Episode 7 The Farm Fixer

-Small family farms are in trouble.

-This hasn't seen any action.

Business consultant Nick Hewer is going back to his Northern Irish roots

to help them diversify and make radical changes before they go under.

-What can you do with 17 acres?

-But are the farmers ready for his advice?

I'm not a farming guru with all the answers, but having observed many companies over more than 40 years,

what I can offer is a great big dollop of common sense.

This series follows local farms embarking on a long-term fight for survival.

-You're not turning bookings down?

-There will be tough decisions.

That source will pump for ever and a day. And they'll sell it?!

But doing nothing is not an option.

-End of a long day, and, for me, a depressing day.

-OK.

COCK CROWS

This week, Nick is on his way to Arkhill Organic Farm just outside Garvagh

in County Londonderry. Paul Craig moved here 15 years ago

with his wife, Eleanor, and their two young children.

The plan was to escape the rat race and live off the land.

I came from a housing estate, and to have your own land is amazing.

To walk on it and not have anybody to shout at you, "Get off my land!"

Today, life is difficult. Rheumatoid arthritis has forced Paul's wife Eleanor to give up work.

-A few years ago, Paul had to get a part-time job.

-It does cost a lot.

Organic food is very dear, £400 a ton.

14 years has gone on and there hasn't been much finance come in. As a business, it's not feasible.

We're on our way to a smallholding today,

just ten acres. Very difficult to make a living.

To be successful on that sort of scale, you need good ideas, imagination

and a huge, huge slog of really, really hard work.

Nick's visit is the start of a final push at the farm. Paul has rented his farm shop to chef Richard Brown.

Just two weeks ago, Richard launched a new business called the Duck Pond Tea Room.

Paul's hoping Richard's rent and a new demand for fresh produce will help save his farm.

Nick has just eight months to get both businesses into shape.

His first stop is up at Arkhill.

-Good morning. This is Paul?

-Yes.

-How are you?

-Good to meet you, Nick.

-Eleanor.

-You're really welcome.

-Thank you.

-I'm Hannah.

-Hannah.

Accompanied by his dog, Jasmine, the first thing Nick wants is a tour of what the farm has to offer.

Where are you?

Well, Nick, around here there's a lot of potential, a lovely orchard,

-but I haven't looked at it in a long time.

-Arkhill is mixed and organic.

Paul has chickens, sheep and, up by the orchard, a herd of 15 pigs.

-Retail at the minute is a restaurant and a couple of customers.

-Why's that?

-There's just no market.

-Really?

-Uh-huh. For organic meat.

-Really?!

-Yeah, yeah.

OK, Nick. Come on and we'll show you the polytunnels.

-They haven't seen action in years.

-Because?

-No market.

-No time.

-I think it's no time, isn't it?

Or you're not prepared to spend the time. The other one looks like it was hit by an airstrike.

-We had a storm back in 2006.

-That's five years ago.

-Mm-hm.

What's the market for nettle tea like? If there is a market, you're in business without doing a thing.

Look at it.

Five years ago, we had a bit of a storm here and it blew down this polytunnel. Was it repaired?

No. It's remained exactly the same, and that's emblematic of the decline of this small farm.

Decline. Decline and fall, that's what we've got here.

Unless he pulls his socks up, his little ten acres will be a wilderness in a few years' time.

-There is one area of the farm that is making money.

-Come on!

-Brilliant.

-Organised school visits.

-There we are.

Primary schools come to experience a working farm. The highlight is a ride on the goat cart.

-How many children come to your...?

-Over the May and June period,

-we have approximately 25 schools, roughly 30 children in each school, so over 800 children.

-800.

-Call it a fiver a time?

-Yeah.

-£4,000 a year.

-It's a little... It's a nice wee income.

NICK CHUCKLES

Right. There's a first time for everything.

Walk on, Mischief.

-He's well used to it. As long as it's downhill, he doesn't mind.

-I think I'll stick to cars.

Apart from schools, the farm's main income comes from eggs, which Paul sells

-to shops around Belfast.

-You put your hand in there! Go on.

Around 400 chickens lay, on average, 240 eggs a day.

It's organic and free range, but even here, the business has been in decline.

