Steven Ryan, the overall winner of the 2019 NEWBIE competition, established a snail farm, alongside the family’s sheep and beef enterprise.
Snail farming is providing the Galway native with “a good income from a small piece of ground”.
“We started out using Google and YouTube for information and through trial and error, developed a system that suits the Irish climate.” he explained.
Outdoor snail production
Steven, like many new entrants, learned many lessons the hard way using techniques more appropriate to Mediterranean climates, which added great cost to the farm before realising that the Irish climate is perfect for outdoor snail production.
He has streamlined the system greatly reducing cost and labour input, as well as complimenting the other enterprises, with progressive game-changing projects in the pipeline.
Main image and video source: Teagasc / YouTube
