There is a huge problem with organic feed, according to industry experts speaking at the Flahavan’s organic oat growers conference this week.

The majority of compound feed being fed to organic animals in Ireland is being imported from the UK, the EU and non-EU origins.

The majority of the diet of organic animals is made up of grass or forage crops, but compound feed is more complicated.

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On this, Jennifer Byrne of Teagasc said: “We’re importing nearly everything for feeding stock.”

She added that this is “not good from an environmental perspective”.

Byrne, who is currently carrying out a feasibility study on an organic feed mill, added that a native mill could result in more affordable feed, as it would be produced at home and avoid massive shipping costs.

Julian Pawlowski of the Organic Beef and Lamb Innovation Group (OBLIG) commented that there is a huge deficit of what is required for lamb rations for example. He added that a key element to finishing these animals is tillage farming through cover crops, protein crops and grain.

The general consensus from the panel was that Irish organics’ green image was at risk due to the importation of the majority of compound feed.

Rejected grain

The drought of 2026 saw higher rejection rates among oat growers, mainly due to lower KPH levels. Johnny Flahavan said that on average the KPH fell from 54.6 in 2025 to 53.8 in 2026.

Loads of oats below a KPH of 52 also increased from 14.4% to 23.3%, up almost 9%.

There was clear frustration that rejected crops could not be sent to an organic feed mill. Some rejected oats entered the conventional feed chain, as other grain was imported to feed organic animals.

Johnny Flahavan said there is “a gap” in the chain. The head of operations at the company said: “We are promoting it and trying to encourage that development, but, to a certain extent, it’s out of our control.”

Flahavan’s has played a key part in the growth of the number of farmers entering organics and organic tillage.

However, the company acknowledged that farmers need other crops in the rotation and a feed mill would provide an outlet for this grain.