Slaney Foods and Leitrim Organic Farmers co-op held an open forum in the tea rooms on Castlewood organic farm in Co Laois on Wednesday evening this week. Upwards of 200 people with an interest in organic production took part in the forum which began with a series of presentations, followed by a farm walk where farm owner Dominic Leonard explained the enterprises on his farm including the farm shop and tea rooms.

Earlier John Brennan, manager of Leitrim Organic Farmers outlined the role of their co-op in bringing organic producers together to market their produce. Stephen Conroy from the Irish Cattle Breeders Federation explained the importance of genetics and maximising output from livestock which applies to all livestock systems including organic.

Rebecca Carroll spoke on the importance of parasite control at pasture and how to achieve this without the assistance of modern medicines and treatments which could only be accessed in the most extreme conditions, certified by a vet. Mark Zeig of Bord Bia outlined the performance of the total beef market and highlighted the international activity in place to support the development of markets for organic produce.

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Denis Brennan from Slaney Foods, the processing partner explained the market opportunities and Slaney's commitment to carrying an organic niche which complimented its customer portfolio. The greatest challenge he explained was to achieve continuity of supply, particularly in the first three months of the year. He also highlighted how only two thirds of organic store cattle stay in the beef finishing system with the remainder being lost to conventional beef finishing systems.