-We used to supply Sainsbury's, Marks and Spencer.

-Who replaced you, then, as a supermarket supplier?

-Er, Thompson's of Armagh.

-And that's a price issue or...?

-They're more like 3,000 hens.

-So it's a scale thing.

-Yeah.

-And you sort of said, "Let it go."

-Let it go.

-And you didn't go and find somebody to replace them.

-You had to get rid of surplus chickens, then?

-Yeah, from 1,800 chickens down to about 350, 400.

It's obvious the farm is in trouble. Paul's hoping Richard's tea room will be the saviour.

-Down. Stay there.

-But it's only been open two weeks and with just 35 seats, Nick's not so sure.

-How are you?

-I'm fine. Nice to meet you, Nick.

-How's it doing?

Ah, today was steady enough. We've had a good, steady flow.

-A big lunchtime trade?

-Yeah, between one and half past two, I'd say we did about 25, 30 people.

-It now looks to me as though you're ready for tea.

-Yep.

-So you've got the morning trade,

-you've got lunchtime trade.

-Yeah.

-And nothing in the evenings?

-No...

-Knocking that whole market out.

-I've been in the restaurant trade for 30 years - split shifts, weekends,

all evening work - and I have missed out on my family. And this is a lifestyle choice.

This is where I'm here early in the morning, finish at maybe 6, 6.30,

-and I get home to have dinner with my family.

-So you're prepared to sacrifice a certain level of income

in order to enjoy the family.

Understandable.

I think that Paul and Richard think that the tea room is a bit of a wheeze,

it'll solve their problems.

The tea room will take all its supplies from the farm and the farm supplies all its stuff to them.

Wrong!

You'd need a huge restaurant to take all the produce that a ten-acre farm could produce.

Nick knows that the rent and custom from the tea room is not enough to save Arkhill Farm,

but it IS crucial. He also knows his plan will only work if Paul and Richard will work together.

-End of a long day, and, for me, a depressing day.

-OK.

Because I'm not looking at a success story at all.

I'm not going to be cruel about it, but I want to be really analytical.

Neither of you, I guess, are out to build empires,

but you both want good lives.

Paul, you've told me there is no market for organic,

and I understand that it costs more to produce and has a premium price,

but I don't accept that there's no market. You're selling eggs, I think, in Belfast,

-what, once a week?

-Once a week, yeah.

-Once a week.

There's room on that truck for whatever you grow in the polytunnels when you get round to planting them.

So I think that Paul needs an energy tablet...

-Yeah, definitely.

-And I think, Richard, you've got actually a very good, modern,

Scandinavian type of business. But what you haven't got yet - early days, I accept that -

is marketing. You've called it Duck Pond Restaurant.

And you're Arkhill. You've got an Arkhill Farm Centre sign outside.

I wonder whether it's prudent to have called it a different name.

I think we've got to look at the whole marketing really freshly.

Nick's plan is for Paul and Richard to join forces to create a unified Arkhill brand.

He also wants them to work together to take produce further afield.

What about the outside catering business? You've got your kitchen, your staff.

All you need now is marketing and transportation to get it there.

You've got your flock of sheep. Maybe you could turn it into pies,

call it Arkhill Organic Lamb Pies and sell them locally in the pubs and restaurants around,

in Coleraine and Cookstown.

-Because you've got to get rid of that product somehow.

-Very true.

Pies, vegetables, eggs - same truck, reduce the cost,

more product to sell, greater the profit. Listen, the future's not bleak. The future's there.

To be honest, I came in depressed, I feel much better now because it's all here, you know.

-Yes.

-Energy, a bit of investment, get out there and market the hell out of it.

The first step in Nick's plan is to create an Arkhill Farm brand,

so Nick's invited along marketing expert Mark Thompson.

The first thing they need to sort out is signage.

So here we are, smack bang on the A29. Loads of traffic.

Are they stopping?

-No. Why?

-The signs are in the wrong places,

they're almost impossible to read at 40, 50mph.

-And they've got two different brand names.

-If we could cut down some of those trees

-and reveal the tea house...

-Yeah.

-..and light it at night, then you'd be getting somewhere near to it.

You're right. People need to know the business is there.

At the moment, they're solely reliant on really poor signage.

