Ireland: Economics of Organic Production and Market Prices

In November 2013, organic farmers and industry leaders met at the event Economics of Organic Production and Market Prices at Coolanowle Farm, Ballickmoyler, Carlow in Ireland. Presentations of the speakers are now available here: http://iofga.org/

John Purcell from The Goodherdsmen and Rory Fanning from Slaney Foods outlined the growing demand for Irish organic beef both domestically and in the export market. The Goodherdsmen is seeking an additional 1,000 calves for 2014, the Irish Independent reports. Trevor Harris, an organic farmer from Kildare, stressed that as Ireland is a net importer of organic cereals, the market is very strong for Irish producers. Alan Mooney, also from Kildare, cited too much volatility in market prices and increased input costs, and therefore looked at organic production.
 

1.3% of farmers in Ireland are certified organic, and an ambitious target of 5% is set under Food Harvest 2020. In 2012, there were 981 organic cattle farms (non-dairy) and 41,381 organic cattle (non-dairy) in Ireland. This represented an increase of 19% in cattle farms and a 38% increase in cattle numbers since 2007.