Organic Farming not for the Faint-Hearted

14 July, 2003

Successful organic farming is not for romantics or the faint-hearted, the manager of the Teagasc organic demonstration farm has warned.

"If you are a poor conventional farmer, you are very unlikely to be successful at organics," according to Ger Shortle, Manager of the Teagasc Organic Demonstration Farm at Mellows Centre, Athenry.

Addressing visitors at the national organic farming open day at Athenry, today (Saturday, 12 July), Mr Shortle said the development of organic farming in Ireland is significantly slower than that in other EU countries. Less than 1% of land is farm organically, by just over 1,000 farmers.

"Irish consumers purchase a mere 0.5% of their food as organic compared to an average of 2% for EU consumers. Total organic food sales amount to around €25m per annum, of which 40% is imported," said Ger Shortle.

Analysis by Teagasc of the economics of organic farming showed that beef production is currently the most profitable, with incomes more than 50% higher than those from conventional beef farming. This is due to significantly lower costs, a 20% price premium and a top-up of €91/hectare under the Rural Environment Protection Scheme (REPS).

The analysis showed little difference in profitability between organic and conventional lamb production, while income from organic milk was significantly lower than conventional production. According to Ger Shortle, organic milk would need a price premium of over 35% in order to give a comparable income. At present, there are less than 10 organic milk producers in the country.

Visitors to the open day on the 110 hectare Teagasc farm were shown organic blueprints for beef, sheep, milk, cereals and poultry. They saw lush clover pastures, receiving no nitrogen fertiliser, which give similar animal performance to that from pasture farmed conventionally.

"Clover is the cornerstone of efficient organic production. The organic sheep flock at Athenry has prolificacy and animal performance as good as the best conventional flocks in the country," said Ger Shortle.

"Our aim is to show that the organic system can have a role on a small but significant number of Irish farms. The target is to increase the number of organic farmers from around 1,000 at present to 2,500 by 2006," he added.

He said that the blueprints developed by Teagasc at Athenry also have an application to conventional producers who want to reduce costs through less fertiliser and greater reliance on clover as a nutritious feed.

For further information on organic farming you can order ‘’Principles of Successful Organic Farming’’, price €15 from our Publications Office at publications@teagasc.ie