A look at Irish organic sector supports - are they meeting the needs of farmers?

In last week’s article, Irish Country Living discussed the changes in the organic landscape since the Organic Farming Scheme (OFS) was first launched in 2021.

There has been a dramatic increase in farmers going into organic conversion and our goal of having 10% of land being farmed organically by 2030 appears within reach.

However, there are still challenges ahead for the sector.

IFA Organics Project Team chair, John Fitzpatrick, voiced concern over the future viability for Irish organic farms; citing issues with organic leakage (when farmers are forced to sell their organic product via conventional streams thereby missing out on the organic premium), increased costs of production (especially for those in organic dairying) and the lack of clarity around organic premiums as all having an impact on the farmer’s bottom line.

He also said the rules and regulations involved in meeting the European Union (EU) standards of organic certification feel repressive and put organic farmers at a competitive disadvantage; particularly when non-certified regenerative farms are selling similar products domestically and we are promoting our non-organic PGI beef for export.

This issue was brought to Minister of State for Land Use and Biodiversity, Pippa Hackett. She says these regulations exist because organic farming is certified to EU-recognised standards, which leads to consumer trust.

“Many farmers are adopting new practices that benefit them and the environment and we need to ensure a continuous sharing of information between Irish farmers, no matter what type of farming they are involved in,” she says.

“There are many different standards and movements with lots to offer, but I think consumers who are paying a premium will want to know what they’re paying a premium for, which is where the certified organic symbol gives the edge.”

The market

Questions around the sector might remain, but all stakeholders who spoke with Irish Country Living for this series agree on one thing: Bord Bia has been making positive strides in organics over the past 18 months.

This has been accomplished under its new organic team led by sector manager Emmet Doyle.

To encourage more domestic purchases and consumption of Irish organic foods, Bord Bia launched its ‘More-ganic’ campaign in autumn of 2023.

In the lead-up to the campaign, Emmet and his team conducted a six-month domestic research project; surveying 2,500 Irish shoppers.

They found 88% of Irish shoppers “bought into organics” in some format. Further research created a re-classification of 49% of shoppers into what they call “active seekers” of organic. However, of that 49%, only 7% buy organic produce all the time.

“The whole idea [of the campaign] is to make meals ‘a little more organic’ – that you quite easily bring more Irish organic food and drink into your weekly shop.” Emmet says.

“But also the onus of the campaign is around educating shoppers as to why they’re paying a premium price and what’s involved in organics, because we found that even those ‘active seekers’ have a positive association with organics, but they might not really know what’s involved in it.”

Campaign

After the launch of the ‘More-ganic’ campaign last year, and again this past May, they conducted additional research and found that 63% of shoppers looked for Irish organic food and drink after seeing the campaign.

Additionally, four out of 10 shoppers said they bought more Irish organic fruit after seeing the campaign.

“It’s really reassuring for us that the approach is correct, but there’s still a job to be done,” Emmet says. “We want to grow that weekly shop and the ‘More-ganic’ campaign is going to be our focus now for the next few years.”

As in 2021, Ireland still heavily relies on imported organic fruits and vegetables. Emmet says they continue to work with Irish organic producers to help create connections with Irish retailers.

He also acknowledges stakeholder concerns around potential flooding of the organic market, but believes increasing production is the way forward.

“Sometimes farmers and other stakeholders feel that the growth of numbers coming in is going to be a bad thing for organics, but it’s actually the opposite,” he says. “There are a lot of export customers where the case has been that we haven’t had enough availability and supply to meet their needs.”

Emmet says that by the second half of 2025 and into 2026, 3,000 farmers will be certified organic and we will be able to meet that customer base.

“At the moment, trade is very strong,” he says. “We’ve had a number of different retailer meetings and clients see a real opportunity to extend into an organic range. It’s just the case of when you pull that trigger, because if you do it too soon and then you don’t have the supply, that’s going to be an issue.”

Bord Bia is currently working on a three-year European Union (EU) co-funded campaign for organic beef and lamb.

With a total spend of €2.7m, 70% is EU-funded with the remainder being covered by Ireland. The goal is to promote pasture-raised Irish organic beef and lamb in Germany, Belgium, Austria and Sweden.

The campaign will be launched this coming autumn and will see the Irish organic sector represented in trade shows and media events throughout these countries. Bord Bia will also bring 100 trade buyers and trade media into Ireland for official visits during the campaign.

Supports

Mary Lynch and her family farm 150ac in Co Tipperary where they raise sucklers, beef to finish and grow oats for Flahavans. Her husband, John Kavanagh, has been managing the farm organically for the past 30 years.

Mary is also one of two new organic farm advisers brought on to the Agricultural Consultants Association (ACA).

