The owner of one of the country's major carrot producers has described the decision to cease production as "devastating" for both the company and local community.
Up to 45 jobs are now at risk at Hughes Agriculture & Farming Limited, which leases around 700 acres of lands in or about Co Kilkenny.
The company, which has a registered address in Haggard, Kells, Co Kilkenny, is one of the major employers in the area.
It specialises in the production of root vegetables and flowers, and packages and sells its produce to retail outlets both here and abroad.
A provisional liquidator has now been appointed to the company, which has incurred substantial debts over recent years.
Court documents state that Hughes Agriculture & Farming Limited has experienced a "confluence of negative factors over the past 36 months."
In an affidavit seen by RTÉ News, Julian Hughes, founder and sole director of the company, told the High Court that these factors include "persistent inflation" and a very poor growing year in 2025, "where unfavourable growing conditions significantly depressed crop yields."
The High Court was told that the company still has a significant crop of carrots and parsnips that are ready to be harvested but this has been delayed by the "historically inclement weather" experienced in recent months.
Mr Hughes said if a liquidator was not appointed on a provisional basis, he feared this harvest may be lost and the crops would perish to the "detriment" of the company’s outstanding creditors.
The company owes about €1.4 million to trade creditors as well as a substantial debt to Revenue.
Mr Hughes stated that several attempts by the management of the company to ensure its survival have failed, and it is now insolvent.
The company, represented by barrister Jonathan Fitzgerald and instructed by Clarke Jeffers LLP, applied for the appointment of a provisional liquidator stating this was the best chance for its current crops to be saved, and also in time for Easter, when the sale of carrots traditionally increases.
Judge Oisín Quinn appointed Colin Gaynor, of Resolute Advisory, as provisional liquidator and scheduled the winding-up petition for two weeks’ time.
The company called its employees to a meeting yesterday evening and told them that production on the farm is set to cease.
In a statement to RTÉ News this afternoon, Mr Hughes said: "We have worked with fantastic people, customers, and suppliers over the past 10 years.
"We have worked tirelessly over the past five years to outpace inflation and rising costs but today we lost that race.
"It is devastating from a personal perspective and for all of our dedicated and hard-working staff," he said.
