The importance of working with other farmers

This long-time organic beef farmer from Limerick explains how forming a small producer group makes financial sense and provides valuable support and information

Working closely with other organic farmers is the key to a successful conversion, according to Limerick man Justin Furnell, who switched nearly three decades ago.

“I work with three other farmers in a small beef producers’ group and together we finish beef animals for the Good Herdsmen,” he says.

“Each year we work with the procurement officer and organise to have 10 animals killed every couple of weeks or so. We all farm relatively close together so it is almost a onestop shop for collection.

“It allows for greater flexibility as you work together to get animals processed and it gives you financial security as a farmer.

“Working closely with other farmers has provided great support over the years, not only in terms of building friendships but giving each other a hand when the pressure is on.

“Collectively we purchase goods which is more cost-effective. I would encourage new entrants to the sector to get to know organic farmers in your locality as it is an important source of support and information.”

Justin welcomes the conversion of more farmers in Ireland.

“A lot of things in agriculture work in cycles and back when I was considering my options in 1995 a local advisor was encouraging people to go into organic farming, so I joined the REPS scheme for organics and have never looked back,” he says.

“It is good to see farmers coming into organics as it is better for the environment and a genuinely lovely way to farm. The sector needs the support at national level and advisory support at local level to encourage and support farmers who do convert.”

Justin, who farms 55ha (136ac) at Grange, Kilmallock, calves twothirds of his herd in the spring and the rest in the autumn.

“I have been doing that for almost 15 years now and it works very well as I find that the cattle are stronger when weaned and it spreads the finishing times for the animals,” he says.

“The plan for this year was to start calving on March 1, but it started a week early.”

Justin has always finished cattle and started off with Herefords, then Limousin and back to Herefords and Aberdeen Angus.

“I now have a Limousin bull,” he says. “I keep switching things around as I want to produce a better grade for the factory.

“When I had pure Aberdeen Angus, I found that I was getting too many O grades, so I am trying to mix things up a little now as you need to do things different if you are not happy with the results you are getting.

“I will monitor how the cattle finish from this bull. I breed all my own replacements so keeping good 5-star rated cattle is important from that perspective.

“My plan is to have cattle ready to finish from May to January, so mixing up the breeds a little can assist with that.

“The autumn-born bullocks are killing out at 380kg or so at 26 months old so I am happy with that.

“I built my first shed for winter housing in 1996 to the organic specifications with grant aid.

“I built another shed in 2003 to keep dry cattle in, allowing me to keep everything going forward. Again, it was built with grant aid and to organic specifications. As a result I have plenty of space for winter housing which is very helpful.

“Animal health is generally good, I had a couple of cases of pneumonia in calves over the winter but overall health is good with minimal veterinary intervention required annually.”

When Justin converted with the Irish Organic Association, he began to stitch in clover around the farm and since then has stitched in clover every four or five years as required, especially if there is damage done to some of the grazing ground.

“I make haylage every year with the ideal number being approximately 500 bales in the yard, which is enough to carry me through a long winter as I feed on average 450 bales in a year,” he says.

“I take the first cut by mid-June and then the second cut by the end of August, yielding half the amount of the first cut.

“I spread farmyard manure and slurry on that ground, ideally spreading slurry after the first cut is taken.

“I cut and turn the haylage and the contractor bales it; he also adds slurry with a dribble bar as that works best on this soil type as the farm is very rocky.

“I have started to use Lucerne nuts, which are a great source of protein and fibre for ruminants. Within a day of weaning the cattle are eating it and they love it.

“I find it a very good quality feed overall and I give 1kg daily to the weanlings and autumn calvers, giving the autumn suckler cows a little more to help keep condition.

“It is a certified organic Italian product and I buy it in for myself and some other local organic farmers and we are all very happy with it to assist in finishing cattle.”

All going well the cattle will be out to grass towards the third week in March, by when there should be plenty of grass as most of the fields have been closed off since the end of October.

As a seasoned organic farmer Justin keeps a close eye on weed management in the pastures.

“Over the years I have found that keeping annual weeds at bay is essential to keep paddocks clean,” he says.

“Last year was particularly bad for creeping thistle due to the weather, so it is important to keep topping to maintain productivity and accessibility.

“I pace the topping across the farm by doing it in stages; you have to work with weather conditions and be careful if there is a drought that you don’t get caught out.

“In my experience, it is a balancing act between grazing and topping to keep weeds under control and that system is very manageable for any organic farmer.”

“I have started to use Lucerne nuts, which are a great source of protein and fibre”