“This is my second year with the ACA as an organic specialist,” she says. “The ACA comprises independent agricultural advisers; all running our own businesses.”

After studying agricultural science at University College Dublin (UCD), Mary completed a masters in organic agriculture. Afterwards, she worked as a researcher for Teagasc and eventually set up her own consultancy business in 1996.

She tells Irish Country Living that the organic landscape has changed drastically in the past few years.

“Just the fact that there are more organic farmers makes it easier because of the whole support system around it – but also nearly everybody knows someone who is an organic farmer in their area.”

Mary’s role as organic adviser in the ACA is two-fold: she can advise organic or in-conversion farmers and she can also provide support to other advisers who do not specialise in organics. She says an average farm consultation will generally include a site visit.

“Usually, we’d have a walk around, look at the sheds and I’d ask questions about feed and veterinary requirements and see what their expectations are,” she says.

“There are organic farms which are really pushing [their productivity], and then we have farmers who don’t do a whole lot differently to what they were doing before; they just stop using artificial fertilisers and chemicals.”

Mary says the most important thing for organic or in-coversion farmers is to ensure their farm will be profitable. “The farm has to stand alone and make money,” she states.

“The ideal, in organic situations, is that it’s a bit easier to make money because you’re not spending as much money. A low input makes a difference – even if you’re providing a low output. You’re hopefully getting a premium price, maybe you’re getting your BISS payment, your entitlements, your OFS payments and maybe an ACRES payment. All of that adds up, and that’s what we’re hoping for in most organic farms.”

While positive about the benefits of organic farming, Mary also acknowledges the difficulties most farmers have experienced over the past year.

“Getting crops in on time has been a challenge, and probably more difficult for those dependent on contractors,” she says. “Now, our yield has actually held up very well but our straw yield off the field has gone down. Access to straw for bedding is becoming a bit of a worry for people.

“Hopefully, with the changes in straw incorporation, that will make it easier for people to source non-organic straw for bedding. A lot of organic farmers would do a bit of out-wintering and that became very difficult last winter. They are wondering: will stocking rates need adjusting? Will we have enough forage to potentially get us through to May?”

Mary sees growth in the domestic market in terms of farmer-to-farmer sales. She also sees challenges ahead but says most farmers are going into conversion successfully.

“Even though we’re only in July and the next OFS isn’t opening until the autumn, we’re getting enquiries already from farmers looking to convert,” she says. “The interest is there.”

The research

For the first time ever, Teagasc’s annual National Farm Survey (NFS) will include data on a dedicated sample of Irish organic farms.

This is significant as the data collected for the NFS is used to inform the sector on the performance of the different farming enterprises as well as informing other areas of research, including best practice and farm advice.

This investment is part of the ‘Growing Resilient Organic Farming Systems’ project (also known as GROFarmS) which is being led by Teagasc in collaboration with UCD (funded by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine).

Coordinated by Dr Kevin Kilcline from the Teagasc Rural Economy and Development Programme in Athenry, GROFarmS was launched this past March and will support evidence-based organic conversion and best practice in Ireland over the course of four years.

Its overall objective is to support the sustainable growth of the organic farming sector and help address the problems it currently faces.

“Depending on who you’re talking to, some people are very positive [about organics] and others raise questions about markets or prices,” Kevin says.

“We need to come up with robust information about what [productive organic farms] look like. There’s plenty of anecdotal information, but not a huge amount of scientific evidence on it.”

As part of the project, Teagasc is converting Kildavin farm (100ac) at Teagasc Johnstown Castle in Co Wexford to a fully certified organic status, with complementary research taking place at Teagasc Grange Research Centre. The project will also focus on organic lamb.

“The farm is currently in the process of being converted to organic standards,” Kevin says.

“They’ve set up contracts with growers in terms of supplying combi-crops [for feed] and are in the process of sourcing stock for the experiment. It’s a four-year project, but hopefully it’s the start of a long-term investment in organic research.”

Kevin says that while there are questions around organic expansion in Ireland, we are coming from a low level of adoption compared to other EU countries and there is significant scope and potential for expansion of the sector.

He also feels the acceptability of organics has dramatically increased among farmers and there has been a surge in adoption in recent years with enhanced supports available through the Organic Farming Scheme.

“A lot of farms now weigh up organics as a real option,” he says. “As we see with the NFS figures, there are issues around persistently low levels of returns on many drystock farms and organics is increasingly seen as a viable option.

“What we don’t have is a picture of what is happening on these organic farms.

“There are also lot of extensive hill farms in conversion and there are issues around leakage, so what are the options to finish those lambs?” he asks.

“To address this, trials are commencing in Athenry led by Dr Philip Creighton and Dr Frank Campion investigating the economics and sustainability of finishing options for organic hill and lowland lambs on a range of different diets.”

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