After more than a decade of farming on the Isle of Man, successful business couple Mark and Kathy Irwin have made the difficult decision to stop production of their Manx mushrooms in September.
With the ever increasing demand for their consultancy service overseas it has become increasingly difficult to balance the needs of both Greeba Farm here on the Island and their other interests and clients further afield.
Greeba Farm Ltd employs 10 people (3 of whom are full time) and produces around 8,000 pounds of mushrooms a week.
Using decades of expertise, the Irwins have worked tirelessly to make Greeba Farm Ltd and Manx mushrooms the household name and respected product it is today.
Although Greeba Farm’s mushrooms have been grown solely for the local market ensuring their freshness and quality, the farm’s success and Mark’s reputation have without doubt put the Isle of Man on the map within the global mushroom arena with both producers and scientists.
‘This has been an extremely difficult decision given the success we have enjoyed, but the move will enable us to refocus our business and time,’ the Irwins said today (Friday).
‘At this stage, our loyal staff and customers are our main concern and we have, of course, been talking to them about our plans.
‘We have been working closely with the Department of Environment, Food and Agriculture (DEFA) and Manx Industrial Relations and are liaising with the Department of Economic Development (DED). We also hope to be able to talk to local job agencies and companies to provide as much help, information and support as we can for our staff.’
The farm will now be put on the market with the commercial department of Chrystals Estate Agents in Douglas who have a wealth of knowledge of the Island’s agriculture and commercial sector.
‘Obviously we’ve always wanted the farm to continue and be developed further but we will be considering all options and interested parties,’ said the Irwins.
Chrystals Commercial Director, Neil Taggart, commented ‘The farm has clearly benefited from considerable investment and is an attractive proposition to be marketing.’
Greeba Farm’s success was publicly acknowledged last year when, on the couple’s 10th anniversary of owning the business, it was awarded the Best Medium Sized Enterprise of the Year Award in the Isle of Man Newspapers’ Awards for Excellence.
‘It has been an amazing experience and we are very proud of what has been achieved. We would like to acknowledge and thank all our staff, customers, suppliers and the many people who have supported us over the last 10 plus years,’ the Irwins said.
Ralph Peake MHK, acting Minister of the Department of Environment, Food and Agriculture, said:
‘This is a well-established and award winning local business which has demonstrated that high quality local products can compete, especially when they are high value, short shelf life.
‘It has proved an important part of our flourishing food and drink sector.
‘As the business has been built up with such expertise, this is an opportunity for new owner to step forward to continue the success of this respected product.
‘DEFA will work with the Irwins to promote the business as a going concern. It is timely that the new food business grant scheme, approved by Tynwald in July, may allow a new owner to be supported to take on and grow the business.’
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