0:00:02 > 0:00:04Small family farms are in trouble.
0:00:04 > 0:00:06This hasn't seen any action for a while, has it?
0:00:06 > 0:00:09Business Consultant Nick Hewer is going back
0:00:09 > 0:00:10to his Northern Irish roots
0:00:10 > 0:00:14to help them diversify and make radical changes
0:00:14 > 0:00:16before they go under.
0:00:16 > 0:00:17What can you do with 17 acres?
0:00:17 > 0:00:20But are the farmers ready for his advice?
0:00:21 > 0:00:24I'm not a farming guru with all the answers,
0:00:24 > 0:00:27but having observed many companies over more than 40 years,
0:00:27 > 0:00:32what I can offer is a great big dollop of common sense.
0:00:33 > 0:00:37This series follows eight local farms embarking
0:00:37 > 0:00:39on a long-term fight for survival.
0:00:39 > 0:00:42You're not turning bookings down, are you?
0:00:42 > 0:00:46- There will be tough decisions.- That source will pump for ever and a day.
0:00:46 > 0:00:48And they're going to sell it!
0:00:48 > 0:00:52But doing nothing is not an option.
0:00:52 > 0:00:55End of a long day and, for me, a depressing day.
0:00:55 > 0:00:56OK.
0:01:06 > 0:01:12This week, Nick is on his way to see 23-year-old Charlie Cole.
0:01:13 > 0:01:16He is desperate to work on the family farm
0:01:16 > 0:01:18on the north coast near Ballycastle.
0:01:18 > 0:01:22But right now, there isn't enough money to support him.
0:01:22 > 0:01:25I'm not looking to make £1 million. There's only 50 acres here.
0:01:25 > 0:01:26We're limited by that.
0:01:26 > 0:01:29I just need enough money to live and bring up a family here.
0:01:31 > 0:01:34It's hard. There are so many people whose children
0:01:34 > 0:01:38want to do it because it's life for them,
0:01:38 > 0:01:40but they can't afford to.
0:01:40 > 0:01:45I must say that I'm in a slightly sceptical mood today.
0:01:45 > 0:01:46We're off to see Charlie Cole,
0:01:46 > 0:01:52a young man back at the family farm trying to find a role for himself.
0:01:53 > 0:01:58He's come up with seaweed and goats.
0:01:59 > 0:02:04Charlie's money-making plan is to harvest seaweed
0:02:04 > 0:02:07off the north coast and sell it to a family friend in Scotland.
0:02:07 > 0:02:10His other idea is to sell goat meat.
0:02:10 > 0:02:14Both ideas are unusual and the latest of many.
0:02:14 > 0:02:17He first of all wanted to do a boar farm.
0:02:17 > 0:02:20Lovely idea, but quite expensive outlay.
0:02:20 > 0:02:23He bought £100-worth of bees there
0:02:23 > 0:02:26and doesn't have a clue how to beekeep.
0:02:26 > 0:02:30It's a fun idea. It was quite entertaining watching him get stung.
0:02:30 > 0:02:33He doesn't even own a bee suit.
0:02:33 > 0:02:35I'm Nick. Are you Charlie?
0:02:35 > 0:02:38- Pleased to meet you. - How are you? Look, brothers.
0:02:38 > 0:02:43- I'm Freddie.- Sandy.- How do you do? And mum?- Yes, Millie mum.
0:02:43 > 0:02:47- How do you do?- Would you like a cup of tea?- I'd kill for a cup of tea.
0:02:50 > 0:02:51For Nick's initial visit,
0:02:51 > 0:02:54he's accompanied by his dog Jasmine.
0:02:54 > 0:02:59Nick's got eight months to whip Charlie's ideas into shape.
0:02:59 > 0:03:02By then it's hoped the farm will start making money.
0:03:02 > 0:03:05For the last seven years, it's done little more than provide food.
0:03:07 > 0:03:10We have pigs, we have sheep and that's all we eat.
0:03:10 > 0:03:15We have chickens and ducks. We also eat those. We have a vegetable patch.
0:03:15 > 0:03:18That's us pretty self sufficient.
0:03:19 > 0:03:24When I was a kid, I remember some stories, Alice In Wonderland,
0:03:24 > 0:03:27Cabbages And Kings, walruses taking to oysters or something.
0:03:27 > 0:03:30I've never heard of kid goats and seaweed before. Is that a dream?
0:03:30 > 0:03:33Is that Alice In Wonderland?
0:03:33 > 0:03:35A dream? Hopefully, it's very much in the pipeline.
0:03:35 > 0:03:37We're very close to the north coast here
0:03:37 > 0:03:39which has fantastic seaweed resources
0:03:39 > 0:03:42which are underutilised probably.
0:03:42 > 0:03:47The idea would be to pick it, bring it back here and process it
0:03:47 > 0:03:49and I'd look at having a processing shed here.
0:03:49 > 0:03:53Then sell it on, probably wholesale but for a tidy profit.
