Good Herdsmen to pay 20c/kg bonus for organic cows

Good Herdsmen will begin to pay 20c/kg for organic cows this month, as it enters the organic cow market.

ABP Rathkeale will start slaughtering certified organic dairy and suckler cows for manufacturing from the middle of February.

Managing director of Good Herdsmen, John Purcell, told the Irish Farmers Journal: “We’re divesting away a little bit from our core business which is organic steer and heifer beef under 36 months.

Strong routes

“We’ve established some strong routes to market; particularly around Europe. We reckon there are 4,500 organic dairy cows [in Ireland], and with 25% replacement there are probably up to 1,500 cows available.

“[This] would be a separate business from our organic steer and heifer beef. We did some costings on it and are happy to announce we are starting to slaughter in ABP Rathkeale from the middle of February onwards.”

Good Herdsmen is hoping to slaughter around 50 cows on a bi-weekly basis and will offer farmers a premium of 20c/kg above the price reported each week.

“This is a new venture for us,” he says, “this beef will not go into retail – it will be solely for manufacturers around Europe.”

Collection points

ABP Rathkeale isn’t accessible for many organic farmers, so it will also arrange collection points in Drumshanbo, Nenagh, Bansha and Macroom for farmers living in those regions.

To qualify, the cows have to have been born on a certified organic farm, meaning many older cows will not qualify, and they would have to have been born in Ireland.