With the Organic scheme closing for applications on 19 December, farmers do not have much time to decide if they want to enter the scheme. Over the past few weeks, we have highlighted what is involved with the scheme and the attractive financial incentives that exist. There is a major drive towards getting both tillage and dairy farmers into the scheme.
This week, we will examine the housing requirements if you decide to go organic and the alterations that may be needed to your existing sheds.
Required space
As we see in Table 1, the required space for livestock is higher under an organic system. Additionally, a minimum of 50% of the internal floor area required for the animals must be a solid floor construction and covered with straw or litter. For the majority of farmers with old slatted sheds with small creep areas, the creep area will have to be increased.
However, another option available to farmers, if they are not highly stocked in their slatted sheds is to reduce the existing slatted area. This can be done by replacing the slats with solid slabs. All new slabs must be included on the Department’s Accepted Concrete Slat List.
This option also ensures that you will have a greater amount of slurry to spread on your land, which is vital in an organic system.
Placing a screed of concrete over existing slats to reduce the slatted area is not permitted.
An outdoor exercise area, separate from the pasture, is normally required in the organic system, but where animals have full access to grazing over the summer, as in Ireland, these exercise areas are not mandatory, except for breeding bulls.
One thing to be mindful of before deciding to go into the scheme is bedding availability, which will predominantly be straw. Additionally, there must be facilities to store the farmyard manure before it is spread, while ensuring that there is no run-off. While payment rates for going down the organic route may be attractive, it is worth noting the additional labour required when it comes to bedding stock.
Having a step between the solid lie-back and the slatted area will help to reduce the straw pulled onto the slats.
Upgrading existing facilities
It is important for farmers to be aware that where they update an existing shed through the organic version of TAMS, known as the Organic Capital Investment Scheme (OCIS), that if an extension is put on to a shed to provide additional dry-bedded area then the ventilation requirements must be met for the entire shed.
Existing loose houses, haybarns, stores, covered silos, etc, may all be suitable for conversion to an organic loose house system. Care must be taken to ensure that it is possible to install proper feeding barriers and doors/gates to allow FYM to be removed. All floors in converted houses must be free of cracking and must be of mass concrete. Any floors that are cracked must be replaced.
When it comes to installing a feed barrier, the Department specifications highlight that if the pen is fully straw-bedded, the build-up of FYM may need to be taken into consideration. It is recommended to install the straw bedded floor 300mm below the feed stand level.
If upgrading an existing shed or constructing a new one, then drainage should be looked at to help move moisture away from the straw and prolong the life of the bedding. For that reason, it is recommended that the floor is sloped at 1:30. Every loose house needs drainage and a channel of 75mm by 75mm must be provided across every opening and the effluent collected and diverted into a suitable holding tank.
Grant aid to update your existing facilities is available through the Organic Capital Investment Scheme.
Cubicle houses
When it comes to dairy cows, cubicles are not recommended by the Department, but they are allowed. In all organic cubicle house arrangements, one extra space must be provided for cow numbers up to 10, two for extra numbers up to 20 and so on. Dairy cows require 6m2/head, with 3m2 of this a solid area.
However, cubicles also need to be bedded with a dry material such as straw, straw chip or wood shavings. Sand would also present an opportunity for cubicle bedding but it is not widely used in Ireland. Whatever form of bedding is used it is important to be conscious of the implications of spreading them on the land.
Existing scraped-floor or cubicle cow houses can be converted for organic housing. Most such houses already have a minimum 6m2 overall space per cow, and close to 3m2 of lying space in cubicles.
Allowing extra cubicle spaces and creating some extra lying space will allow mandatory requirements to be met. However, existing cubicles will have to be upgraded to meet the requirements outlined below.
In houses with a two-row design, there are a few things to be conscious of that must be incorporated into the design of new or converted buildings. There must be at least two routes to the feed face and no dead-end passageways. Crossover points must be a minimum of 3m (two cubicles) wide, or 3.6m wide if there is a drinker positioned at the point.
Scraped passageways behind cubicle beds must be at least 2.4m wide, whereas for conventional systems the minimum width is 1.8m.
For smaller cubicle units (no more than four cubicles on any side of a passage) where the cubicle beds run perpendicular to the feed passage, the requirement for crossover and no dead end passages is relaxed but it is still strongly recommended, as seen in Figure 1.
Cubicle beds in a conventional dairy system must be at least 2.1m long when head to head and at least 2.4m long when up against a wall. For organic dairy cows this increases – beds must be at least 2.5m long when head to head and must be at least 2.7m long when up against a wall. The distance between cubicle divisions also increases from 1.15m centre to centre, to 1.2m centre to centre as per the Department of Agriculture specifications.
