Bringing an old and new world order together making food the solution

Patrick Frankel and his children Thomas, Corali and two year old James on Kilbrack Organic Farm, Doneraile, Co Cork where the apples for their organic apple juice are grown. Picture Dan Linehan

When Patrick Frankel came back to his home at Kilbrack Farm in Doneraile, Cork in 2005, little did he realise the changes that were in store for him and the farm, despite the financial crash that was on the horizon.

The seeds were being sown for the fusion of an old and new world order in Doneraile that day and for Patrick and his wife Judith it has been a journey of nurturing, attention to detail and creativity ever since.

Having studied Zoology specialising in embryology Patrick found “I wasn’t suited to it” and his arrival back to the homestead in the Autumn of that year as the apples were beginning to grow was to leave a lasting impact on him.

The farm now produces organic seasonal vegetables, fruits and juices, and supplies local markets and restaurants. It is also becoming renowned for its high-quality apple juice which is now in high demand across Munster.

He and his wife Judith also keep organic livestock including sheep and cattle as well as large working horses called Percherons which are worked using traditional methods in the horticultural enterprise.

“When I came back to the family farm in the Autumn time and the apples were just growing it had an impact on me and that is how I started selling organic produce at all,” he said, before highlighting how after he trained as a commercial organic grower in 2006 a space was made available to him at the Farmers Market on Cornmarket Street.

“The first year I sold apples there and the second year I put out polytunnels and kept building on that.” Meanwhile, ideas for the farm were coming to fruition and the orchard began expanding.

“We planted a four-acre orchard in 2015 and up to that point we have been slowly building up our customer base locally and supplying more and more cafes and restaurants that are trying to source local produce that’s organic,” Patrick continued.

“On the farm is an old wall garden where the apples grew originally and so those trees are very old - Edwardian era type trees - and then we have the new trees that we planted.

“We are blending the new world with the old world and trying to make a juice that has a bit more of a punch to it.” Meanwhile, the apples coming from those trees are older style apples with a different shape and flavour to the newer style ones.

Some are still in production, says Patrick, including Brambley, Cox's Orange Pippin and James Grieve - an apple tree with pale-pink flowers in spring followed by sweet, edible fruit in late autumn to early winter.

“I find that these apples are not as sweet as the modern types that we have been growing in the new orchard.

Two-year-old James trying out the organic apple juice in the arms of his father Patrick Frankel on the Kilbrack Organic Farm, Doneraile, Co Cork. Picture Dan Linehan

“And while there is not a huge amount of difference in them when we blend the new and the old the juice tends to have more of a kick in it.” The main staple of the business is the growing and supplying of organic vegetables and the Frankels have a well-established market for their produce.

Patrick says that it was after the financial crash that he began to notice how “people were taking more notice of locally produced organic food”.

“This is particularly evident over the last 10 or so years,” he continued.

“At the time the EU provided financial backing for organic farmers and that brought more of an incentive to fill a market where most of what is organic is actually imported into Ireland - even though we have long daylight hours, good soil and a temperate climate.

“While organic produce had begun to build at the time I got into it, I had a hard start because of the financial collapse.

“People are more aware now that the product that is local and freshly produced is the product that is better value for money in the long run.

“There is a lot of labour involved and often setups are not mechanised and of very small scale, and so the products are not sprayed and much fresher - but that means it is more expensive to produce.” He says that this type of food production “is becoming more acceptable to the customer now”.

“They understand the process and appreciate that it is different and perhaps more nurturing to the environment.

“It took me three of four years really to find my feet and start building on what I had.” These days the Frankels are flat out supplying their customers - even with Covid-19 and the subsequent restrictions that followed.

“We were actually very, very busy during lockdown; we are supplying all over Co Cork and the philosophy is to keep it as local as we can and try not to expand the business in a way that it doesn't affect the product.

“It’s not a linear growth model that we are trying to build here, it’s about keeping it simple.

Corali and her dad Patrick Frankel trying out the organic apple Juice in their kitchen at Kilbrack Organic Farm, Doneraile, Co Cork. Picture Dan Linehan

“We have received funding along the way which is very much appreciated.

“The Heritage Council gave us a grant to repair one of the old stone walls in the orchard; it had started out as an orchard back in 1885 but had gone back to grazing so it was great to return it to its original self.

“The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine also offered grants to organic farmers to purchase machinery and I got a rotavator, netting for vegetables and other bits and pieces as a result of that.

“That was a huge backing in terms of helping me to get going.” Patrick and Judith also work in conjunction with the WorldWide Opportunities on Organic Farms (WWOOF) Ireland which is part of a worldwide movement linking visitors with organic farmers and growers to promote cultural and educational experiences based on trust and non-monetary exchange thereby helping to build a sustainable global community.

WWOOF provides people with the opportunity to get first-hand experience of organic farming and gardening, and to lend a helping hand wherever it is needed.

“We have volunteers from between 18-25 years that come to us to work under the programme which is very, very helpful but because of Covid-19 they weren’t available this year,” said Patrick.

“Myself and Judith would work with the group which changes every year.

“Because the pandemic more or less shut that up on us, at the moment we have a few local people who are helping us out.

“It’s the one difficult aspect of all farming but more so in organic farming from an intensive horticultural aspect - the workforce when travel breaks down.

“Sustainable foods systems is really where I am coming from; and from an educational aspect if we can show people how to produce their own food and how to nurture the soil that is a good thing.

“It is something the people need to start thinking about - it certainly could bring about more integrated forms of farming where food is the solution and not just a product.”