-You can't see the premises at all. No wonder it's not working.

-Yeah.

It seems to me, guys, that there are two things we need to look at.

Firstly is the signage on the road.

There's an official brown sign. It says Arkhill Farm Centre,

which to me, as somebody who grew up on a farm, almost suggests to me an agricultural machinery yard.

It doesn't tell me there's an open farm here, a tea room here or an organic producer here.

We need at the very least to get that wording changed.

If you do want the two businesses to work together better,

it's always much clearer and more effective with a common name.

Maybe something to think about is that Arkhill becomes the main brand name.

So the tea room could become Arkhill tea room, but there could also then be a retail brand developed

which could be called Arkhill Organic. Using the same name starts to build a real momentum.

They effectively promote each other.

Nick's visit has given Paul and Richard a lot to think about.

For Paul, it's given new focus,

but at the Duck Pond, Richard is still not convinced about changing his business name to Arkhill.

We're sticking with Duck Pond tea room at the moment. There's an amount of independence I want.

'And we haven't made up our minds yet. We're still tentatively thinking about it.'

I think it's a better idea keeping it under one brand and he's still the owner of the tea room.

-So, I don't know.

-Nick knows asking Richard to lose the Duck Pond name after only a few weeks of trading

is a big ask, especially as he is just Paul's tenant.

So he's asked Mark to develop a compromise - a family of Arkhill branding with strong shared identity

-that allows the Duck Pond to keep its name.

-What we've done is something simple

-that combines a duck pond and a teacup.

-Very good. I like the concept of a duck and a teacup.

Encouraged by the new branding, over the next month, Paul sets to work on Nick's plan.

The first task is to reinstate the polytunnels. Winter salads could be ready in a few weeks.

I think for the last 16 years, I have been treading water.

I have come and lived the good life.

I have enjoyed my farm and the lifestyle.

But, really, I need to make money.

So if I can make money with the product I have, then, yes, I'm all on for that.

Paul may be buoyant, but down at the Duck Pond Richard's got problems.

The person who owns the land in front of the tea room is not allowing any trees to be cut down.

Permission to change any wording on the brown tourist sign has also been refused. Nick is furious.

'So what you're saying is local authority, as is usual,

'these petty bureaucrats,

-'are saying no to any sign changes. Right?'

-That is correct, yes.

'Really, I just despair.'

What I think we need to do is organise a petition and we'll go and ram it through their letterbox,

and we also need to start promoting the Arkhill name. I've got a challenge.

'We're going to get a stall for you, and what have you got to do?'

Take a representative selection of produce and price it correctly, package it and brand that stand.

It's really taking Arkhill out for a little walk to see how people like it, you know?

OK, yes.

It's December,

three months since Nick's initial visit.

-Come on ahead, Nick.

-He's back to see how they're getting on.

-You've got the green one up.

-Yep.

-What's going in there?

Fruit canes, raspberries, tayberries, strawberries, and various plants that get fruit.

-And in here...

-Should be the big change you can see.

I should say so. It was full of pig manure up to your ankles! Up to your knees!

-The smell's a lot better.

-What is this?

-Well, here we have rocket,

pak choi, parsley, and then over here, which is slow yet, this is spinach.

-I'll let you have a taste...

-Where's this going?

-Down to Richard.

-So you're all fired up?

-All fired up.

-A big, big change.

-Nick hopes the mood is as good at the Duck Pond.

The first winter was always going to be slow, but hopefully Richard's holding up.

Business has tailed off slightly coming into the winter,

but we're doing better than we had anticipated.

The one issue is still the signs. When we can't get the signs out, we notice a considerable drop.

The signage is the thing. No sign, nobody knows you're here.

We've got the Arkhill Farm sign out there. It doesn't tell you anything except it's a farm called Arkhill!

I know that we talked about a petition, and you're running one?

-We're ready to present it.

-Give me a number.

-We're over 300.

-That's pretty strong in such a short time.

-Yeah.

-I find it so distressing, you know.

It sort of makes me want to have a shout.

Nick has asked Paul and Richard to meet him at the local government road services offices in Coleraine.

They have received a letter explaining the position about the wording on the brown sign.

