Projects
Current BFG projects include:
CSA – Community Supported Agriculture
We are finally ready to press ahead with a CSA programme. Initially we had hoped to grow the heritage oats as per the Bantry CSA. However, as the dehulling of the Bantry oats has still not been sorted, and there would still be a ways to go between dehulled oats and “porridge” we decided it wouldn’t be wise at this time. Hopefully, by next year we can look at this idea again.
In the meantime, we plan to experiment with growing half an acre of naked (hulless) oats: more information on that should be available in the not too distant future.
We decided that the most suitable crop, both in terms of available expertise and demand, is potatoes. Henry Sweetnam has agreed to plant a half acre of potatoes for us. It will be a somewhat different model than the Bantry Potato CSA, as Henry is not doing this on a commercial basis and does not have a lot of time to manage the project, though he is very supportive and enthusiastic. Thus, the CSA subcommittee is having more input than might otherwise be the case. Because we are starting late in the year, we will have to buy in fertilizer (organic) and perhaps won’t get as much benefit as if it had been ploughed in last November. The amount we need to raise to cover the rental of the field, Henry’s expenses, seed potatoes, manure and a contingency provision is €1200. Thus, we plan to issue 20 shares of €60.
As well as the financial input, it’s important that subscribers be available to pick the potatoes after they have been lifted by the tractor. This should be a fun community event in late Summer. (may be several different days as we are planting different varieties).
The primary reason we are undertaking this project is to encourage more food to be grown locally. In addition, because of the disastrous effects of the floods and severe cold on potato crops, it is not inconceivable that seed potato demand could exceed supply in the near future, so it is imperative that individuals and communities take responsibility for ensuring the availability of seed potatoes year on year.
There are a lot of variables which make predicting the crop impossible, but it would not be unreasonable to hope for 5 or more 20kg bags per share. While this would be better than market price for organic potatoes, we do want to stress that it is the nature of a CSA that shareholders are not guaranteed a particular return and must be prepared for the consequences if, for whatever reason, (weather, soil fertility, etc.) the harvest is poor. Later in the year, we will organize an event to share info and ideas re storing potatoes. More than half the shares have already been sold within the food group, so if you are interested in participating in this project, please let us know as soon as possible.
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