The first ‘Growing Organics’ farm walk takes place next week (Friday, June 2) on the farm of Jason Stanley, Errill, Portlaoise, Co. Laois.
The Laois organic farm walk is the first of many launched by Teagasc, while working with the Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Pippa Hackett.
Organic demonstration farms have been selected throughout the country to illustrate best practice and monitor key financial and environmental metrics.
“I’m really looking forward to learning from our new monitor farmers over the course of this programme,” Minister Hackett said.
Topics that will be discussed on the farm walks include: Benefits of forage crops; multi-species grasses; growing organic tillage crops; markets for organic produce; organic system financials; maintaining soil structure and fertility; and water quality.
Laois farm
Jason Stanley is farming with his wife Grace and their son Jacob alongside parents George and Shirley Stanley.
The Laois farm comprises of 78ha of grass and tillage. The Stanleys converted to organic farming in 2011.
Since then they have built up the stocking rate of the farm, along with supplying oats to Flahavans and organic seed barley to Boortmalt.
They have become entirely self-sufficient for their own feed requirements and don’t buy in any concentrate feeds for their sheep.
The protein source for the sheep ration comes from the beans grown on the farm and Jason is “delighted that the beans have been able to replace the need to purchase organic soya bean meal”.
Soil fertility is very important to the Stanleys. They take soil samples every two to three years and maximise the organic manures produced on the farm by prioritising the fields that are most in need of it.
They also import dairy sludge from Tirlán in Ballyragget and spread lime to keep the soil fertility of the farm maintained.
They grow winter forage crops on the land and it helps to finish the later lambs over the winter period allowing a steady supply of lambs for slaughter.
Dr. Stan Lalor, director of the Teagasc Knowledge Transfer directorate said:
“This group of demonstration farmers are a vital part of the programme to act as information hubs for other farms to learn from and follow.
“They will work closely with our Teagasc organic specialist team and our team of organic advisors across our advisory regions.”