See the original article By Emma Connolly, https://www.southernstar.ie/farming/eamon-crowley-west-cork-farming-awards-onions-4303484
EAMON Crowley is a grafter and a grower. It’s a combination that has made him the country’s only grower/processor of onions.
The 43-year-old never had a ‘light-bulb’ moment to claim the exclusive title, but a blend of circumstance, experience, skill, business acumen, courage, and ambition led him to establish and grow West Cork Veg Solutions to the successful operation it is today.
He grew up on a dairy farm in Ahiohill, and started his working life with Bandon Co-Op in 2005 – not surprisingly, in the onion section.
Eamon worked as a supervisor in the busy onion division where operations included growing onions, and also taking in supplies from local farmers; along with grading, packing, and peeling them. Customers included Musgrave and Clonakilty Black Pudding.
The co-op closed the onion division in 2012 and Eamon, who was 31 at the time, made the plucky decision to set up on his own, employing two other former colleagues.
‘I used my redundancy to buy the specialist equipment from the co-op and operated from a yard at the co-op, starting out peeling and packing onions supplied by local farmers,’ he said.
By the following year, he had moved to a bigger facility in Cloughmacsimon Business Park, Bandon and by 2018 he was ready to expand into growing the vegetable himself. It was a gutsy move forward, but he’s always had an eye on progress.
Eamon sees his onions through every stage of production, from sowing and harvesting right through to quality control, grading and packaging. (Photo: Andy Gibson)
Growing his own product ‘opened a lot of doors for the business’, he said, as it’s meant he’s in a position to fully endorse the product.
‘We started growing on 20 acres and this year we’ve increased that to 60 acres,’ he said. Winter crop is planted in Rosscarbery, and his spring crop is planted around Clonakilty, Rossmore, Ballineen, and Lyre.
Staff has also grown, from two to 13, and so has output.
‘In 2018, we started out peeling 240 tonnes of Irish onion, and this year that figure will increase to over 1,000 tonnes,’ he said.
Last year he invested €500,000 into the business, acquiring an additional building (adjacent to the existing facility in Bandon), two new state-of-the-art peeling machines and two new cold rooms.
Company HQ for the farm is a yard in Ballinacarriga, and to call it a hive of activity is an understatement. Eamon does all his own harvesting, and trailerloads of onions are brought to the yard, tipped into timber boxes from where they’re sorted, before going into storage. He also invested in a cutting edge ventilation system worth €80,000 designed to prolong the shelf life of the product.
‘From there, they’re brought to Bandon where they’re topped and tailed, peeled, washed, and cooled. Depending on the need of the customer they’re supplied peeled or sliced and diced,’ he said.
Onions on the production line in Crowley's onion processing facility. (Photo: Andy Gibson)
His clients include Clonakilty Black Pudding, Ballymaloe Fine Foods, Folláin in Ballyvourney, Spice O’Life in Dunmanway, Ballineen Fine Foods, and SuperMacs, along with several other companies who supply the food service industry.
What’s his favourite bit about the business?
‘I really enjoy the farming aspect of the work – the planting of the crop and seeing it grow. I find that hugely satisfying,’ he said. He also enjoys the variety of the work, from helping to load up trucks heading off to customers in Wexford, spraying crops, and doing the book work.
He’s availed of the expertise of the Local Enterprise Board which he said was very beneficial, and with their mentoring he’s digitised all their records which has enhanced the efficiencies of day-to-day operations.
However, as with any entrepreneur, the journey hasn’t been without its challenges, and he admits he’s had sleepless nights along the way.
‘We import onions for half the year from the likes of Holland and Spain and last year those costs quadrupled. Margins were hard to manage. Through experience I’ve realised you have to be agile, and ready to react fast to changes, to use the information you have available to you, and not to be afraid to alter your own prices, otherwise you’re effectively a busy fool.’
Eamon is married to Anne Marie, who works for tech company Broadcom in Ballincollig, and they are parents to Aisling (11), Sean (9) and Rian (7). He’s very aware of achieving a sensible work-life balance and is involved in GAA locally.
‘I help training the U8s and U10s Saint Oliver Plunkett teams and U12’s Keelnameela girls football which my kids are involved in. It doesn’t matter how busy things are, I’ll always make the time to go training. I think it’s very important for children to get involved and stay involved in sports, so that’s something I’m very committed to,’ he said.
Crowley checks the temperature of a cold store in his onion processing facility. (Photo: Andy Gibson)
His family have been supportive including brothers Don and John who are both Teagasc advisors, and parents Helen and Denis, who are retired from farming but still keep Dexter cattle, are keen gardeners, and keep ducks and hens.
Going forward, the plan is to increase onion output, aided by the new ventilation system. Potential obstacles include the availability of tillage land to rent, however over the years Eamon has built up good relationships with local farmers.
‘I also take great care of the land, plant cover crops such as Phacelia and vetch to reduce soil erosion an help increase organic matter so all that helps in that regard.’
Winning The Southern Star monthly farming award is he said, a ‘great honour’.
‘I’m the type of person who likes to stay off radar. I enjoy what I do, and like working away but it’s nice to get this recognition. It’s very rewarding.’
We have to ask, does he like onions?
‘I do!’ he laughs.
‘I’d have one every day without fail!’