I AM A SMALL PRODUCER BUT I CAN SEE THE POTENTIAL — I CAN SELL 1,000 ORGANIC BIRDS A WEEK

chickens. “The main demand is for table birds usually for a Sunday roast dinner,” he said.

“Depending on size, they retail anywhere from €13-€18. It is not an impulse buy.

“My market is based on repeat customers, people who buy Ring Chickens value what we are producing. In terms of price, I am well aware that you can get chickens for less than €5, but I am offering a far superior

“Chicken is a tough market to be in — the Irish market is flooded with imports, particularly in the service industry, so you need to differentiate yourself by producing excellent quality meat that customers want.

“Now that I have converted to organic, my feed costs will rise by roughly €70,000 a year. I am now paying over €500/t for feed, as a free-range producer I was paying approximately €300/t.

“Based on that, some of the costs will be absorbed by the business but I will be forced to increase prices slightly.

“That said, I think organic is a good fit for this business and farm.

“I do a lot of tastings at the retail outlets and customers care about the welfare of the birds, what feed it gets and generally how they are reared.

“There is minimal waste with my chickens, so people are getting value for money which is important on every level,” added Sean.

Grace Maher is development officer with the IOFGA, grace.maher@ iofga.org