Features
2009 Farm Walks
A comprehensive list of walks is available to all to attend this year and again these have continued to be very informative, with a great sharing of information and ideas taking place. The farmers who take part in opening their farms to the public for these walks are to be commended for the honestly with which they answer questions during the walks and allow new and existing organic farmers to see how someone else is managing their organic farm. The series of walks have been attended by many farmers who are looking at organic farming for the first time. This was the case even before the demise of the REPS scheme and the numbers attending the walks have been maintained since the closure of REPS has been announced.
Peter and Jenny Young
The walks began on the 17th of June on Peter and Jenny Young’s farm. This was Colm O'Regan’s farm the first of two walks to be held on the farm this year. The first focused on the dairy and tillage enterprises on the farm. One of the most impressive elements on this farm is the excellent grassland management, with very good grass/clover swards in all paddocks. The importance of grass budgeting was outlined by James McDonald of Teagasc and this showed that growth exceeded demand from cows by 32kgs/DM/ha that week, allowing some paddocks to be cut for silage of the highest quality.
The milk production on the farm will rise by just over 10,000 litres in 2009 due to the extra quota available when the farm started to deliver organic milk to Glenisk on achieving full symbol status in October 2008. The projected common profit on the farm will double in 2009 to €1793/ha if the organic price of 40c/litre can be achieved throughout the year, compared to a price of 33.19c/litre in 2008. (However, the price for organic milk dropped to 35c/litre during the summer of 2009 and a further drop seems likely at the end of the summer which may reduce this figure).
The herd is part of the HerdPlus system, showing the farm was well ahead of the top 15% of farms in calving pattern, with 93% of the cows calved in six weeks and the 21 day submission rate being 88%. This farm shows that cow health and calving pattern has not been affected by the conversion to organic farming. The herd EBI is €104, with cows in their first and second lactation having a EBI of over €112, showing the Young’s continuing commitment to improving the breeding of the herd. This year Peter and Jenny are growing oats for use mainly on the farm. The crop looked good and should yield well.
Colm O’ Regan
The next farm walk was on a very different type of farm, but again a farm not long converted to organic farming. Colm O’Regan’s holding just outside Kinsale produces organic vegetables and organic chickens. This was the first farm walk on this holding as he has been fully organic for less than one year and despite the bad weather there was a very good turnout. The main focus on the night was on the vegetable production. Colm produces a variety of crops on a field scale and also in polytunnels. He supplies local markets, restaurants and one processing unit with his produce. He grows a variety of salad crops, herbs and some field scale vegetables that he can market easily. He does not get involved in larger field scale production, such as potatoes or carrots. Instead he concentrates on lines that give a good return and suit his scale. The Four Wheel Hoe design by Dr. Charles Merfield was on display on the night as it is made locally and Colm has been using it to weed his crops. The broilers are supplied to a processor locally for the supermarket trade in Ireland. The price of the feed is the main issue with broiler production and Colm’s brother on the next door farm produces organic cereals so they are hoping to feed the birds as efficiently as possible.
Trevor Harris
Trevor Harris’ farm walk always attracts a good crowd as it is a mixed farm with sucklers (taking the beef to finish), sheep and tillage enterprises. The farm has been fully organic since 2001. Half the farm is in tillage and the rest in grass. The cattle are sold off the farm when they are finished, with the breeds being mainly Angus crosses to produce the type of animal the market requires. The lambs are currently sold to Good Herdsman and also marketed locally. Belclare replacements are being introduced to improve litter size.
The tillage rotation is grass/clover leys followed by wheat, then oats, followed by peas and then finally oats before going back to grass/clover for 2-4 years. The yields being achieved are as follows;
- Winter Wheat = 4.4-5.1 t/ha (1.8-2.1 t/ac.)
- Winter/spring oats = 4.4-5.1t/ha
- Peas = 4 t/ha
Nearly all the cereals produced on the farm are sold off the farm. The oats go to Flavahans and John Flavahan attended the walk. He is looking for a supply of organic oats from Ireland as only three of the twelve month supply he requires is produced here while all his conventional oats are grown in Ireland. He has put in a new drying and storage unit for organic oats this year and hopes that supply will increase in the next few years. The remaining cereals are sold to other organic farms and Trevor can supply whole and rolled wheat, oats and peas from the farm. The profitability of organic cereals was outlined on the night and it is very favourable compared to conventional production. Weed and disease control was discussed and an inter-row-guided weed hoe was on display.
Sean and Orla Clancy
Sean and Orla Clancy’s organic farm in Co. Offaly produces organic beef, with Orla producing a range of organic soups, pestos etc on the farm. Since last year a small poultry enterprise with 50 hens has been introduced to the farm, to supply the local market. Sean and Orla have also begun to sell their beef directly to the public and this has been an additional financial benefit of going organic.
The farm achieved full organic status in January 2008 and has 32 suckler cows with all followers taken to beef on the farm. This is a farm on mainly peat based soil and therefore it was good to see excellent grass/white clover swards throughout the farm. One field is sown with red clover that is cut for silage and fed to the finishing stock, thereby reducing the need to purchase concentrate feedstuffs. A new shed that has a slatted feeding area with a solid area to the rear was used as the gathering point to start the walk. Minister Trevor Sargent attended this walk and, as the closure of REPS 4 had just been announced that week, he heard many complaints from the farmers present on how the closure of the scheme would affect their farms.
The walk concluded with a look at Orla’s custom built processing unit, from which she produces a range organic soups, mainly from locally produced organic vegetables and herbs as well as produce grown on the farm. She also produces pesto and hummus in the unit. The produce is sold in local outlets, with the bulk being sold to specialist shops in the Dublin area. Orla delivers one day a week to these outlets. She stated how well the on-farm enterprise fits in with bringing up their young family.
John and Olive Forde
Another couple very involved in marketing produce directly from their holding are John and Olive Forde from Newmarket, Co. Cork. At the walk on their family farm they outlined how they produce organic beef, lamb and pork on the holding and how they produce some cereals to feed these animals.
The produce is sold in the farmers market at the Nano Nagle centre outside Mallow and they have just begun to supply the new farmers market in Mallow town. The walk was held after a long spell of wet weather in July and it was good to see how well the grass/clover swards were performing despite the poor weather. Again the breed of cattle chosen was Aberdeen Angus crosses to suit the market and Texel cross ewes for carcase quality and worm resistance.
There was a big interest in the pigs on the night as it is unusual to see a pig enterprise on most farms. The pig paddocks were in good condition given the high rainfall during the early summer. Again grassland management was one of the main focuses of the night, with one recently reseeded field on display. John was very honest with his replies to all questions and this was much appreciated by the farmers on the night. He stated that selling to the public wasn’t an easy option as most farmers would be happier to leave that to someone else, but that once you get used to it, it gets easier.
In general, the walks so far have been well attended, with many conventional farmers attending and asking technical questions showing they are serious about gathering as much information as possible before converting. The walks are definitely beneficial not alone for those considering converting, but for all organic farmers as you will always learn something new at a farm walk.
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