Teagasc to Appoint Additional Organic Advisers

Teagasc will be providing additional resources to the organic farming and food sector with three additional organic farm advisers to be appointed. Teagasc currently farms a total of 500 acres organically at its research centres in Athenry, County Galway, Johnstown Castle, County Wexford and Oak Park, County Carlow.

Speaking at the Teagasc National Organic Food Production Conference in Tullamore today, Wednesday, 23 May 2007, acting director of Teagasc, Tom Kirley, said: “Teagasc is committed to the organic farm and food sector and we are establishing a team of dedicated organic farming advisers to meet the needs of this growing sector. We have recently leased a farm in the Athenry area to maintain our organic dairy programme there.”

The numbers involved and the area farmed organically continues to increase in Ireland. There has already been a sixfold increase in the land area farmed organically in this country in the last twelve years. In 2007, there are now 1,100 organic farmers in Ireland farming nearly 40,000 hectares organically. Tom Kirley said organic farming must be about producing food for this growing market that is developing both at home and in neighbouring countries in Europe.

John Purcell from Good Herdsman Ltd in Cahir, County Tipperary told the large attendance at the conference that he is disappointed at the slow response of Irish producers to this market opportunity. He believes there is potential for further expansion in organic farming in Ireland to meet the growing needs of the market.

John Purcell said: “There are realistic opportunities for domestic organic beef producers. The UK is currently our best export customer. It is the second largest consumer of organic food in the world and it has to import 41% of its organic red meat. Mainland Europe is experiencing short supplies also and is forecasting this to continue into the future.”

Currently, Irish organic farmers produce around 3,000 finished organic cattle and 6,000 lambs annually.  John Purcell estimates that the UK market needs to import up to 20,000 cattle per year to fill the gap between its own production and consumer demand.

He identified the typical consumers of organic meat as young families and young single adults and their top motivation for buying organic is ‘organic food is better for the environment’.

Caroline Robinson, chairperson of the Irish Food Market Traders Association said: “This is a time when local food is becoming more popular with consumers more people want to buy food directly from the person who has grown or made it. Organic farmers need to grasp this golden opportunity because they have the potential to produce exactly what the consumer really wants.”