John Joe O’Sullivan, a Cork-based dairy farmer, was the winner of the small/medium herd category at the 2016 Origin Green Producer Awards.
He took over the family farm in 1982, the year he married his wife Theresa. Since then, he has doubled the size of the farm and moved from drystock into dairying. He now milks 70 cows on the 50ha farm at Gurrane, Rosscarbery, Co. Cork and supplies Lisavaird Co-op.
Here the Origin Green Producer Award winner discusses the steps taken on his farm to become more efficient and how he farms in a sustainable way.
“We were delighted with the Origin Green Award. It was a surprise to me that we were doing so well. As far as I was concerned, we were just doing things naturally and to the best of our ability,” John Joe said.
“The sustainability survey is about measuring every day practice. There’s nothing extra in it and I’d advise every farmer to get involved in Origin Green,” he said.
John Joe and Theresa O’Sullivan pictured in October 2016 at the Bord Bia Origin Green Producer Awards, when they were winners of the small/medium herd category
Standing out from the crowd
However, there is a good reason why people are impressed by the way that John Joe farms.
“We graze the cows outside for up to 300 days in the year. It’s a very healthy environment for them to be out on pasture for so long,” John Joe said.
“We test the soil in each paddock every four years; therefore, we know exactly what fertiliser to use in each paddock.”
“We also protect clover because it’s a natural plant that acts as a soil conditioner. These are the things that provide nutrition for nature,” he said.
In addition to grassland management, John Joe also makes the best possible use of slurry by spreading it in the spring after the first grazing. This, he said, provides benefits for the entire year.
Another area where John Joe has really driven efficiency is the parlour. This has been achieved through the plate cooler he uses.
It’s very electricity efficient and the water is recycled and used to clean down the parlour.
The Cork-based dairy farmer believes that keeping a tidy farm was another reason why he did so well in the Origin Green audit, along with good slurry storage and efficient book work.
Protecting the natural environment
There’s no doubt that protecting the natural environment and supporting biodiversity are also very important to John Joe.
He has maintained all of the original hedgerows and fences on the farm.
“I want to leave my farm every bit as good as I got it. I love looking at the flora and the bushes when I’m going in and out with the cows.
When you live with these things every day, you develop a love of them.
Beekeeping is another thing that he does to support biodiversity on his farm.
“I started beekeeping in 1978 when a friend asked me to come along to a beekeeper’s meeting. We took a course in Gormanstown and got a scholarship that started us off with a swarm of bees.
“I’ve been doing it ever since. It’s lovely to see the bees pollinating the fruit bushes and the apple trees,” he said.
Peter, Andrew and John Joe O’Sullivan pictured on the dairy farm at Gurrane, outside Rosscarbery, Co Cork
John Joe added that he inherited his attachment to nature from his parents.
“The pace of life was slower then, so you became more in tune with your surroundings.
“My role as a farmer is to protect the things that were there before me and the things that will be left after me. I hope my children will carry that on too,” he said.
Proud to be part of Origin Green
Sustainability is now part of the entry criteria in every sector and every marketplace in which the Irish food industry competes.
Bord Bia’s Origin Green is the only sustainability programme in the world to operate at a national scale, showcasing Irish produce in global and home markets. Origin Green verified members account for more than 90% of Ireland’s total food and drink exports.
Irish farmers who are certified members of the Bord Bia Quality Assurance schemes and who participate in a farm sustainability survey as part of the audit process are part of Origin Green.
Bord Bia’s Sustainable Dairy Assurance Scheme (SDAS) is the world’s first national dairy sustainability scheme.
It allows dairy farmers to measure their continuous improvement of efficiencies and sustainability practices.
Bord Bia also recently launched the Sustainable Beef and Lamb Assurance Scheme (SBLAS), expanding the well-established Quality Assurance standards to include sustainability criteria.
At farm level, the Origin Green sustainability programme now operates across the Irish dairy, beef and lamb sectors. There are plans to broaden it to the pigmeat, poultry, eggs, horticulture and grain sectors.
Preserving the farm for future generations
Origin Green farmers are discovering that the efficiencies that come from farming sustainably and caring for the environment have benefits in terms of preserving their farm and land for future generations.
These benefits can also contribute in a positive way to the profitability of their farm enterprises.
