Proposed amendments to the €21m Organic Farming Scheme by the Department of Agriculture are said to be aimed at commercial dairy farmers. But farm leaders are wary about the financial viability of full-time dairy farmers switching from conventional to organic production systems.
An IFA spokesperson commented that farmers considering organic farming should look carefully at what’s involved. The amendments mean that farmers will receive higher payment – from 60ha to 70ha, while the stocking rate required to make areas eligible has been amended from 0.5LUs/ha to 0.15LUs/ha, with more intensively stocked farmers to receive priority access.
One of the concerns being the cost of adapting farmer’s enterprises to organic production.
“While a significant budget within the next CAP budget has been allocated, any farmer exploring the organic option should also research the market that’s available for what they produce. We would be concerned if the market was oversupplied, the premium attached to organic dairy would slip,” the spokesman said.
ICMSA’s Denis Drennan added that for full-time dairy farmers, the conversion payment (up to €220/ha during conversion and €170/ha when organic status is achieved) was “not adequate” to cover production losses that would be incurred.
“We’re not convinced the minimum stocking rate of 0.15LUs/ha is commercially realistic for organic dairy or beef; there can sometimes be a fine line between organics and hobby, and we think that kind of stocking density errs on the hobby side.”
LSL News.