Dan Clavin joins Emma-Louise Coffey on this week’s Dairy Edge to give an insight into organic dairy production systems in Ireland.

Currently, there are 62 organic dairy producers. These farms range in herd size from 20-200+ cows, producing between 5,000-6,000 litres of milk.

Dan explains the different reasons farmers opt for organic dairy including profitability, lifestyle and legislation.

In terms of profitability, Dan estimates that milk price ranges for 50-60 c/l during winter months and 30-44 c/l during summer months and input cows are generally lower resulting from no chemical fertiliser and lower vet costs.

Dan suggests that organic may play a bigger role in Irish agriculture in the future as consumer demand in organic products continue to grow coupled with potential changes to regulation and legislation.

 

For more information:

https://www.teagasc.ie/media/website/rural-economy/organics/Organic_Dairying-frequently_asked_questions_December_2018.pdf

For more episodes from the Dairy Edge podcast go to the show page at:

https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/dairy/the-dairy-edge-podcast/