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Iona Fruit Farms

An interview with Donnacha Donnelly

Farming runs in the blood of the Donnelly family, who own Iona Farm in Oldtown, Co. Dublin, where Donnacha Donnelly’s father is still working today at 87 years of age. “You cannot stop him from working. It’s very much a family business and hopefully will be in the future,” Donnacha remarks.

Iona Fruit Farms have been supplying Sysco with delicious, fresh baby vegetables and beetroot for six to seven years now, with their produce receiving high praise from chefs across the nation.

What exactly does it take to grow great produce though? According to Donnacha, it takes a lot of love and dedication — not forgetting their generations’ worth of knowledge and expertise!

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It all comes down to “using the right seeds, getting the ground right, choosing the right soils, choosing the right fertilisers — there’s a whole multitude of different things that are involved in growing produce. And it’s not simple to get everything the same size, which is what restaurants want.”

Over the past five years, Iona Fruit Farms has gone from strength to strength, introducing a lot of positive changes, increasing its production to meet the high demand. “We used to grow a lot more apples,” Donnacha says, explaining how they’ve “reduced that down so that we’re growing and concentrating more on baby vegetables and beetroot to supply to hotels and restaurants, which is our main target now at the minute.”

Tackling climate change and striving to achieve an ecofriendly business model is always at the forefront on Iona Fruit Farms, as Donnacha reveals that they recently installed solar panels, with plans to double or triple their stock over the next year. “We also use rainwater as an irrigation system in the glass houses, to water all of our crops,” Donnacha adds.

What is it about Iona Fruit Farms baby vegetables and beetroot that’s so appealing? Chefs and diners everywhere will appreciate the vibrant quality from the likes of rainbow carrots and bright beetroot. They certainly add an attractive aspect to any plate! However, it has to come down to freshness.

“We pull our veg from the ground today and it’s with Sysco later that evening or the next morning. We don’t hold any veg here, so you can be assured that all of our produce is as fresh as it can be,” DONNACHA RAVES.

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Chill factor

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