Nick's hoping the petition might convince them to agree to some sort of compromise.

This is where you said that you wanted the wording changed on a tourist board

from Arkhill Farm to Arkhill Farm and Tea Room.

-Yeah.

-Not a huge change, to be honest with you.

Really. Well, look, we can meet them, but we can't meet them with a camera.

They said, "Oh, we can't have cameras!" But they have issued a statement which says, inter alia,

"It is not possible to approve the wording as suggested...because in accordance with the RSPPG,

"EO29, the use of the words 'tea room' shall not be permitted

"due to issues of inequity..." And blah de blah de blah.

Usual old bureaucratic humbug. Anyway, come on. Let's go. Let's go and talk to them.

After an hour, Nick, Paul and Richard reappear.

It doesn't look like it went well.

What did we achieve, having put forward their petition and explained their situation?

Frankly, buck passing.

And what's so sad about this sort of situation is

that if these guys with their enterprise are successful and make money,

the taxes that that profit generates goes to feed that sort of institution behind us.

And yet they're not interested in helping these guys to pay THEIR wages.

And that's what disappoints me more than anything.

No imagination.

Jobsworths.

For now, the brown sign will have to keep the Arkhill Farm Centre wording,

so Nick's plan to promote the Arkhill name further afield is more vital than ever.

-That may have felt like a bit of a waste of time.

-Yes.

-It ain't over.

We'll not take our foot off the gas. We'll push for new business.

New business, bigger business, better business, more profitable business.

The promotional push is on. Today, Nick has organised a stall for Paul and Richard

in the Diamond Shopping Centre in Coleraine. The Duck Pond's kitchen is too small to produce pies in bulk

but Paul and Richard have developed a range of Arkhill products that includes soups, cakes and chutneys.

Today, they present it to the public.

I've put a wee flyer in there about the Duck Pond tea room, where you can buy this produce.

Here we are in the shopping centre, to get away from Arkhill, away from the Duck Pond tea room

and meet the public.

Bring your friends out and you can get some of this produce again.

Guys, you've really embraced that challenge.

-All home produced.

-What's that? Soup?

-Fresh soups.

-Your sausages?

-Yes.

-Local butcher.

-It's brilliant.

I am delighted. I think you've progressed far more than I thought you would.

But it's not what I think. It's what the buying public thinks. That's what's important.

Nick's plan is working. Paul is adding value to his produce

and the Duck Pond is getting a promotional kick.

Like to try the chutney, sir?

-I'm just having a wee look.

-Despite all the work, the Diamond Centre is quieter than Nick expected.

At this early stage, Nick does not want Paul and Richard discouraged.

Hopefully, they've at least broken even.

-Well, end of day.

-Yeah.

-How did it go? What does the till say?

-£92.

That's good. Remember, it wasn't all about using it as a commercial thing.

-It was about taking your products and the range of your products out to the public.

-That's right.

-It's been a great exercise.

-A lot of people had very positive feedback.

They've known about the place and it's been highly recommended, or they're interested.

The thing is now is between now and the spring, when I'm coming back,

you've got to go to as many markets as possible. Get the word out.

Because the challenge is for you to mount a massive open day,

-open day at Arkhill. That's it.

-We will.

-That is the big launch.

It's the new year. Paul and Richard have taken a regular pitch at a farmers' market in Coleraine.

Everything on here is organic. Chickens, hams, boiling hens.

For Nick's plan to work, Paul needs to create more demand.

There's your change. £5.55.

Although the products are selling well, the market is only monthly.

Producing meat pies from the Duck Pond's kitchen is also a problem.

We're limited with our kitchen size and what we can churn out, with Health and Safety and hygiene.

Thanking you. Lovely.

Back at base, despite letters to the Department of Tourism,

the stalemate over the brown sign continues,

so Paul is helping Richard by clearing the trees from his small corner of land by the lane.

Not directly in front of the Duck Pond, it will still be hidden,

but the small plot will allow room to erect new signage.

We hope to have a big sign up here. Either a duck house or the Duck Pond logo

with the cup and the wee duck in it.

So people driving along the road can actually see there's a restaurant. That's the key.

Exterior signage may be improving, but inside the Duck Pond, there's no change.

