I farm: “A 63ha organic dairy farm with my wife, Geraldine, my daughter, Hazel, who is 14, and my son, Nathan, who is 13.”

Stock and land: “We have 65 Norwegian Red and Friesian crosses. The land is good, dry, clay loam and we average 1,250 gallons/cow.”

Conversion: “We converted to organic dairy farming in 2005. At the time we couldn’t finance quotas or expansion, so it was either get up and get out, or go for a system with a higher margin.”

Little Milk Company: “We supply the Little Milk Company, nine to 10 farmers who got together to try dictate their own future. The first day was a leap of faith with the company, but I’m very glad I’ve stuck with it and it looks like a future that’s sustainable.”

Milk price: “We have the cows out for a few hours a day and they’re getting three to four kilos of grass into their diets. We just do spring milk, but some lads are getting well over 40c/l for organic winter milk.”

Fertiliser: “Being organic, for fertiliser we depend on farmyard manure. We have covers of white clover with some red clover. Without artificial fertiliser we’re growing about 8t/ha of grass, compared with a conventional farmer who is growing between 12t/ha and 16t/ha.”

Weather: “The cold snap will set grass growth back. On a conventional system grass will get going at between 5°C and 6°C with fertiliser, but you need more heat in the soil to get grass going in an organic system.”

Stocking rate: “We’re stocked at about half the conventional rate and input costs are high. You can get Irish-based organic proteins and straights, but they’re a bit expensive to mix. We get an organic ration from the UK, which is €520/t, and sheds have to be straw-bedded.”

Calving: “A lot of organic dairy farmers won’t start calving until March, because we rely heavily on a grass-based system.”

Quotable quote: “Margins are good, but it’s not all roses in the garden. If you’re thinking of going into organic, think carefully, organic dairy farming will test you.”