Living Green

Founders: Neil Crossan

Product: Organic certified compost

Category: Manufacturing

Contact details: www.livinggreen.ie

Turning a by-product into a value-added product was the idea behind Living Green, started by Neil Crossan in 2012.

The by-product comes from another business, Reel Worms, which Neil set up on the 65-acre sheep farm in Quigley’s Point, Co Donegal. After working in the food and mushroom business for 16 years, Neil saw an opportunity: “I wanted to become master of my own destiny and had researched the market and saw an opening for good-quality worms.” From a standing start, he quickly grew to become the largest worm producer in Ireland and Britain. “We supply 80% of the worms sold in Ireland and 20% of the UK market,” he said. In 2013 the company produced 17,000kg of worms and was left with 800m3 of worm cast. This medium used to grow the worms had been seen as a by-product and mostly spread on the land. However, after Niall started to receive requests from wheatgrass growers for specific compost he started to look at it in a different light.

The product is created when the worms digest their bedding material, converting it into rich compost. The compost is certified organic, a major boost to the marketing potential for organic growers and also small DIY growers who want to use certified Irish organic compost.

In 2012 the company sent samples to organic growers throughout Ireland and the response was overwhelmingly positive. To validate this, they got independent plant trials done by the Northern Ireland Department of Agriculture comparing it to imported organic compost as well as a leading multipurpose one. Neil said the trials saw their compost outperform the others. What’s more, he was able to sell it at a price that is 25% lower than the imported organic compost. “We went to an organic conference last November to show our product. The general response was – ‘You’re Irish, you’re better and you’re cheaper; we will buy your product in the spring,’” Neil told us. In 2013 the company got 75% LEADER funding to develop a high-quality bagging line and 450m2 storage shed. Its biggest problem could be the byproduct and they plan to sell it in the northern half of the country in 2014. Neil hopes to address the supply side by changing the focus on reel worms.

He said: “In the past it was about getting maximum worms from minimum bedding when it was a by-product. Now the potential is there to increase the worms with the aim to get more compost. Within three years I aim to become the largest supplier of organic compost in Ireland, producing 3,000m3 per year.” He has plans to increase this further and take on the UK market and in the long term would like to export compost to the larger EU market.

Bliss Berry Farm

Founder: Liam Masterson

Product: Social farming

Category: Services

Contact details: www.blissberryfarm.ie

The JFC innovation awards have been going for seven years and it has been interesting to watch the different themes that emerge. This year, social farming was definitely a new wave of innovation.

Three different farmers involved in the Social Farming Across Borders initiative entered their farm-based businesses and each had a great story to tell. They are three of 20 farms involved in the pilot project. Each has brought people onto the farm for day services and are hoping to build a small business around social farming.

Liam Masterson of Bliss Berry Farm was picked to go through as one of the 12 finalists. Liam has been interested in social farming for many years and helped instigate the current initiative. Social farming was originally developed in the Netherlands and is popular across Europe. It is the practice of offering family farms as a form of social service. The farm is used in a different way to provide health, social or educational care services for a range of vulnerable groups of people.

It remains a working farm but people in need of support can benefit from participation in the farm activities. People that have used it include those with mental health difficulties, disabilities or those who are in need of rehabilitation.

Liam said: “Working in a social farm environment has been shown to have a major impact, giving people a chance to develop something for themselves, improving their skills and health.”

Bliss Berry Farm is a 50-acre mixed farm near Mountcharles, Co Donegal. As well as arable crops and conservation areas, it has a flock of sheep, ponies, donkeys, hens and ducks and a small orchard, with raised beds, an open cultivated area of organic blueberries and a large polytunnel. Liam has been producing food for sale in the local country market and has a farm-gate shop as well. It all provides plenty of opportunities for farm helpers to work with the animals or get involved with vegetable growing and conservation work.

Liam said: “These are activities which offer social and rehabilitation opportunities for every individual in a friendly setting.”

He is working with the HSE and developing packages where people can come for two hours for a taste of the farm or up to one or two days a week for a full academic year. A day is from 9am to 3.30pm and carers or social workers can often accompany the people if required.

Social farming has proved successful in other countries and looks set to provide a fulfilling diversification for some farmers in the years ahead.