0:03:53 > 0:03:58- And you expect to sell how much a month in pounds?- £3,000.
0:03:58 > 0:04:03- £3,000 a month?- Yup.- 3 x 12, £36,000. Your profit on that would be...?
0:04:03 > 0:04:09- £11,000.- 11 on 36. That's knocking around the 30% mark.
0:04:09 > 0:04:12- It's not a bad return, is it? - It's not a bad return considering we're also paying
0:04:12 > 0:04:15- ourselves for man hours as well. - How many days a month can you harvest?
0:04:15 > 0:04:19That gives you four days at each low tide so it's about eight days in a month.
0:04:19 > 0:04:22- Lying around for the rest of the time?- Well, I'm not going on holiday.
0:04:22 > 0:04:25The plan is for the rest of the time, to use the money to reinvest
0:04:25 > 0:04:28and the time, into other business ideas.
0:04:28 > 0:04:32So one gap in the market is with goats.
0:04:32 > 0:04:34There's a lot of dairy farms with goats
0:04:34 > 0:04:37and all the kids are surplus to that requirement.
0:04:37 > 0:04:40- They're disposed of. - The boys?- The boys.
0:04:40 > 0:04:43The idea is to take them on and fatten them up for two months
0:04:43 > 0:04:48on milk-fed diet and that way, you get a very tasty meat, much like veal.
0:04:48 > 0:04:51- No kidding.- Exactly.
0:04:53 > 0:04:58One thing's for sure. Charlie's really personable. Not enough.
0:04:58 > 0:05:03I think he hops from one idea to the other. I think he's a dilettante.
0:05:03 > 0:05:08'He's suddenly spotted a opportunity that's got low entry costs.
0:05:08 > 0:05:12'Whoops, he's off. Has he really drilled down into this project?'
0:05:12 > 0:05:16I'm not sure that he has, but I'm going to find out.
0:05:21 > 0:05:23So, Millie, Charlie's home.
0:05:23 > 0:05:27It's the old problem, a smallish farm, three sons coming up.
0:05:27 > 0:05:32Is it big enough to sustain it as it stands?
0:05:32 > 0:05:33As it stands at the moment, no.
0:05:33 > 0:05:37Let's talk about the goats. Give me a two-month cost of the feeding.
0:05:37 > 0:05:41Two-month cost, I think it works out as £50 a goat.
0:05:41 > 0:05:42Fine. Who's eating goat?
0:05:42 > 0:05:45Well, unfortunately, I haven't narrowed down an exact market.
0:05:45 > 0:05:48I don't have a guaranteed buyer.
0:05:48 > 0:05:52There's quite a lot of "thinking". I think this and I think that.
0:05:52 > 0:05:54Would you admit to me, be honest,
0:05:54 > 0:05:57- that you haven't drilled down deep enough yet?- I've not.
0:05:57 > 0:06:00I've got a lot of numbers floating round in my head.
0:06:00 > 0:06:05All we've really got at the minute, Charlie, forgive me...
0:06:05 > 0:06:10- Is an idea...- Is a great idea about getting something for nothing.
0:06:11 > 0:06:14Seaweed. Tell me more about this alleged buyer.
0:06:14 > 0:06:17The buyer is based in Scotland. She's a family friend.
0:06:19 > 0:06:22I'll offer her first refusal on my harvesting.
0:06:22 > 0:06:25It's a bit rich if she says, yeah, I'll take all you've got for X pounds
0:06:25 > 0:06:31a kilo and you've got another buyer who'll take everything for 2X.
0:06:31 > 0:06:34CHARLIE LAUGHS
0:06:34 > 0:06:38- This happens. Who's giving you permission to rip the seaweed off the shore?- Well,
0:06:38 > 0:06:40that's the one flaw in that plan.
0:06:40 > 0:06:46We have to agree a harvesting licence with the Crown Estates
0:06:46 > 0:06:50and so that's the one flaw in that grand idea.
0:06:50 > 0:06:53We don't know how much that will cost us.
0:06:53 > 0:06:55Or for how long they'll grant the licence.
0:06:55 > 0:06:58- Exactly.- What worries me is that you've gone so far
0:06:58 > 0:07:02but it's dribbled off into the sand and it's a bit of a mystery.
0:07:02 > 0:07:06There's no question that you're a young guy, enthusiastic,
0:07:06 > 0:07:10educated, bags of charm, but you're a dilettante.
0:07:10 > 0:07:14You dip in and out of things. You bought a swarm of bees on a whim.
0:07:14 > 0:07:18In a nutshell, don't you dare think you're in business
0:07:18 > 0:07:21until you've researched every aspect.
0:07:21 > 0:07:26I don't even know dilettante means.
0:07:26 > 0:07:29I presume it means jumping from one thing to the next.
0:07:29 > 0:07:33- But I haven't jumped in on anything yet.- Yet.
