Farmers opting for organic conversion will now receive a lump sum payment of €2,000 in year one and €1,400 thereafter under the Organic Farming Scheme. Per-hectare payment rates have also increased, with farmers now to be paid up to €350/ha initially to convert.

With those interested set to benefit from increased payment rates, the Irish Farmers Journal asked farmers if it would be enough to entice them to make the switch.

Anne Marie Butterfield, Co Offaly

Sheep, sucklers, dairy

“I think it’d be hard to manage because we have fairly high numbers. So, it’d be hard to get back into it because things can go wrong with fertiliser. It would be a way of going forward. If I was a small farmer, I would definitely look into it.”

Pat Rowan, Co Offaly

Tillage, sucklers

“With organic, if you have a big farm, you can get into it, you can move cattle around and grow your grass. But if you’ve a small farm it can be very hard to carry the numbers. You’d be totally relying on the cheque every year and that’s not farming. I think that would ruin farming over the generations and it has ruined it.”

Eoin Wall, Co Kildare

Sucklers

“I haven’t a terrible lot of land for a start and the land I have, it’s not bad land. Where if you had sort of middling land, you’d be getting the payment, a good payment on bad land.”

Michelle Curley, Co Kildare

Sucklers, calf to beef

“I did look at it but the only downside is that there’s only one organic sales mart in Ireland and that’s Drumshanbo and the quality of cattle coming out of there at the moment is very poor. So, if everybody descends on that, there’s nothing.

“The market isn’t there, the replacements aren’t there, the farmers aren’t there, it’s just not there yet.”

UCD student and beef and sheep farmer Thomas O’Donoghue farms at Mount Leinster, Co Carlow.

Thomas O’Donoghue, Co Carlow

Beef and sheep

“100% – I plan on going organic now and we’ll do as much as we can to reduce our emissions. We don’t mind reducing our stock by a certain amount but don’t want to be getting rid of a quarter or half of them either. It has to pay. Look, if they bring in [organic] subsidies to subsidise what animals we cut, fair enough, I don’t mind.”

Jim and Pauline Sherlock at the Tullamore Farm open day.

Jim Sherlock, Co Monaghan

Beef

“It’s great to see the figure at the top there, €2,000, but the amount of expense the farmer has to put in to capitalise on that €2,000, I don’t think it’s going to be worthwhile for the small farmer.”

Organic farmer Mark Gillanders. \ Barry Cronin

Mark Gillanders, Co Monaghan

Tillage, beef

“It does take a higher level of understanding to farm organically. I come from a 44ac hill farm in Monaghan and I wouldn’t be able to farm if it wasn’t for organics. Profitability for me is number one, that is the number one reason I went organic. You’re not exposed to hikes in fertiliser. Growing your own grain and meal to finish your animals, protein and all included. To me 10,12 years ago when I first went organic, it was a no brainer. If nitrogen was €100/t, I still wouldn’t be interested in buying it because I can produce all the nitrogen on the farm and produce every bit as much as my neighbouring farms.”

Longford farmer James Farrell at the Tullamore Farm beef and sheep open day.

James Farrell, Co Longford

Beef finisher

“Organics has crossed my mind but I’ve heard some negative comments. I suppose to the farmer there, the supermarkets have pushed down the price of organic food and that really put farmers off because I don’t think they’re getting the return.”

Clare part-time beef farmer Shauna Canny.

Shauna Canny, Co Clare

Beef

“Stocking rate would have to come way down but I’d say the money would entice a lot of people. There are pros and cons to it.”