Teagasc walks aim to highlight opportunities of organic farming
Teagasc says Irish organic food enjoys an excellent reputation. Demand for Irish organic beef is on the rise, particularly in Europe. The Irish organic market is worth around €98m, up from €63m in 2004.
The walks will highlight the opportunities within the sector. The first walk in this year’s series will take place on the farm of Oliver Dixon, Ahena, Claremorris, Co Mayo, at 2pm on July 17.
In Ireland, just over 1% of land is farmed organically, a doubling of area since 2000. There are in excess of 1,500 organic operators including 40 organic farmers in Co Mayo. About two-thirds of these are drystock farms.
Dan Clavin, organic specialist at Teagasc, Athenry, said: “The series of farm walks are a great opportunity for conventional farmers to see the developments and innovations currently taking place on organic farms. For organic farmers, the walks also provide the opportunity for the sharing of information and experiences between producers in an open and informal manner.”
Oliver Dixon operates an organic suckler to beef enterprise on 43 hecatres. He started his two-year organic conversion period in 2010 and finishes about 25 cattle per year, all of which end up in the organic beef market. Price premiums of +15% to +20% have been available over conventional beef factory prices, over the past number of years.
Mr Dixon said: “I went into organic mainly for financial reasons, but also because I had an interest in it. I wanted to cut down on my costs which were simply too high to justify the price I was getting for my cattle. Now I am making higher margins, mainly because of my lower costs and higher prices which I now get.”
At the upcoming walk, topics for discussion will include, steps to successful organic conversion, white and red clover establishment and management, cattle breeding, cattle housing, organic market requirement and financial performance.
Agriculture Minister Simon Coveney recently announced an increased budget of €44m to be allocated to the new Organic Farming Scheme, due to re-open in early 2015.
Gillian Westbrook, general manger of organic group IOFGA, welcomed the increase in supports for organic farming. “The Netherlands recorded increased [organic] sales of 5.4% in 2013, and France had a 9% increase, Irish retail sales are increasing by 2% year on year since 2009,” she pointed out.