0:07:35 > 0:07:39Nick's plan is to thoroughly research both ideas
0:07:39 > 0:07:41before any money is invested.
0:07:41 > 0:07:44They're starting with the goats.
0:07:45 > 0:07:47Roy Colvin is a dairy goat farmer
0:07:47 > 0:07:49and spokesperson for the Northern Ireland Goat Club.
0:07:49 > 0:07:56If Charlie's idea meets with his approval, then Nick will be a lot happier.
0:07:56 > 0:07:59There's a lot of dairy herds in Northern Ireland
0:07:59 > 0:08:04and most of the boy kids coming out of that are a waste product.
0:08:05 > 0:08:10It's feeding up your waste stock on the milk and fattening them up.
0:08:10 > 0:08:12I understand the goats are normally done on a two-month cycle.
0:08:12 > 0:08:18- Is that a realistic time scale? - Two months could be tight.
0:08:18 > 0:08:20Your animals are coming out of a dairy herd.
0:08:20 > 0:08:25If there's no boar genes in the male kid to start off with,
0:08:25 > 0:08:29it doesn't have that natural instinct to bulk out.
0:08:29 > 0:08:32To muscle up which means that the bones are covered in skin.
0:08:32 > 0:08:37It takes nearly the two months to then beef out.
0:08:37 > 0:08:40If you bring in 50 kids, no matter who well you care for them,
0:08:40 > 0:08:44you're going to come up against some form of sickness or problems.
0:08:44 > 0:08:48Out of those 50, you'll do well if you have 40 alive.
0:08:48 > 0:08:52This is one of my own kids, Charlie, from home.
0:08:52 > 0:08:55What size would a two-month kid...?
0:08:55 > 0:08:57Oh, a two-month kid would be about there.
0:08:57 > 0:08:59- OK, so a lot smaller?- Yeah.
0:08:59 > 0:09:03The more I hear about this goat business, the less I like it. Too many pitfalls.
0:09:03 > 0:09:08Let's hope the seaweed business is easier.
0:09:08 > 0:09:12The next stop is Ballintoy Harbour.
0:09:12 > 0:09:17Nick's brought along seaweed expert Professor Matt Dring to find out what seaweed is available
0:09:17 > 0:09:20and whether harvesting is environmentally sustainable.
0:09:20 > 0:09:25It's a nice bunch of dulse. That's extensively used in Ireland.
0:09:25 > 0:09:28- Let's try some. - I think it's always best fresh.
0:09:28 > 0:09:30- Uncooked?- Uncooked, yes.
0:09:30 > 0:09:32- Promise?- Nice and salty, of course.
0:09:36 > 0:09:40- It's all right.- This stuff is what's called Irish moss.
0:09:40 > 0:09:42That's the basis of carrageen
0:09:42 > 0:09:43which is a gelling substance.
0:09:43 > 0:09:49Here we have some pepper dulse. This is probably the prime product.
0:09:49 > 0:09:52It only comes in very small batches and it's very difficult to find.
0:09:52 > 0:09:57But it tastes delicious and the price we can get for this is far higher.
0:09:57 > 0:09:58It is. Isn't that amazing!
0:09:58 > 0:10:02So what we're looking at here is seaweed, but,
0:10:02 > 0:10:07to the experienced eye, we're looking at different types of seaweed.
0:10:07 > 0:10:10Each one with a particular application, perhaps.
0:10:10 > 0:10:13People used to make greater use of it, in the 1850s.
0:10:13 > 0:10:18In the famine, certainly there was a considerable use made of Irish moss.
0:10:18 > 0:10:20The younger men don't want to do this any more.
0:10:20 > 0:10:22It's the older guys that did all this.
0:10:22 > 0:10:25- Too much like hard work?- Hard work. It means getting up early in the morning.
0:10:25 > 0:10:28You can imagine, when it's pouring with rain. It's a difficult thing.
0:10:28 > 0:10:31These days, the youngsters don't want to do that.
0:10:31 > 0:10:33We have to discuss tis more with the scientists
0:10:33 > 0:10:36and the Environment Agency to work out sustainable harvest rates.
0:10:36 > 0:10:39At the moment, we're looking at a two-month cycle for the dulse.
0:10:39 > 0:10:43It's possible that harvesting it does encourage
0:10:43 > 0:10:46the growth in the same way that cutting a lawn encourages the grass.
0:10:48 > 0:10:51I started today thinking "What sort of madcap scheme have I stumbled on?"
0:10:51 > 0:10:55As the day has progressed, I think there's a business here.
0:10:55 > 0:10:59BUT harvesting it's one thing.
0:10:59 > 0:11:02Marketing it at a profit is quite another.
0:11:06 > 0:11:11It's now over a month since Nick's visit. Charlie's been working At his
0:11:11 > 0:11:16uncle's farm in England. He urgently needs cash to survive but it means
0:11:16 > 0:11:18Nick's plans are on hold.
0:11:18 > 0:11:21Unfortunately, being over here, it makes meeting people quite difficult.
