We met a lot of our existing retailers in the 3 days spent in the RDS, Dublin. It is very important to be there to cement relationships and we will certainly be there next year. We did a lot of networking and learned a lot of useful information from fellow food producers. Alas, we did not get any prize for our first added value product, our hot smoked rainbow trout fillet which is the first boneless one to be available in Ireland. Maybe next year!
National Ploughing Championships on the lands of Eamon and Willie Fennin, Cardenton, Athy Co Kildare. We had 3 very hectic days at the show. We meet with many of our customers and also had a chance to meet our very own Taoiseace Brian Cowen. Ted Walsh popped by to say hello having heard Ivan Yeats raving on about us with Claire Byrne on radio.
Went to visit 4 trout farms in Gdansk Poland. Unlike the more developed world these guys can make something out of nothing. Spent 5 days travelling around and brought home many simple ideas. Have installed some oxygen cones sourced on that trip which means we can now oxygenate our first 6 ponds for young fish, which is vital during the summer months.
Open day on the farm. We have developed the farm as a tourist attraction and had an open day for invited guests to come and see for themselves how we farm our fish and our commitment to a sustainable world. It was a roaring success and we had many celebrities many of whom have written very favorably about their ‘wonderful day’ Darina Allen was still making tea for herself at 9 that night and Kevin Dundon has promised to bring his kids back to visit us very soon.
Went to Brussels to the European seafood trade show. Our aim was to look at equipment to help automate our processes. We finally met the man who had claimed to have invented the first machine that removed the small pin bones from small portion trout fillets. One look and we were satisfied have searched for such a machine for years. We purchased there and then. We also met the owned of Baader, the German company who manufacture the best trout filleting machines in the world. We attended their 85 year celebration in the Atonium in the heart of Brussels and managed to win the heart of its owner a Mrs Mullier who is 74 and who could associate with me as a woman in a man’s industry. She practically gave us a deal we could not refuse so it was a case of being in the right place at the right time. We now have a Baader 221 with only 6 hours on the clock for almost half of the recommended selling price!
Went to the International Seafood Tradeshow in Boston on St. Patrick’s weekend. We spent 3 full days looking at what was happening in the rest of the world regarding the seafood industry especially in relation to adding value to Trout. There were 3 companies producing trout and we were invited to visit Sunburst Trout Farm in North Carolina, USA.
