Organic Matters

This week on Organic Matters, we take to the water to bring you a very special podcast on Inis Cloithrinn or Quaker Island as it is locally known, where organic livestock farmer Herbert Farrell keeps native Irish Droimeann cattle and the Lough Ree goat breed. The island is steeped in history, including being home to a monastic settlement, known as the resting spot of the legendary Queen Medb and being connected to the Farrell name since 1141.

Herbert talks extensively about his Droimeann herd, which are born and bred on the island and about the important role that the landscape, flora and fauna play in supporting his animal husbandry throughout the year. Females are sold as weanlings for breeding, with males kept for finishing. He also touches on how he has developed short supply chains to market for his meat, supplying into the local restaurant Skelly’s Bar in Ballymahon as well as producing beef boxes sold direct to the consumer.

This week on Organic Matters, we speak to James Donnellan, an organic suckler and sheep farmer based in Northeast Galway. James talks about his love of Aubrac cattle and the importance of getting an organic system right for the individual farmer.

James speaks about why the Aubrac cattle breed may be suitable for some organic suckler farmers, from ease of calving to good carcass and conformation for finishing.* As well as his pedigree Aubrac cattle, he talks about his Belcare/EasyCare cross flock, with finished organic lambs sold to one of the main processors, together with other organic farmers.

He also covers a range of other topics, including good animal housing for the winter months, sward diversity and management, sourcing feed directly from other organic farmers, and taking advantage of the Organic Capital Investment Scheme. Listen here: https://tinyurl.com/58f43efv

*The Irish Aubrac Cattle Breed Society will hold its annual Elite Show and Sale on Saturday 24th October at GVM Mart in Tullamore, Co. Offaly.

This week on the Organic Matters Podcast, we speak to Elaine Bradley from the Irish Seed Savers Association based in Clare. It works to protect and preserve Ireland’s traditional seed and heritage apple varieties. Elaine talks about the Association’s activities, which are based on practising conservation by use, with their seed and gene bank acting as a living resource and safety deposit box for our food heritage now and into the future.

She explains how the Association safeguards and promotes Ireland’s national collection of heritage apple varieties, many of which were nearly forgotten but have been saved by their work over the years. Varieties are produced and sold on-site, and the team also works with communities to reintroduce heritage orchards into public spaces through their Orchard Way initiative.

Elaine also touches on their more recent project to establish a farmer seed network to further facilitate the exchange of heritage and organic seeds.

This week on the Organic Matters Podcast, we speak to farmer Donald Treacy, based near Athy in Co. Kildare, who runs a mixed organic farm with his wife Aideen and two sons. Donald discusses the different enterprises on Battlemount Organic Farm, which include potatoes, apples, beef and inter-crops for animal feed.

The Treacys converted over a decade ago and haven’t looked back since, as it has provided the farm with many options for diversification, and enabled all members of the family to be actively involved. Both the potatoes and processed apples are sold locally as well as to an independent organic retailer, while finished organic stock is sold to an organic processor.

Donald touches on various aspects of the business, including the importance of fertility for crops, the management of his suckler herd, and the production of a popular apple juice from native apple varieties in recent years.

This week, long time organic vegetable grower Dermot Carey, based in South Kildare, talks to the Organic Matters Podcast about his business.

Coming from a family involved in vegetable growing and wholesaling over the years, Dermot cut his teeth in the industry from a young age. He speaks about the range of produce his grows and the different markets he uses. This includes selling directly to customers via farmers' markets, small independent shops, restaurants, as well as some wholesale.

Dermot describes the changes in consumer buying habits shifting away from "traditional" Irish veg and about the types of vegetables that work well for him on his farm. In addition to touching on his approach to growing he also speaks about the need to be just as good at the business and numbers side of vegetables and being savvy about responding to consumer demand.

This week on the Organic Matters Podcast, we speak to farmer Brian Meredith based in Co. Laois, who runs a spring and autumn organic suckler-to-beef herd with his father. He discusses coming home to farm, the transition to organics and re-integrating tillage back onto the farm to diversify the business and increase feed autonomy.

Brian talks about breeding Angus and Hereford cattle as they finish well off grass, learning to grow their own grain to feed younger stock and their experience with preventative health management in the herd.

He also looks ahead to the future of the farm and tells listeners about the farm’s involvement in an initiative commissioned by the Irish Organic Association to map all the different habitats and estimate the carbon storage and sequestration potential on the farm using LiDAR technology

This week on the Organic Matters Podcast, we speak with Mary Lynch, an independent organic advisor and ACA member who also runs a mixed suckler beef and tillage farm with her husband in Co. Tipperary.

Mary reflects on how organic farmers are currently dealing with dry conditions and the value of incorporating red clover and multi-species varieties into grasslands, where appropriate, to support more climate resilience on farm. She touches on the fact that drought conditions still come with their own challenges when it comes to re-seeding or stitching as well as maintaining a good sward over this period.

Elsewhere, Mary talks about ongoing trials on ‘living mulches’ that they are undertaking and the results so far. This involves an oat crop being directly sown into a multi-annual cover of small leaf white clover with the aim of stimulating soil biology and assisting with weed suppression. She also shares her own experience on how the family farm finishes cattle on grass, capitalising on grass-clover ley in their arable rotation.

This week's Organic Matters Podcast meets organic suckler farmer Pat McCarthy who is farming in the Burren. His children are the ninth generation on their family farm in Co. Clare where they have over 300 acres of land, which includes a substantial amount of winterage as well as summer-grazing ground. Pat tends to breed a mixture of Angus and Shorthorn crosses, which he finds work well with his land.

He has also put his building skills to work over the years, renovating old stone sheds into cottages on the farm to create a thriving business using Airbnb. The agri-tourism business has been successful in capitalising on the nearby Wild Atlantic Way tourism trail, with tourists from around the world interested in staying on a working organic farm.

This week, farmer Pat Maher talks to the Organic Matters Podcast about his journey from being a dairy farmer with a nitrates derogation to an organic suckler farmer.

Based on the edge of the Golden Vale near Cashel, Co. Tipperary, Pat hasn’t looked back since converting to organics. He speaks to presenter Hannah Quinn-Mulligan about establishing a new suckler herd, trialling clover and multi-species mixes, understanding what weeds are indicating, and learning more about composting and soil biology.

This week, we are launching Season 5 of the Organic Matters Podcast brought to you by the Irish Organic Association. In this first episode, we are delighted to speak with organic beef farmer Ruth Young, based in Co. Laois, about her transition from conventional to organic production.

Ruth talks about developing relationships with other organic farmers and the expansion of organic marts for purchasing her finishing stock, building new winter housing and improving her soil management by optimising grazing practices.