0:11:21 > 0:11:26I'm working every day, ten-hour days so trying to fit it in is difficult.
0:11:28 > 0:11:32With Charlie distracted, Nick's beginning to worry about the lack of progress.
0:11:33 > 0:11:36So you've sneaked off to England, have you?
0:11:36 > 0:11:40- When are you back?- I'm coming back next Monday.- What about the goats?
0:11:40 > 0:11:42Have you done any more research?
0:11:42 > 0:11:44I'm not sure whether the milk is the way forward
0:11:44 > 0:11:48so I'm thinking we fatten them up to five or six months.
0:11:48 > 0:11:52- Do a trial, Charlie. Do a trial. - Do a trial? - Can I worry about the seaweed?
0:11:52 > 0:11:55A harvesting licence, I haven't got yet.
0:11:55 > 0:11:59Right, we've still got to get a licence, Charlie because,
0:11:59 > 0:12:01without that, we really don't have a business at all.
0:12:01 > 0:12:05- OK.- What about products? Let's start planning ahead a bit.
0:12:05 > 0:12:07I'm going to see you in about a month
0:12:07 > 0:12:09or so and I've got to challenge for you, Charlie.
0:12:09 > 0:12:13I'd like to see a list of ten ideas you might have for seaweed products
0:12:13 > 0:12:16and I want you to pitch them to me
0:12:16 > 0:12:20because as long as you have the list, you can begin to work towards it.
0:12:20 > 0:12:23- Towards it.- Rather than always being a wholesaler.
0:12:23 > 0:12:27- Do you understand that, Charlie? - Yeah. That is the aim.
0:12:30 > 0:12:33It's now winter on the North Coast.
0:12:33 > 0:12:36Nick is back to look at Charlie's product ideas.
0:12:36 > 0:12:39It's the first time he's been pitched to on a bed sheet.
0:12:39 > 0:12:44Welcome to the launch of Broughgammon - forward thinking farming.
0:12:44 > 0:12:47That's what we've come up with for the title for the farm we think.
0:12:47 > 0:12:49SeaCrop is the name we've come up with for the seaweed part
0:12:49 > 0:12:51of the business.
0:12:51 > 0:12:53- I like that.- We've been sitting around brainstorming
0:12:53 > 0:12:55and we've come up with a few ideas.
0:12:55 > 0:12:59Foraging tours and classes. Seaweed bath packages.
0:12:59 > 0:13:03You have your muslin bag which means you can drop it into the bath,
0:13:03 > 0:13:05it releases the goodness.
0:13:05 > 0:13:07All the alginates come out of the seaweed
0:13:07 > 0:13:09and you moisturise yourself in the bath.
0:13:09 > 0:13:14How much would this retail for?
0:13:14 > 0:13:18Well, the prices range between £11, about 15 euros.
0:13:18 > 0:13:20That's what we're looking at.
0:13:20 > 0:13:24Unfortunately, our knowledge of soap-making isn't great,
0:13:24 > 0:13:27but we tried it yesterday with some molten soap bars and seaweed granules.
0:13:28 > 0:13:32- It doesn't smell great. - You're right about that one.
0:13:32 > 0:13:33CHARLIE LAUGHS
0:13:33 > 0:13:35Most of what we sell, will be sold as...
0:13:35 > 0:13:38This is to our wholesale marketers. We'd be looking at milling it down.
0:13:38 > 0:13:41This is our attempt at bath salts so you can smell that.
0:13:41 > 0:13:47I think that's a pretty refreshing scent.
0:13:48 > 0:13:51Encouraged by the product ideas,
0:13:51 > 0:13:53Nick's told Charlie to forge ahead
0:13:53 > 0:13:55with the seaweed licence application.
0:13:55 > 0:13:58The first thing Charlie needs to do is carry out
0:13:58 > 0:14:00an environmental impact assessment.
0:14:00 > 0:14:04I have to go down and analyse the biological matter on the beach
0:14:04 > 0:14:08and work out the quantities there are before I can create a harvesting report.
0:14:08 > 0:14:11I enjoy it. I'd rather be outside than anywhere else.
0:14:11 > 0:14:13There's a lot to see when you're down here. It's not just seaweed.
0:14:13 > 0:14:15You're not just looking at the floor.
0:14:15 > 0:14:17There's other stuff going on around you.
0:14:17 > 0:14:21The report will take months to compile, so Nick's decided
0:14:21 > 0:14:26to go back to the goats' meat idea.
0:14:26 > 0:14:30Today leading Northern Irish chefs have been invited to the Belfast Cookery School.
0:14:30 > 0:14:36Nick's asked top chef Paul Rankin to prepare three dishes
0:14:36 > 0:14:38and introduce them to goat meat.
0:14:39 > 0:14:42I imagine it's more tasty but similar to lamb.
0:14:42 > 0:14:44It certainly looks similar to lamb.