Green Roofs Ireland

Founder: Raymond Harvey

Product: Living roofs

Category: Manufacturing

Contact details: www.greenroofsireland.co.uk

Raymond Harvey’s business starts on the fields of east Antrim but ends up on roofs across Ireland and Britain. Green Roofs Ireland grows and supplies green roofs to the construction industry and has even started to develop green wall technology as well.

His family has been in the horticulture business for 22 years, but Raymond was looking to develop a new business. He grows a turf of sedum plants and then lays it over growing material on roofs. Raymond said: “It’s easier than it sounds. Firstly, we started up in 2008 just when the construction industry took a downturn. The biggest challenge was to get a turf with 100% coverage.”

One of the biggest problems was getting a field flat enough that was sheltered from the wind.

The turf is planted one year before sale, tying up capital as the business grows. It is the first company in Ireland to offer the complete service of growing and installing green roofs.

The concept of green roofs might be relatively new here, but in Tokyo all new construction uses green roofs and existing buildings must convert 20% of their rooftops. Many more cities are integrating green roofs into development plans including London in 2008 which has opened up new markets.

But it’s not just in Britain. Donegal County Council currently has a green roof policy and more are set to follow. Green roofs don’t just look good. They can help insulate a building, reducing heating or air conditioning costs. They naturally filter the contaminants out of runoff water and as the roof absorbs water, it slows down the flow, helping avoid flooding. In the company’s first year in business the focus was on developing the turf, and it made one living roof. In its second year it made 20 and in 2013 it completed over 150 roofs or 2,400m2 in total, a significant increase in the current environment.

“Most companies will aim to have 75% cover but we are achieving 99% cover on the roofs we do. We also offer a maintenance service,” said Raymond.

The company has gained a reputation in the industry for growing top-quality green roofs and has won business on the back of it. It has covered the roofs of hotels, hospitals and shopping centres as well as a growing number of houses. It even supplied material for the Game of Thrones set that was being filmed on the North Antrim coast.

The target customers are architects, public building contacts and new developments. The base layer, growing medium and sedum turf which comes in rolls, costs £55/m2 installed. The company also sells the materials on their own for £45. Before the company started, the price was as high as £80/m2 to £100/m2 installed as all the material had to be shipped from abroad. By reducing costs, Green Roofs Ireland is increasing the potential number of roofs that will be done. It has set the target to install 5,000m2 this year, 70% of which will be in the UK.

Green Sword

Founder: David Moorehead

Product: Environmentally friendly microbial cleaning product

Category: Start up

Contact:www.greensword.co

Is there anything it can’t clean? That was the one question I had for David Moorehead after he went through what his new product Green Sword environmental friendly detergent could do.

David has over 20 years’ experience in microbial science and has developed a microbial liquid that he claims is a scientific breakthrough. It originated from work carried out in his own poultry houses on his farm near Pubble in Co Fermanagh.

Faced with a higher than acceptable level of ammonia contamination in the air, he used his knowledge to look at ways to reduce it. That work led to the cleaning product, which is a blend of bacterial spores and bio-stimulating agents that can break down oil in the soil, on water and on hard surfaces much quicker than current products. What’s more, it can do it in an environmentally friendly way. Once the Green Sword process is complete, David says there is little trace of the oil contamination left behind. The other major benefit is that it does it at a cost that is 40% lower than current products.

David has been working closely with Queens University and the University of Ulster to carry out tests.

The first markets the Green Sword will be unleashed in is where oil is produced. As well as planned field trials in the Middle East, he sees big potential for cleaning decommissioned oil platforms in the North Sea.

The product can also be used to clean the oil residues off all types of vehicles and a highly diluted version is developed to be used in water that is being recycled. “This will work in car washes, reducing the amount of clean water that is used and subsequently will have to be disposed,” said David. To do this, Green Sword has developed a patented closed loop recycle wash system aimed at car washes. The major strengths of the business are the innovative nature of the product and the range of applications. There are patents as well as intellectual property rights around the process and formulation. Manufacturing is outsourced. Some of the biggest challenges will be accessing funding and David is working with Invest NI to attract investors. On paper the markets are huge but David does not underestimate the challenges in starting with a new product and a new company. However, like any good inventor, he has a range of new products that can be developed to build the Green Sword brand in the next five years.