AGRI-TOURISM
Austrian tourists enjoy tea, coffee and scones during their farm tour.
“ALL FIVE FARMERS ARE AGREED IN GIVING VISITORS AN AUTHENTIC FARM EXPERIENCE AND THINK THIS IS KEY TO THE SUCCESS OF THEIR OPERATION.” SUPPORT AND TRUST
This is the first year that West Cork Farm Tours has been in operation and tours will run from April to October. To cater for our changing conditions, each farm provides rain jackets, wellington boots and hot drinks so tours can go ahead even in wet weather. It has been quick to launch and Avril and Denis are both grateful for the support they have received from Fáilte Ireland in helping them package and sell their product and educating them about the tourism business. They’ve also been given great support by the local hotels, and acknowledge Neil Grant of the Celtic Ross Hotel, Rob O’Keeffe from the Emmet Hotel and Michael O’Neill of Fernhill House Hotel for introducing them to the tourist market. Avril says the business works because the five all trust each other and there are no egos involved. “We support each other – last week we had some visitors at another farm and I went over to serve a bit of Rosscarbery black and white pudding at that. It’s great to be able to help each other out. We’re all proud of our farms and where we live; there are five stories here, they’re based on the land, but they’re all radically different too.” “We’re finding also that the key to this is to be flexible and to give the visitors what they want – some want to see the dairy, some the beef and pig farm; some are more interested in the views and some are more interested in the West Cork foodie thing,” Denis notes. “Having the five farms means we can be that bit more flexible in what we’re offering.” All five farmers are agreed in giving visitors an
authentic farm experience and think this is key to the success of their operation. “People are looking for something different and they want to meet the natives when they come – tour operators have told me people find it very difficult to meet the natives on the ground when they come to Ireland,” Denis adds. “We’re just talking to people and telling our stories. We’ve no luxuries here for them on the farm but they don’t want that. It’s authentic – they meet the farmers and we talk to them, tell our stories and how we produce the food. Stuff we take for granted blows them away, like the fact that our cows are outside eating grass, that’s something they just don’t see in their country.” A focus on authenticity also helps, according to Avril. “The thing we have in common is we’re straight-up and honest and it’s an authentic experience. There’s never going to be a pre-prepared script,” she says. They’re both really enjoying this new side to their work, an opportunity to showcase their way of life and the rural farming lifestyle to a new and excited audience. Denis says he has loved meeting different people through the tours as well as the industry professionals he’s met along the way – not just tourists but people from Fáilte Ireland and the broader tourism industry who he never had an opportunity to meet before. After a tough spring for agriculture, he finds it enjoyable to have the chance to talk about something different apart from the weather and farming. “We get in tourists from everywhere too,” he explains. “We had a group of Texans in last week and we had South African farmers in recently too, and they were very interested in what we’re doing here so it’s great to be able to talk to them about farming here.” So far so good for West Cork Farm Tours – the tours are busy and have even been picked up by Lonely Planet (which described it as a chance to “get a behind the scenes look of working farms and enjoy the hospitality of the families in their kitchen and visitor centres”), but the founders acknowledge that it’s still early days and there are hurdles that they’ll need to get over. Avril says that in this first year the return from the tours will likely be negligible, but she’s optimistic about where it could go in the future. “Has it potential? I think so. But we have to get over the first year. In fact, I think we have to get over about two years before we see realistically what it’s producing,” she explains. “So yes, it’s part of the revenue stream – or it will be – but it’s also another way of telling our story and showing that there is real authentic food available and how good the produce is in West Cork. We’re not looking to make a fortune. We’re artisan producers and that’s not going to change.”
WEST CORK FARM TOURS SEASON: APRIL TO OCTOBER OPENING DAYS: EACH THURSDAY, 11AM-1PM LOCATION: CLOSE TO CLONAKILTY AND ROSSCARBERY COST: €19.50 PER PERSON WEBSITE: WWW.WESTCORKFARMTOURS.COM EAR TO THE GROUND 69
