A sixth-generation Co Down farmer has told how opening a farm shop has helped her find a new future for her family business, which was established in 1889.
Emily McGowan’s family has farmed at Millbank in Killinchy for more than a century. While she is determined to continue that legacy, doing so has meant taking the business in a different direction.
“I don’t want to be the one to drop the ball,” she told The Irish News.
“Dad always sort of said that when he was growing up and taking over the farm, he didn’t want to drop the ball. So now he’s been able to pass it on, I don’t want to be the one to drop it either.”
The youngest of three sisters, Emily found herself drawn to farming while her siblings pursued other careers.
Emily McGowan opened Millbank Farm Shop in Saintfield while still studying at university.
For 40 years, her father Adrian grew vegetables for supermarkets, including Lidl and Tesco. The family has since moved away from that large-scale production, developing a farm shop in Saintfield and hosting events which bring visitors to Millbank.
Emily said adapting the business was necessary to secure its future and allow her to work alongside her parents.
“If you want to actually progress, you know, things needed to change,” she said.
The idea for the farm shop began to take shape while she was studying agriculture with business at Harper Adams University.
“During my placement year at uni, I had the opportunity to set up a farm shop and I really enjoyed the whole experience,” Emily recalled.
“Then about six months into that placement, we were approached about the premises in Saintfield and I knew it would be a great space for a farm shop, so we just went for it.”
Millbank Farm Shop opened on June 19 2019, with Emily still completing her studies.
Dad always said that when he was taking over the farm, he didn’t want to drop the ball. So now he’s passed it on, I don’t want to be the one to drop it either
— Emily McGowan
Millbank Farm Shop opened on June 19, 2019.
“I had to finish my placement year while remotely managing this,” she explained.
“But then Covid hit, so I was able to come home and get an extension on my dissertation while we got the shop off the ground.”
Although the pandemic brought uncertainty, the shift towards shopping locally helped the young business establish itself.
The farm shop also created a way to sell the farm’s produce directly to customers, allowing the family to move away from supplying supermarkets.
More recently, that model has changed again, with other local growers now supplying much of the shop’s vegetables.
“At the start, we supplied the majority of the veg, and we now don’t,” Emily explained.
“There are so many good local guys who are supplying us.”
That network allows the shop to continue offering local produce while Adrian steps back from some of the more physically demanding work.
“Dad’s retiring. Well, when I say retiring, he’ll never retire, but he’s starting to step away from some of the more labour-intensive jobs, like being in a leek field at minus one during the winter.”
Working in the leek field at Millbank Farm, which previously supplied vegetables to supermarkets.
Running the shop, pantry and farm events also depends on having people around her whom she can trust.
“You can’t do it by yourself, my goodness,” she said.
“You need help. You do need a good team behind you.”
Locating the shop in Saintfield has brought another advantage, as Emily believes the town’s growing range of independent businesses helps attract visitors who might otherwise have had little reason to stop.
“Kin and Folk and places like that have been able to bring customers that we never would have brought to the town,” she said.
“So there is a great community in Saintfield.”
Alongside the shop, Emily has been developing events to bring in another source of income for the family business.
It began with an open farm event in 2019, held shortly before the shop opened. A sunflower field fundraiser followed, before the family developed Flower Fest, a paid visitor attraction at Whiterock Bay, which also raises money for charity.
Over the years, the event has grown to include dahlias, wildflowers and cosmos, alongside a maize maze, coffee dock and activities for children.
The fields at Millbank Farm in Co Down.
For Emily, watching families enjoy the fields has become one of the most rewarding parts of the business.
“We’re outside every day and I think you can take that for granted sometimes, but seeing other people come and spend time in the fresh air and enjoy themselves is lovely,” she said.
She also likes the thought that those visits become part of a family’s own history.
“We love seeing all the pictures people take when they come to the likes of Flower Fest. It’s such a privilege to play a small part in helping them make memories by having events like this.”
The next plan is to extend the flower season into spring, with an order for 40,000 tulips placed ahead of a planned March event.
“Next year will be the first year we’ll run a flower fest in March as well as in the summer,” she said.
“We’ll see how that goes.
“It’s a bit of a risk, but we have to try it.”
Tractor work at Millbank Farm, where the McGowan family has farmed since 1889.
Beyond that, Emily hopes to open a bigger shop one day. But for now, she is focused on finding new ways to develop the business and build on what her family has created.
“The plan really is to just keep evolving every year, keep trying things and taking on the opportunities come your way,” she said.
“I would love to have a bigger shop later down the line, that would be the dream. But you need to evolve into that.
“For now what we have it works.”
For more information about Millbank Farm visit millbankfarm.com.