No-soil farm in Daingean set to create 17 new jobs

An agri-tech company is planning to create 17 jobs with Ireland’s first 100% hydroponic farm which is expected to be up and running in North Offaly by next June.

The project will see leafy green vegetables grown all year round in a 10,500 square metre greenhouse which will be developed, along with ancillary buildings, on a three-hectare site owned by Bord na Móna at Ballycon, just off the R400, in Daingean.

Galway Herb Farm Limited, which has a registered address in Galway and is trading as Real Leaf Farm, was last month granted permission for the development having submitted its planning application to Offaly County Council last November.

“We’re looking forward to getting started in Offaly and it’s great to have gotten through the planning process,” Karen Hennessy, the chief executive of Real Leaf Farm, told the Offaly Independent.

Hydroponic farming uses water, rather than soil or peat, to grow plants. Outlining Real Leaf Farm’s plans, Ms Hennessy said it would be looking to develop sustainable hydroponic farming in both Ireland and the UK.

“What we will be doing, initially certainly, is growing leafy greens, like you would buy in your local store. We will be producing those all year round in Offaly and we will be doing it using water and nutrients by growing them in deep water ponds.

“The plant will sit on a raft and suspend into the water, and the nutrients are pumped into the water. So we’re not using soil or peat in the process. “The plan is to do this throughout the year, under glass, in a 10,500 square metre greenhouse. It’s a controlled environment, so we will be controlling the heat that’s required and the lighting during those winter months when the lighting isn’t as good in Ireland.

“What we’re doing is very natural. It’s bringing the different technologies together with good agricultural practices.”

The company is planning to supply retail outlets and food service businesses, with the packaging of its products also taking place on-site.

Ms Hennessy said Real Leaf Farm would be aiming to create at least seventeen jobs in Offaly, with June 2022 targeted as the date when the facility would become operational.

She said the company had looked at a number of potential sites for this development, but the Offaly location had been chosen because of its size, the flatness of the ground, and its proximity to the national road network. The site is located close to the Mount Lucas wind farm.

“It was an old industrial site that Bord na Móna had used for many years, and we’re bringing it back to agricultural use, so we are bringing a brownfield site back to greenfield use,” said Ms Hennessy.

“As part of the planning process we would have considered the ecology, the area and peatlands, and what I like to think is that if we ever had to take it down in the morning we would leave no trace behind.”

The venture has been welcomed by local Fianna Fáil councillor Eddie Fitzpatrick, who pointed out that Real Leaf Farm was about to embark on a €25m funding round.

The project was granted planning permission by Offaly County Council subject to 18 conditions, including payment to the local authority of €72,690 in development contributions.

Real Leaf Farm was also instructed to connect to the Mount Lucas Group Water Scheme and to “strengthen the R400 regional road in the vicinity of the entrance” within four months of the project becoming operational.