0:14:44 > 0:14:47Whack it in the oven. That's going on take about an hour and a half.
0:14:49 > 0:14:53If today goes well, Nick will launch Charlie to a whole new market.
0:14:53 > 0:14:59If it goes badly, it will kill the goat meat idea off for good.
0:14:59 > 0:15:01Hi, Paul.
0:15:01 > 0:15:02- Good morning.- How are you?
0:15:02 > 0:15:04I'm very well, thanks.
0:15:04 > 0:15:08Good to see you. I brought the brave Charlie Cole who's determined to
0:15:08 > 0:15:11change the eating habits of the nation.
0:15:11 > 0:15:14You are one of the most experienced chefs in the country.
0:15:14 > 0:15:15How often have you done this before?
0:15:15 > 0:15:18- I've never cooked with goat before. - Never? Really?
0:15:18 > 0:15:20So what I'm wondering is, is the taste milder?
0:15:20 > 0:15:24In which case, I think it's a very acceptable potentially
0:15:24 > 0:15:25commercial meat.
0:15:25 > 0:15:27If it's stronger and more gamey
0:15:27 > 0:15:31then I think it starts to throw up problems with the public.
0:15:31 > 0:15:33- I think lamb's your big competition. - Yeah.- Yeah.
0:15:37 > 0:15:42What really interested me in setting this up today is that
0:15:42 > 0:15:45it's almost impossible to find goat in Northern Ireland.
0:15:45 > 0:15:49It's an underdeveloped market and when we started inviting people
0:15:49 > 0:15:52to come here today, there was a rush of acceptances. Right?
0:15:52 > 0:15:54There's a lot of interest.
0:15:55 > 0:15:58Interest, combined with a lack of supply, could be
0:15:58 > 0:15:59a magic combination.
0:15:59 > 0:16:03But only if it tastes as good or better than more well-known meats
0:16:03 > 0:16:04like lamb.
0:16:04 > 0:16:06The other chefs have arrived.
0:16:06 > 0:16:09It's time for the hard sell.
0:16:09 > 0:16:11Thank you all for coming today.
0:16:11 > 0:16:13Just a little background, basically. I've been looking
0:16:13 > 0:16:16at goat farming for about a year now and I wanted to
0:16:16 > 0:16:19see if there was space to market it in Northern Ireland.
0:16:19 > 0:16:21Good, well, thank you, Charlie.
0:16:21 > 0:16:25Now what we've got to do is to try it, enjoy it, believe in it,
0:16:25 > 0:16:27promote it, goat for longer life.
0:16:29 > 0:16:31Feels a bit tough, actually.
0:16:32 > 0:16:34Dinner is served.
0:16:34 > 0:16:36OK, number one, girls.
0:16:36 > 0:16:40All Nick and Charlie can do now is wait anxiously for the verdict.
0:16:50 > 0:16:53You'd think it would be a hard sell but I think there's definitely
0:16:53 > 0:16:55potential to push it.
0:16:55 > 0:16:56Lamb's expensive.
0:16:57 > 0:17:01I'm finding the taste quite mild, I think it's delicious.
0:17:01 > 0:17:05I think that it's, it's not just an alternative, to lamb,
0:17:05 > 0:17:08I prefer the texture to it than lamb.
0:17:08 > 0:17:11To my mind, I thought it would be gamey, very rich,
0:17:11 > 0:17:14very, almost like mutton but that was incredible.
0:17:14 > 0:17:18- Really, really good.- So what do you think of the taste of it?- Very nice.
0:17:18 > 0:17:19- Yeah?- It's actually quite tender too.
0:17:19 > 0:17:23It's really, really hard to get goat's meat,
0:17:23 > 0:17:25I've been getting it from France,
0:17:25 > 0:17:28which is incredibly expensive and I would use it every week.
0:17:28 > 0:17:30I've given him my card and everything.
0:17:30 > 0:17:33Well, if proof were needed, we've seen it here today.
0:17:33 > 0:17:35There is a market.
0:17:35 > 0:17:37- This market, it's for the taking.- Yeah.
0:17:37 > 0:17:38- It's for the taking, OK?- Yeah.
0:17:46 > 0:17:48It been a month since the tasting.
0:17:48 > 0:17:51Finding a ready market for goat meat has given Charlie
0:17:51 > 0:17:55the confidence to get a herd of 26 goats.
0:17:55 > 0:17:57The goats were free but with no income,
0:17:57 > 0:18:00there's still no money for accommodation.
0:18:00 > 0:18:03So Charlie has found an alternative.
0:18:05 > 0:18:09This is the nursery section here.
0:18:09 > 0:18:11Basically, it was two bedrooms,
0:18:11 > 0:18:13we stripped them out and built these nursery pens.
0:18:14 > 0:18:17But most of these have now taken to the trough,
0:18:17 > 0:18:21so we're ready to move them out of the nursery stage and into the
0:18:21 > 0:18:25kitchen stage as we call it because it's in the kitchen in the caravan.
