Certification

* Global Gap and also currently working towards Global Grasp certification (Global Risk Assessment on Social Practice).
* Bord Bia Quality Assurance scheme.
* Authorised Professional Operator registered with the Irish Department of Food and Agriculture

Crop Management and Maintenance

* Site and species selection - "The right plant in the right place". After 30 years of growing foliage in Ireland, we are very confident that we have identified the best species for our soil and site types.

* Water - The high rainfall levels we have in Southern Ireland provide more than enough water to keep our field-grown foliage crops happy.

* Nutrition - The species we grow for foliage production are low nutrient demanders. We complete regular soil and foliar analysis and only apply minimal fertilisers to our plants.

* Weed control - We are constantly looking at ways to reduce our use of herbicides. Currently we are exploring the idea of using cover crops to supress weeds within our plantations.

* Biodiversity - We work with several consultants in the horticulture/life sciences field and are taking on board a lot of suggestions for improving biodiversity in our sites. Examples include retaining hedgerows, developing tram lines as wildlife corridors and adopting integrated pest management practices.

* Research - With increasing pressure from climate change, our goal is to develop more robust plantations to cope with increasing weather events. We have recently established a Eucalyptus provenance trial incorporating species that we know grow well in Ireland but from seed sourced from high elevation, exposed sites in Australia. Along with our tailored nutrition plans, we are also exploring alternative ways of strengthening our crops through natural means such as the addition of locally produced compost, mycorrhizal fungi and biostimulant products.

Waste & Energy

We reuse and recycle packaging materials as much as possible. Waste foliage is composted on site and we are currently exploring possibilities for using this material in our plant propagation unit. Our custom built warehouse contains new energy efficient cold storage facilities and all lighting is supplied by low energy L.E.D. bulbs.