Features
Still Crazy After All These Years
"People would cross the road to avoid us," Pat Mulrooney says, speaking of his decision to convert to organic production in 1987. It's difficult to believe that such prejudice existed just 20 years ago but Pat and Angela were ostracised in their own community. "I caught a neighbour who had been examining my red clover slipping out of the field trying not to be noticed," says Pat. "Then they discovered that there were grants available and they began to take an interest." Twenty years later, despite changed times and the current depressed agricultural climate, it would still be difficult enough to find a dairy farmer who would consider conversion.
Pat and Angela weren't bothered back then. "We were young and enthusiastic and thought we could save the world. Organic was the obvious future for farming as far as we were concerned," he says.
Growing pains
The Mulrooneys farm 175 acres near Kilsheelan in South Tipperary and theirs was the first dairy farm in the country to convert to organic. All in all, it was a scary time for the family. "There was no model, no rule book," says Pat. "We made lots of mistakes, financial and otherwise. The first few years were very difficult."
Pat's father, from whom he inherited the farm, had gone out of dairying and the farm had to be re-stocked. "We had sucklers and sheep to begin with and some tillage as well," Pat says. "Prior to 1999 we had a few great years for lamb. We were getting in the region of £80-£90 a lamb at the time." That helped to finance the building up of the dairy herd. Pat started with British Friesians but later changed to Montbelliarde crosses and now has a herd of 60 milking cows and a quota of 61,000 gallons. Their entire milk production goes to Glenisk for processing into organic dairy products.
Last year was a difficult one for the Mulrooneys. "We've gone from spring to winter calving and were carrying a lot of stock last year and that meant high feed costs. Dairy rations have gone through the roof - they costs €400/tonne at the moment," Pat says. To add to their woes, a reactor in the herd meant that the farm was locked up for much of last year. "It happened because I had to buy in replacement stock as we didn't have enough of our own," Pat says. "I had to travel quite a distance to get them even though I would much prefer to source them locally. I have great difficulty with how regulations are interpreted in that respect."
More information
Early organic tillage experiments on land that was overused for conventional tillage yielded poor results for Pat but, with a good rotation, fertility levels have improved. "I've tried a lot of different crops such as lupins and lucerne and various mixtures but the traditional crops like wheat and barley grow best in the organic system," he says. He grew a small acreage of triticale a couple of winters ago and crimped it. "It performed well and was very digestible but it is hard to get a contractor in for such a small acreage."
The available information for farmers considering conversion is much broader now than it was twenty years ago. The local group in the south-east approached Teagasc about their needs and, as a result, experts were brought in from the UK to advise. "That is the best thing that has happened so far - it works very well. You can go to farms, see what is happening and get sound advice," says Pat. "We need more of that. Previously, we had to go over to Wales to get some help."
Farming woes
There are definitely opportunities in organic dairying if it's possible to have winter calving, according to Pat. "The figures do impress and they do stack up if you examine them but to do it right needs a huge investment on many levels. You need production on a certain scale to make it viable but you have to be careful not to lose sight of what organic is about," he says.
The present depressed state of farming worries Pat the most. "A lot of land is going out of farming but our population is rising. People need food. This business of food miles is crazy. When the day comes that we can't import what are we going to do? Will we be gone too far from the land to know how to produce it? We are losing common sense and reason," he says. As an indication of how farming has changed Pat points out "we are producing three times more from the farm than my father did but he was never short of money. If he needed new machinery he could write a cheque. Now you have to consult you bank manager and a financial advisor!"
Despite everything Pat is optimistic about life. "I am happy with my work, I am looking out on lovely land, we have a lovely climate and farming will come again," he says.
