DAFM gives breakdown per county of organic feed demand
A feed survey by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) has shown "growing demand" nationwide for organic feed of all types to meet requirements for winter 2024/25.
The online survey received 912 responses and will be used to highlight the opportunities for tillage farmers to grow grain and grain or protein crops to meet the growing demands.
It showed that on average organic farmers travel 39km to purchase additional concentrates or ration.
This distance varies from 29km in the border region to 45km in the mid-west.
The department said it is "reasonable" to calculate that overall demand for concentrates will be in the region of 33,000 tonnes.
For straights, demand could be in the region of 20,000 tonnes, 6,000 tonnes of protein crops (such as a pea/barley mix), 50,000 bales of silage and hay, and 5,000 bales of wholecrop.
Respondents were asked the total quantity of organic straights or grains; barley; oats; grain or pea mix; and wheat they intended on purchasing in tonnes from harvest 2024.
| Region | Number of responses | Straights or grains | Barley | Oats | Grain/pea mix | Wheat |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nationwide | 912 | 3,609 | 395 | 458 | 1,103 | 169 |
| Cavan, Donegal, Leitrim, Monaghan, Sligo | 193 | 553 | 46 | 45 | 180 | 7 |
| Mayo, Roscommon, Galway | 235 | 931 | 105 | 123 | 152 | 39 |
| Clare, Tipperary, Limerick | 130 | 413 | 45 | 54 | 118 | 20 |
| Carlow, Kilkenny, Wexford, Waterford | 70 | 359 | 41 | 68 | 153 | 22 |
| Kerry, Cork | 133 | 525 | 32 | 37 | 245 | 13 |
| Dublin, Kildare, Meath, Wicklow, Louth | 61 | 289 | 63 | 39 | 91 | 51 |
| Laois, Longford, Offaly, Westmeath | 90 | 539 | 63 | 92 | 165 | 18 |
The survey indicates that the participants are planning to purchase over 1,100t of grain or pea mix.
The demand for this feed varies from 245t in the south-west, 180t in the border region and 153t in the south-east regions.
Survey responses indicated a demand for 6,000t of organic concentrates for the 2024/25 winter.
42% of which is beef concentrate feed with the remainder comprising sheep (28%), dairy (20%), and poultry feed (6%).
| Region | Beef | Sheep | Dairy | Poultry | 'Other' |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nationwide | 1307 | 875 | 626 | 191 | 80 |
| Cavan, Donegal, Leitrim, Monaghan, Sligo | 152 | 174 | 30 | 131 | 21 |
| Mayo, Roscommon, Galway | 323 | 381 | 50 | 5 | 26 |
| Clare, Tipperary, Limerick | 167 | 15 | 20 | 15 | 8 |
| Carlow, Kilkenny, Wexford, Waterford | 101 | 42 | 222 | 3 | 11 |
| Kerry, Cork | 102 | 138 | 182 | 16 | 5 |
| Dublin, Kildare, Meath, Wicklow, Louth | 199 | 81 | 117 | 19 | 6 |
| Laois, Longford, Offaly, Westmeath | 264 | 45 | 105 | 2 | 3 |
There is a demand across all regions but particularly in the border, west, south-west and midland regions.
A lot of respondents indicated demand for dairy concentrate feed in the south-east region and for both beef and sheep concentrates in the western counties of Mayo, Roscommon and Galway.
Survey respondents indicated demand for over 5,400 silage bales; 4,700 hay bales; 1,100 bales of wholecrop; and 679 bales of red clover silage.
Other forage required by survey participants includes mainly straw.
| Region | Silage | Hay | Wholecrop | Red clover | Organic 'other' |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nationwide | 5424 | 4757 | 1099 | 679 | 1565 |
| Cavan, Donegal, Leitrim, Monaghan, Sligo | 1130 | 1144 | 15 | 11 | 49 |
| Mayo, Roscommon, Galway | 1310 | 1000 | 210 | 100 | 470 |
| Clare, Tipperary, Limerick | 1108 | 708 | 69 | 40 | 299 |
| Carlow, Kilkenny, Wexford, Waterford | 750 | 590 | 550 | 90 | 1 |
| Kerry, Cork | 430 | 669 | 4 | 37 | 359 |
| Dublin, Kildare, Meath, Wicklow, Louth | 211 | 406 | 251 | 101 | 50 |
| Laois, Longford, Offaly, Westmeath | 485 | 240 | 0 | 300 | 337 |
The 912 responses represents approximately a quarter of organic farmers in the Republic of Ireland before the 2024 intake.
With an additional 1,000 farmers in organics from January 1 this year, participants would represent a fifth of all organic farmers.
