Organic sector is still on the fringes
Teagasc has been very involved, and many millions of euro have been spent developing and promoting organic produce. Teagasc has been supportive of organic production and has appointed advisers, and a series of trials and up-skilling of staff has been carried out.
Despite claims to the contrary, organic food has little or no health benefits over freshly-produced non-organic Irish food produced under similar conditions, and within normal health and safety regulations.
There will always be a limited market for organic food in Ireland, and it is desirable that it should be supplied by home producers. However, organic produce will always be only on the fringes of Irish agriculture, unless a significant export market can be developed.
The Government set a target of having 5% of agricultural land under organic production by 2012. This target was unrealistic, and has not been achieved. Presently we have only about 1.2% of our agricultural area under organic production, engaging about 1,600 producers, and this position is fairly static.
Recently, the organic sector got a much-needed boost with the launch of an action plan. The aim is to increase the production base and to develop exports markets. The plan covers 2013 to 2015 and identifies specific measures for beef, sheep and milk as well as fruit, vegetables, aquaculture and organic cereals. If the organic sector can develop an export market for its products and get a slice of the multi-billion euro EU organic market, it will give it a much needed boost, and an opportunity to grow, but favourable treatment from CAP/government schemes is essential.
There has been huge growth in organic production in France, with government support. Land area in organic production in France doubled between 2007 and 2012 to 3.8%, with 36,000 operators. The French government has set out a plan to again double the area in organic production by 2017.
The earliest adopters of organic production were in Sweden and Denmark and Finland, but the number of organic farms in these countries has declined.
Eighty percent of the total organic food spending in the EU-12 is in Germany, France, Britain and Italy.
For me, the biggest problem with the promotion of organic products is that it very often gives the impression that there is something wrong with non-organic food. The vast majority of Irish milk, beef and lamb is produced off grass in relatively extensive conditions. Production conditions are strictly governed by EU regulations, and the end-products are guaranteed free from all harmful substances.
Despite this health and safety guarantee, promoters of organic produce very often refer to sprays, insecticides and medicines that may be used in the production of non-organic food. However, if these products are used correctly, they pose no danger to health or safety.
While working with Teagasc, I monitored a number of organic dairy farms a decade ago. A few of these were very successful. The quality standards on the others were at best about average.
A lot of the restrictions placed on the organic producers, such as restrictions on mastitis and other disease control, together with some ridiculous housing and management rules, made it difficult for organic dairy farmers to perform efficiently.
The first criterion for successful change to organic dairy farming is that farmers are already very efficient non-organic farmers, and that they can grow and manage clover swards successfully.
Unfortunately, some of the people who went into organic dairying did so because they were not successful at non-organic dairying. Others changed because they strongly believed in the concept of organic production.
Organic dairy production is much more expensive than ordinary dairying, and a decent farm-gate price premium is required in order to it be profitable. Farmers get paid a very good premium for five winter months, but not a very attractive price for the remainder of the year. Therefore, predominantly autumn calving is required for optimum profitability.
Fortunately, Irish farmers have a good outlet for organic milk through Glenisk, which is a very progressive company with an excellent range of products. A major barrier to organic expansion is that the extra cost of production is not always reflected in the supermarkets.