0:18:26 > 0:18:29It will take five months before Charlie is ready
0:18:29 > 0:18:31to sell goat's meat.
0:18:31 > 0:18:36So Nick has decided to continue developing markets for seaweed.
0:18:36 > 0:18:39Nick's arranged some key business pitches.
0:18:39 > 0:18:44It's a massive opportunity and Nick needs to make sure Charlie is ready.
0:18:44 > 0:18:47- So give me confidence, Charlie. - Give you confidence?
0:18:47 > 0:18:51- Are you giving me confidence? I think I'm the one to answer it.- I...
0:18:51 > 0:18:53- I'm not sure.- I'm confident.
0:18:53 > 0:18:56You'll be able to discuss with them knowledgeably unit cost,
0:18:56 > 0:18:59the competitors, what the benefits are.
0:18:59 > 0:19:00Yeah? All that kind of stuff.
0:19:00 > 0:19:03Promise me you'll have all this worked out by the time you
0:19:03 > 0:19:05walk into that room.
0:19:05 > 0:19:08I've gone to a lot of trouble lining up some really good pitches
0:19:08 > 0:19:11for Charlie and if he bitches up, as it were...
0:19:11 > 0:19:14Wanders in, gets all vague, I'll be bloody furious.
0:19:17 > 0:19:19It's early spring.
0:19:22 > 0:19:26Charlie's goats have outgrown the caravans and moved into a barn.
0:19:30 > 0:19:33On the seaweed side, Charlie is finishing
0:19:33 > 0:19:36his survey for The Environment Agency.
0:19:36 > 0:19:38Getting his licence is now a formality.
0:19:38 > 0:19:42So basically what we're doing is we're going along and we are looking at bits of red dulse.
0:19:42 > 0:19:44And we click on the clicker every time we see one.
0:19:47 > 0:19:49Except I've broken my clicker, so it's not working.
0:19:49 > 0:19:50HE LAUGHS
0:19:50 > 0:19:54We felt this sort of stood out but it is much more traditional.
0:19:54 > 0:19:57There is now just a month to go until the pitches.
0:19:57 > 0:20:01Charlie is preparing some prototype packaging
0:20:01 > 0:20:03for the seaweed bath soaks.
0:20:03 > 0:20:06That one I felt was quite sort of, erm, it doesn't really
0:20:06 > 0:20:07grab your eye.
0:20:07 > 0:20:10It's been a busy couple of months but Charlie knows the pitches
0:20:10 > 0:20:14Nick has arranged are the opportunity of a lifetime.
0:20:14 > 0:20:18I mean, I am quite nervous. I don't know how, what they're going to be
0:20:18 > 0:20:22looking for from just a small-time farmer, really.
0:20:22 > 0:20:26It's going to be quite a difficult market to sell to, I think.
0:20:29 > 0:20:33Nick has brought Charlie to London.
0:20:33 > 0:20:35Today he will be pitching seaweed bath soaks
0:20:35 > 0:20:38to one of the most prestigious department stores in the world.
0:20:39 > 0:20:41It's probably a little bit too early
0:20:41 > 0:20:44to be knocking on the door of Fortnum & Mason in Piccadilly,
0:20:44 > 0:20:45but let's see how he gets on.
0:20:45 > 0:20:49Let's see if he can sell them the concept, the product,
0:20:49 > 0:20:51and most importantly Charlie as a businessman.
0:20:55 > 0:20:59This whole floor is devoted only to women's beauty
0:20:59 > 0:21:01and accessory products.
0:21:01 > 0:21:02I mean, look at the size of it.
0:21:02 > 0:21:05And yet, there are no seaweed products and that tells me
0:21:05 > 0:21:08- maybe there's an opportunity for you. - Yeah.
0:21:12 > 0:21:14Thank you very much for having us here today.
0:21:14 > 0:21:17I've come from our small family farm Broughgammon, on the North Antrim coast.
0:21:17 > 0:21:20We are looking at ways of diversifying,
0:21:20 > 0:21:23bringing in a bit more money, and sustaining three boys
0:21:23 > 0:21:27who are all eager to set up their own little business ideas from home.
0:21:29 > 0:21:32And our first brainchild is this seaweed harvesting operation
0:21:32 > 0:21:34which we are currently trying to set up.
0:21:34 > 0:21:38And seaweed is growing sort of across the markets.
0:21:38 > 0:21:42It's used as a vegetable, it's used in health and beauty products,
0:21:42 > 0:21:46and one idea we've come up with is our seaweed soak, bath soak.
0:21:46 > 0:21:51Erm, so we've got, a little bit of salt falling out but this is it
0:21:51 > 0:21:52and the bag?
0:21:52 > 0:21:55You put this in the bath and it will then expand.
0:21:55 > 0:21:57It grows by about five times.
0:21:59 > 0:22:01And this will be floating in the bath with you?