Beef housing
When it comes to new housing for beef cattle, because of the greatly increased space requirements, the only economic housing system for organic beef cattle is a simple straw-bedded solid-floor arrangement. A slatted area at the feed face or a scraped area is permitted but it is recommended that such floors do not extend more than 3.2m behind the feed barrier.
Where the space allows with an existing shed, the best option is to extend the shed by removing the rear wall and providing a new solid-floored lean-to house of the required size. You may be required to lift the height of the new lean-to above the existing eave height to ensure access is possible for machinery to enter and to provide adequate ventilation.
Breeding bulls
Breeding bulls must have a minimum indoor area of 10m2. This must be a completely solid floor. They must also have access to pasture for the entire year, or during the winter period, an open-air exercise area of a minimum of 30m2. The required open-air area may include open yards or situations where the bull is running with cows, eg for breeding purposes, in housing facilities which include at least one open side. When housed alone, it is recommended that bulls are in sight of other animals.
Sheep housing
Sheep must be kept on solid floor type housing, and no more than 50% of the animal area must be slatted. A minimum of 50cm trough space per in-lamb ewe is required for all sheep housing.
Eligibility
Grant aid through the Organic Capital Investment Scheme (OCIS) provides support of 40% of an €80,000 investment ceiling, for a general applicant who is a licensed organic farmer this would mean grant aid of €32,000. For a young farmer, this can increase to 60%. The minimum amount of investment which is eligible for the scheme is €2,000.
If you are planning to build a new shed for the winter of 2019-2020, then now is the time to make plans. It can take three months to get approval on planning permission and the aim should be to get the TAMS application made before the tranche closes at the beginning of April. As it can take three months to get TAMS approval, this will hopefully allow you to commence building next July.
“The most common non-compliance when it comes to the organic scheme is housing,” according to Dan Clavin, Teagasc organic farming specialist. “Generally cattle have to be housed on straw but they have been given a special allowance this winter to be housed on peat also due to the lack of straw. However, this will not be something that will generally be permitted.”
He continued: “Rushes are allowed but they should be composted and turned over two to three times to kill the rush seed. Before anyone goes into organics they do have to be aware of the extra labour that can be involved, especially when it comes to bedding livestock regularly.”
With the Organic scheme closing for applications on 19 December, farmers do not have much time to decide if they want to enter the scheme. Over the past few weeks, we have highlighted what is involved with the scheme and the attractive financial incentives that exist. There is a major drive towards getting both tillage and dairy farmers into the scheme.
This week, we will examine the housing requirements if you decide to go organic and the alterations that may be needed to your existing sheds.
Required space
As we see in Table 1, the required space for livestock is higher under an organic system. Additionally, a minimum of 50% of the internal floor area required for the animals must be a solid floor construction and covered with straw or litter. For the majority of farmers with old slatted sheds with small creep areas, the creep area will have to be increased.
However, another option available to farmers, if they are not highly stocked in their slatted sheds is to reduce the existing slatted area. This can be done by replacing the slats with solid slabs. All new slabs must be included on the Department’s Accepted Concrete Slat List.
This option also ensures that you will have a greater amount of slurry to spread on your land, which is vital in an organic system.
Placing a screed of concrete over existing slats to reduce the slatted area is not permitted.
An outdoor exercise area, separate from the pasture, is normally required in the organic system, but where animals have full access to grazing over the summer, as in Ireland, these exercise areas are not mandatory, except for breeding bulls.
One thing to be mindful of before deciding to go into the scheme is bedding availability, which will predominantly be straw. Additionally, there must be facilities to store the farmyard manure before it is spread, while ensuring that there is no run-off. While payment rates for going down the organic route may be attractive, it is worth noting the additional labour required when it comes to bedding stock.
Having a step between the solid lie-back and the slatted area will help to reduce the straw pulled onto the slats.
Upgrading existing facilities
It is important for farmers to be aware that where they update an existing shed through the organic version of TAMS, known as the Organic Capital Investment Scheme (OCIS), that if an extension is put on to a shed to provide additional dry-bedded area then the ventilation requirements must be met for the entire shed.
Existing loose houses, haybarns, stores, covered silos, etc, may all be suitable for conversion to an organic loose house system. Care must be taken to ensure that it is possible to install proper feeding barriers and doors/gates to allow FYM to be removed. All floors in converted houses must be free of cracking and must be of mass concrete. Any floors that are cracked must be replaced.
When it comes to installing a feed barrier, the Department specifications highlight that if the pen is fully straw-bedded, the build-up of FYM may need to be taken into consideration. It is recommended to install the straw bedded floor 300mm below the feed stand level.
