Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Pippa Hackett announced today (Tuesday, February 20) that over 50,000 tonnes of organic feed is needed to meet requirements for next winter 2024/2025.
The minister made the announcement on the back of the results of an organic feed survey that indicates “growing demand” for organic feed of all types.
A total of 912 organic farmers participated in the survey, which is approximately 25% participation rate among the cohort of farmers in organics before the 2024 intake.
Based on the replies, it is estimated that overall demand for concentrates will be in the region of 33,000 tonnes.
Demand could be in the region of 20,000 tonnes for straights, 6,000 tonnes for protein crops (such as a pea/barley mix), and for 50,000 bales of fodder.
Minister Hackett said: “Organics and tillage have been highlighted in FoodVision as an opportunity for farmers.
“These results show the growing demand for organic feed and the opportunity to increase the area of organic tillage in Ireland. There is an opportunity for an organic Irish mill as the sector continues to grow.”
Organic feed survey
The survey took place against the background of a significant increase in organic farmer numbers and area over the past couple of years.
Farmer numbers doubled to 4,000 in 2023, with another 1,000 farmers joining the Organic Farming Scheme in 2024.
Organic land will reach 5% of overall agricultural area in 2024, and is well on target to achieve 10% by 2030, as set out in Ireland’s Climate Action Plan.
Responses were received from every county. The largest number came from Roscommon, Galway, Kerry, Cork and Donegal.