Oliver Moore: Tillage barriers may be in the head

With the Organic Farming Scheme 2015 opened until May 29, and with a payments increase of up to 60%, interest in the sector is higher than it has been in some years.

While livestock and horticulture are relatively successful in Irish organics, there are laggard sectors. Organic pork, poultry, dairy and tillage, for various reasons, do not attract the same numbers in Ireland as elsewhere in the EU.

In the case of dairy and tillage, the production systems are considered very specialised. Indeed, in tillage, most producers have mixed farms, with organic oats to Flahavans, and feed for the main markets. Some also grow to provide their own feed and to avail of the land and soil management benefits rotations offer.