Host Farm Profiles

Beechlawn Organic Farm – Ballinasloe, Co. Galway

Established in 2002 we started with one acre and in 2021 grew 50 acres of organic vegetables including over 40 different varieties. We employ 25 full time people including a field work team, packhouse team, office and sales team and delivery driver team. We have 20,000 square foot of polytunnels for protected cropping and propagation of seeds. We started selling through a box scheme in 2002, moved into farmers markets and then gradually into wholesaling which makes up most of our sales now. We supply farmers market traders, restaurants and other food businesses as well as our own veg box scheme. We use tractors and machinery for precision  seed sowing, and some of the weeding. Doing an internship here will show you the logistical work as well as the physical work involved in large scale commercial organic horticultural production. beechlawnorganicfarm.ie

Carrowgarry Farm – Beltra, Co. Sligo

Carrowgarry farm is located in Beltra, about 20 minutes drive from Sligo town and just beside the Atlantic Ocean. We have two polytunnels and a walled garden where we grow vegetable in an organic way (organic pest control, soil preparation, compost making etc.). We sell our vegetables to a local and award winning cafes and through a small box scheme. We are looking for an extra motivated and enthusiastic vegetable grower who enjoys working outdoor and in the polytunnels, in a fast-paced environment and who’s interested in potentially having a full time position at the farm if it all works well. carrowgarryfarm.ie

Irish Seed Savers Association – Scariff, Co. Clare

The Irish Seed Savers Association is situated in east Clare on a hilly 20-acre site. This site includes the gardens, the orchards, and the buildings used for workshops and seed processing/storage. The gardens are where the apprentice will mainly be working, and these consist of approximately one acre of outdoor and protected cropping, with a small glasshouse and six polytunnels of various sizes located across the site. We grow organic crops for their seeds, which are harvested, processed and packaged on site. The work of the garden team is to sow, plant and maintain these crops (mainly vegetables with some flower and dye plants) until the seed is ready to be harvested. We are looking for an apprentice who would assist in the hands-on side of this work, including ground prep, sowing, weeding, and other practical gardening tasks, as well as engage with our values of food sovereignty, conservation and sustainability. irishseedsavers.ie

McNally Family Farm – North county dublin

We are a family farm based in North Co.Dublin with 14 employees working on the farm. We’ve been growing organically for over 25 years, we grow all our produce and sell directly at farmers markets and at our farm shop. Throughout the year we grow over 50 lines of salads and vegetables over cirica 100,000 sq ft of protected cropping and 30 acres of field veg. Our protected crops throughout the year include a range of salads, tomatoes, a range of chillies, shishito peppers, padron peppers, aubergines, cucumbers, gherkins and this year we’ve tried a new crop, Oca/Oka. Our outdoor crops include a range of brassicas(cabbages, kale, flower sprouts), root veg, culinary pumpkins and potatoes.

We started selling directly to customers with one market day in Temple Bar Food Market. Over the years we’ve built up a wide customer base and now attend 3 farmers markets weekly along with our farm shop opening 4 days a week and a restaurant wholesale business. Day to day activities include sowing, planting out, weeding, preparing & clearing tunnels, harvesting & packing. Most of the work in the tunnels is hand labour and while we have a lot of specialised machinery for outdoor use, hand labour is still needed for some tasks. On the farm you’ll get experience in growing a wide variety of outdoor and indoor crops in the Irish climate using a range of growing methods. mcnallyfamilyfarm.ie

MILLHOUSE FARM – williamstown, co. galway

Mill House Farm is a 2.75 HA Farm specializing in salad crop production. We will soon be extending our tunnel cover to 5,000sq m. Our mixed leaves sell to the finest food service outlets and into several Super Valu and independent retailers throughout the West and beyond.

We produce salad crops right through the year raising all our crops from seed. The farm is a hive of activity with a constant cycle of sowing, harvesting, packing and delivering. We have invested in machinery best suited to our needs enabling us to produce crops efficiently on a relatively large scale.

We are keen to find an apprentice (or maybe 2) interested in working with us to take our business to the next level and realize the full potential of organic salad growing in the Mid West of Ireland. There is definitely a full time career opportunity here for the right candidate following the internship. millhousefarm.ie

Moyleabbey Organic Farm – Athy, co. kildare

The farm is approx. 13.5 acres.  We actively farm about 5 acres at a time with the rest in green manure ley.  We grow approximately 18 different crops outside and in tunnels.  The farm is owned and run by Liam with the support of two other employees (both former interns), and we host volunteers through wwoof.ie all year round.  We sell direct at our home farm shop on Fridays and at Carlow Farmers Market every Saturday and do a small amount of wholesaling.  There are no farmed animals on the holding. We are certified by the IOA and have had full organic status since 2006.

PLANT PREPARATIONS – gorey, co. wexford

We produce and process herbs for medicinal purposes. Up to 30 different species are grown, mainly perennials. These crops are propagated on site and grown to harvest on the holding.

We grow organically in a diverse a manner as possible, with an understory of cover-crops and beetle-banks interspersed. We treat the land with respect and leave it in better condition at the end of each and every growing season.

Tinctures, drying, hot water extraction and freeze drying of the harvested herbal material is carried out on the farm.