If upgrading an existing shed or constructing a new one, then drainage should be looked at to help move moisture away from the straw and prolong the life of the bedding. For that reason, it is recommended that the floor is sloped at 1:30. Every loose house needs drainage and a channel of 75mm by 75mm must be provided across every opening and the effluent collected and diverted into a suitable holding tank.
Grant aid to update your existing facilities is available through the Organic Capital Investment Scheme.
Cubicle houses
When it comes to dairy cows, cubicles are not recommended by the Department, but they are allowed. In all organic cubicle house arrangements, one extra space must be provided for cow numbers up to 10, two for extra numbers up to 20 and so on. Dairy cows require 6m2/head, with 3m2 of this a solid area.
However, cubicles also need to be bedded with a dry material such as straw, straw chip or wood shavings. Sand would also present an opportunity for cubicle bedding but it is not widely used in Ireland. Whatever form of bedding is used it is important to be conscious of the implications of spreading them on the land.
Existing scraped-floor or cubicle cow houses can be converted for organic housing. Most such houses already have a minimum 6m2 overall space per cow, and close to 3m2 of lying space in cubicles.
Allowing extra cubicle spaces and creating some extra lying space will allow mandatory requirements to be met. However, existing cubicles will have to be upgraded to meet the requirements outlined below.
In houses with a two-row design, there are a few things to be conscious of that must be incorporated into the design of new or converted buildings. There must be at least two routes to the feed face and no dead-end passageways. Crossover points must be a minimum of 3m (two cubicles) wide, or 3.6m wide if there is a drinker positioned at the point.
Scraped passageways behind cubicle beds must be at least 2.4m wide, whereas for conventional systems the minimum width is 1.8m.
For smaller cubicle units (no more than four cubicles on any side of a passage) where the cubicle beds run perpendicular to the feed passage, the requirement for crossover and no dead end passages is relaxed but it is still strongly recommended, as seen in Figure 1.
Cubicle beds in a conventional dairy system must be at least 2.1m long when head to head and at least 2.4m long when up against a wall. For organic dairy cows this increases – beds must be at least 2.5m long when head to head and must be at least 2.7m long when up against a wall. The distance between cubicle divisions also increases from 1.15m centre to centre, to 1.2m centre to centre as per the Department of Agriculture specifications.
Beef housing
When it comes to new housing for beef cattle, because of the greatly increased space requirements, the only economic housing system for organic beef cattle is a simple straw-bedded solid-floor arrangement. A slatted area at the feed face or a scraped area is permitted but it is recommended that such floors do not extend more than 3.2m behind the feed barrier.
Where the space allows with an existing shed, the best option is to extend the shed by removing the rear wall and providing a new solid-floored lean-to house of the required size. You may be required to lift the height of the new lean-to above the existing eave height to ensure access is possible for machinery to enter and to provide adequate ventilation.
Breeding bulls
Breeding bulls must have a minimum indoor area of 10m2. This must be a completely solid floor. They must also have access to pasture for the entire year, or during the winter period, an open-air exercise area of a minimum of 30m2. The required open-air area may include open yards or situations where the bull is running with cows, eg for breeding purposes, in housing facilities which include at least one open side. When housed alone, it is recommended that bulls are in sight of other animals.
Sheep housing
Sheep must be kept on solid floor type housing, and no more than 50% of the animal area must be slatted. A minimum of 50cm trough space per in-lamb ewe is required for all sheep housing.
Eligibility
Grant aid through the Organic Capital Investment Scheme (OCIS) provides support of 40% of an €80,000 investment ceiling, for a general applicant who is a licensed organic farmer this would mean grant aid of €32,000. For a young farmer, this can increase to 60%. The minimum amount of investment which is eligible for the scheme is €2,000.
If you are planning to build a new shed for the winter of 2019-2020, then now is the time to make plans. It can take three months to get approval on planning permission and the aim should be to get the TAMS application made before the tranche closes at the beginning of April. As it can take three months to get TAMS approval, this will hopefully allow you to commence building next July.
“The most common non-compliance when it comes to the organic scheme is housing,” according to Dan Clavin, Teagasc organic farming specialist. “Generally cattle have to be housed on straw but they have been given a special allowance this winter to be housed on peat also due to the lack of straw. However, this will not be something that will generally be permitted.”
He continued: “Rushes are allowed but they should be composted and turned over two to three times to kill the rush seed. Before anyone goes into organics they do have to be aware of the extra labour that can be involved, especially when it comes to bedding livestock regularly.”
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