0:22:01 > 0:22:03Floats in the bath or you can cut it
0:22:03 > 0:22:06and let it out for the full experience.
0:22:06 > 0:22:08OK. I'm just going to...
0:22:10 > 0:22:15- And at the moment we just have that pure seaweed smell.- Erm...
0:22:17 > 0:22:21Well it's, it's not an aromatherapy sort of thing,
0:22:21 > 0:22:22it's more sort of grass therapy.
0:22:22 > 0:22:25It's the idea of the salt water. The fact that the vitamins
0:22:25 > 0:22:28and the proteins inside it stimulate things like the thyroid gland,
0:22:28 > 0:22:31encourage weight loss, and it's sort of that side of the market.
0:22:31 > 0:22:36I'm concerned. As we've said, it's a whole luxury market.
0:22:36 > 0:22:40And we are asking our customers to sort of sit in the bath,
0:22:40 > 0:22:43with quite a large bag of seaweed.
0:22:45 > 0:22:47What was the price point on this? The cost price?
0:22:47 > 0:22:52I mean, the cost price for us to produce that is looking at about £7.50, I think.
0:22:52 > 0:22:54I think, at the moment, that is
0:22:54 > 0:22:56quite a high price point for the product.
0:23:01 > 0:23:04- We've got to get it right with the margins.- Yeah.
0:23:04 > 0:23:07I think it also needs a lot more work doing on it in terms of a range.
0:23:10 > 0:23:13Obviously, we're a very luxury customer.
0:23:13 > 0:23:16Looking for things that are a little bit exclusive and I think at this
0:23:16 > 0:23:20moment in time the product wasn't quite ready for us, but I think
0:23:20 > 0:23:24we can have given him some advice in terms of what he should do next.
0:23:24 > 0:23:26Well, that was the first pitch and it couldn't have been
0:23:26 > 0:23:29more difficult because that is absolutely top of the tree.
0:23:29 > 0:23:30But here are my observations.
0:23:30 > 0:23:33The pitch was a bit of a ramble to be quite honest, in future
0:23:33 > 0:23:35I think you've got to write down the bullet points,
0:23:35 > 0:23:38memorise them and then deliver them one after the other.
0:23:38 > 0:23:40Listen, I think they liked you.
0:23:40 > 0:23:44They get the concept, when you eventually got to it.
0:23:44 > 0:23:49In other words, they've left the door open. What more could you ask for?
0:23:49 > 0:23:52Fortnum & Mason may have been a long shot.
0:23:52 > 0:23:55But Nick's next pitch for Charlie has real potential.
0:23:55 > 0:23:59Green Angel are a Dublin-based company specialising
0:23:59 > 0:24:01in seaweed products.
0:24:01 > 0:24:04They're growing fast and Nick knows they're on the lookout
0:24:04 > 0:24:06for reliable wholesale suppliers.
0:24:08 > 0:24:11This opportunity, combined with the client in Scotland,
0:24:11 > 0:24:14could guarantee Charlie's future on the farm.
0:24:14 > 0:24:15Here we go again, Charlie,
0:24:15 > 0:24:17you just remember what we talked about last week.
0:24:17 > 0:24:20No rambling, yeah? Bullet points.
0:24:20 > 0:24:23They're here to buy and you're here to sell.
0:24:23 > 0:24:27Come out of here with an order. Start the business today.
0:24:27 > 0:24:30I come from sort of Broughgammon Farm which is our
0:24:30 > 0:24:32family farm up on the north coast of Antrim.
0:24:32 > 0:24:35At the moment we've got approval from the Crown Estates,
0:24:35 > 0:24:39we've probably got a nine-year lease with them, with first refusal at the end of it.
0:24:39 > 0:24:41We are at the moment going through NIEA approval
0:24:41 > 0:24:45so, our Environment Agency and we are also going for Foods Standards Agency
0:24:45 > 0:24:48- approval, so everything will be food safe.- That's interesting, good.
0:24:48 > 0:24:52- Would our seaweeds cost the same amount?- Uh, no.
0:24:52 > 0:24:55I mean something like pepper dulse which is probably the smallest
0:24:55 > 0:24:57seaweed there is but the most sought after
0:24:57 > 0:25:00for its flavour, that would be £25 per kilogram, whereas
0:25:00 > 0:25:05something like dulse we'd be looking at about 10, £12 a kilogram.
0:25:05 > 0:25:09Would you be able to put it into some kind of bag, do you think?
0:25:09 > 0:25:11For us, bagging shouldn't be a problem.
0:25:11 > 0:25:13We've looked at doing it ourselves.
0:25:13 > 0:25:16We retail to around 500 pharmacies.
0:25:16 > 0:25:20And if we start exporting, which is where we want to go...
0:25:20 > 0:25:22We would be able to provide a competitive package
0:25:22 > 0:25:24in comparison to a lot of the other producers.
0:25:24 > 0:25:27Who would literally pick it and then look for the immediate service.