Nick's plan was for the Duck Pond to act as the public face of the Arkhill Pure and Simple brand.

At the moment, there are just a few shelves. Hopefully, things will improve for the launch.

It's spring. Later today, Arkhill Farm and the Duck Pond are having their official launch,

but before Nick arrives, Paul has asked to meet him in a cafe at a local skydiving centre.

I'm rather confused about this, but my job right from the start was to make Arkhill Farm sustainable.

And if this new thing he's got helps to do that, then I'm happy.

The cafe at the Sky Centre is open at weekends, and Paul has secured a contract to supply his produce,

but he has also struck a deal with the chef, Jennifer.

The cafe has a bigger kitchen than the Duck Pond, and Jennifer has agreed to produce meat pies

and other products to sell at the markets.

Finally, Paul has a way of adding value to his pork and lamb.

-Right. So Arkhill produce is coming in here.

-Yes.

-How does Richard feel about that?

-Yeah, fine. Richard's biggest problem was the size of the kitchen.

We couldn't do that much with it. Pies were a problem.

Now that we have the branding over here, I'll take it to the market and Richard's happy.

-How far away is the Duck Pond from here?

-Three miles.

-OK. That's far enough not to interfere.

-Exactly.

-OK. And you're still supplying Arkhill to the Duck Pond?

-Uh-huh.

Well, more and more interesting. Paul seems to have gone out on his own. He's opened up here

at the Sky Centre with Arkhill products. I thought the whole original idea was

that Richard and Paul were in this together. So I'll have to dig

to find out exactly where Richard stands.

Any questions Nick has will have to wait. The launch is now less than an hour away.

Although Nick's pleased to see some new signage, a quick look around the tea room confirms his worst fears.

So where's the branding? There is no branding.

No Arkhill branding. How can you have a launch with no branding?

What do you reckon to that?

Fortunately, Nick has brought some Arkhill signs.

-Hopefully, for today at least, Richard will agree to put it up.

-That work for you?

-Yeah, great.

There is now less than 30 minutes to go until people arrive.

The race is on to get Arkhill and the Duck Pond finished in time to meet its public.

With minutes to go, the Duck Pond is ready.

Up at Arkhill, Paul has begun promoting his open farm visits with a farm tour.

As you see, the chickens are free range. They're happier outdoors.

As well as press, dignitaries and tourist representatives, today's invited guests include teachers.

-It's one of the favourites. Two days old.

-It's the perfect opportunity

to show off the cleaned-up farm ahead of the summer term.

In this polytunnel, we have raspberries, strawberries, blackcurrants...

Between now and when I first came here, a lot of things have happened.

Polytunnels, paint everywhere, lawns are tidied up.

He's made a bit of an effort and it shows.

A lick of paint does wonders.

Down at the Duck Pond, Richard's promotional teas are going well,

but underneath the jovial atmosphere Nick knows Paul and Richard's business relationship has changed.

Before he goes, he wants to make sure it's not about to fall apart altogether.

That was a pretty good launch and things have come on in leaps and bounds, no question.

It's evident for everybody to see, but one thing puzzled me.

Are things running as smoothly as they should be in that partnership?

Or has it changed in some way?

No, I think what we've... what I've done, certainly, is maybe taken a little step back

to focus on what the business here is doing and making sure it runs smoothly. We use Paul's produce,

but for the immediate future, I have to make the Duck Pond tea room a success.

And you're happy that you've got enough outlets to take your produce?

You've got here, and now the Sky Centre, which has more than double the seating of this place.

Yeah, the main thing that I had a problem with was the pork and lamb,

and now that we're going to do the pies, that gets rid of that.

Going forward, having made all the advances you've made, it's important to reassess your relationship

to make sure it's still a good partnership. And when you're happy with the team room running so well,

then maybe it can sort of reform again and you can go forward on the Arkhill Pure and Simple as well.

Having seen the launch today and knowing just how much hard work has been put in,

Arkhill Pure and Simple and the Duck Pond have all that they need for a sound future.

Bear in mind, this is all coming out of a little ten-acre farm and a tiny little roadhouse.

I have great confidence that Paul and Richard can make this work,

not just here, but it's capable of growing. That's good. That's what we wanted in the first place.

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