coming thing these days, it is to be hoped that consumer demand for local seasonal produce will turn the tide. As shoppers we all need to put pressure on supermarkets to support local growers and sell their produce at realistic prices . And we also need to seek out restaurants where producers like Waterfall Farms are not only used, but also credited on the menu – something that rightly gives producers a sense of pride.