0:25:27 > 0:25:29Right, so what you're saying is,
0:25:29 > 0:25:31that you're really going to do this more professionally?
0:25:31 > 0:25:34Obviously, if we were sort of negotiating a contract then
0:25:34 > 0:25:37we'd be more sure of what our overheads were going to be
0:25:37 > 0:25:42and we could then tie it down to a more competitive price.
0:25:42 > 0:25:44So do you feel, once we've tied down our costs,
0:25:44 > 0:25:47would you be happy to sort of go forward and discuss
0:25:47 > 0:25:49an actual contract and do business together?
0:25:49 > 0:25:53I think we may be one step away from a deal.
0:25:53 > 0:25:55Thank you very much.
0:25:55 > 0:25:57You see what happens when you tighten up your game?
0:25:57 > 0:25:59Wishy-washy at Fortnum's, this was good.
0:25:59 > 0:26:02They've actually said you're one step away from a deal.
0:26:02 > 0:26:04- It couldn't get much better than that, could it?- Yeah.
0:26:04 > 0:26:07Anyway, come on, your mum's got goat for dinner.
0:26:07 > 0:26:09- And you're bringing the wine. - Come on!
0:26:13 > 0:26:16While Millie gets busy preparing tonight's dinner,
0:26:16 > 0:26:20Nick is up at the shed meeting the rest of Charlie's goats.
0:26:20 > 0:26:24You start at one end and run to the other. The entire lot will follow you from one end to the other.
0:26:24 > 0:26:27I hope you're not in here playing games with them? LAUGHS
0:26:27 > 0:26:31We're basically, at the moment conducting a little trial with them.
0:26:31 > 0:26:34We're killing one off every month to see how much it weighs
0:26:34 > 0:26:37- and what the actual flavour of the meat tastes like.- Yeah.
0:26:37 > 0:26:40Obviously, the younger, more tender, more flavoursome.
0:26:40 > 0:26:41But not as much weight.
0:26:41 > 0:26:44The price per kilo would be high but the amount of kilos would be low.
0:26:44 > 0:26:46Whereas if we leave them to five months...
0:26:46 > 0:26:49- you're finding the sweet spot? - Exactly.- Yeah.
0:26:51 > 0:26:53I went into the stable, as it were, where they are,
0:26:53 > 0:26:56and his, suddenly, his whole attitude changes.
0:26:56 > 0:26:58- You can feel he's enthusiastic. - Yeah. He is.- Which is good.
0:26:58 > 0:27:02- I mean, he's worked very hard at it. They look at him as dad.- Right.
0:27:02 > 0:27:07So it's going to be very interesting to see what he had to take them to slaughter.
0:27:07 > 0:27:09LAUGHTER
0:27:09 > 0:27:14As well as Charlie's mum and dad, family friend Tara is also here.
0:27:14 > 0:27:17- Here's a lot to celebrate.- Charlie, don't cut my fingers off!
0:27:17 > 0:27:19LAUGHTER
0:27:19 > 0:27:23Today, Charlie found a new wholesale client for the seaweed.
0:27:23 > 0:27:26Fortnum & Mason are open to helping him develop products,
0:27:26 > 0:27:29and the Scottish client is waiting to buy seaweed
0:27:29 > 0:27:31for their range of seaweed seasonings.
0:27:32 > 0:27:36- It's very good, isn't it? - You taste the seaweed through it.
0:27:36 > 0:27:38It's very delicate, isn't it? Hmmm? Huh?
0:27:38 > 0:27:40Not only that, but they are celebrating with
0:27:40 > 0:27:44Charlie's own hand-reared goat, which he got for free
0:27:44 > 0:27:47and for which he already has a market.
0:27:47 > 0:27:48Well, here's a toast to you, Charlie.
0:27:48 > 0:27:50When I first met you I thought, hello,
0:27:50 > 0:27:52we've got a dilettante here.
0:27:52 > 0:27:55Shopping and hopping around, but you've come good.
0:27:55 > 0:27:58You've come good on the goat. You've come good on the seaweed.
0:27:58 > 0:28:02Brilliant. I'm really proud of you. I'm sure your parents are proud too.
0:28:02 > 0:28:05- Cheers.- Thank you very much. - Here's to Broughgammon and Charlie.
0:28:05 > 0:28:06To Broughgammon.
0:28:06 > 0:28:07When Charlie left college he was determined
0:28:07 > 0:28:10to have a future on the family farm.
0:28:10 > 0:28:13He hasn't sat around wondering what to do, moaning and whining, he's got
0:28:13 > 0:28:16off his backside and he's researched the sort of markets
0:28:16 > 0:28:18that he could go into.
0:28:18 > 0:28:21And now, he's brought those products pretty much through to fruition,
0:28:21 > 0:28:25he's gone out and he's found customers.
0:28:25 > 0:28:28I'm not saying that he's up and running now but I tell you what,
0:28:28 > 0:28:29I know where he's going.
0:28:43 > 0:28:45Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd