Quel a été le défi/problème abordé?
Due to the rapid increase in the numbers of organic farmers entering conversion in 2023, there was a very apparent gap in how the large numbers of cattle and sheep farmer would be able to source and buy organic feed for their stock. The biggest numbers of drystock farmers starting their organic conversion were located in the west of Ireland and this land area would not be traditionally suitable for growing crops for feed. Due to the difficulty of growing their own feed in this area, it was clear that there was a possibility for organic tillage farmers to grow crops and directly trade with other organic farmers. There could be an opportunity for farmers to enter into contracts with each other and that there could be a positive outcome for both parties in that the tillage farmer had the assurance of being able to sell the crop at a profitable price and the drystock farmer would have a high quality feed at a fair price.
Comment as-tu résolu le problème?
A meeting of 40+ tillage farmers was organised in March 2023, where they were informed of the large numbers of new organic farmers and the growing opportunity for organic tillage farmers in the endeavour to meet the organic feed demand from the drystock f
Ce qui est innovant dans votre cas pratique?
The circulation of the feed survey to organic famers was innovative as it highlighted the deficit of home grown feed for organic farmers. Setting up the organic trading hub was also an excellent innovation as it is a one stop shop for all Organic famers w
Quels sont les facteurs de succès pour résoudre le problème?
The main success factors in this case was how the feed survey put a quantitative figure on the demand for feed. This in turn has given the organic tillage farmer confidence that there is a strong future in this enterprise. It also has encouraged some non-
Leçons apprises
Organic famers don’t have the same services and supports from the Irish farming sector as non-organic famers. This is mainly due to the fact that they are a small minority of the farming community. pourtant, this project has demonstrated that there is a need and demand for high quality organic feed and it shows that where a market can be identified, growth can be encouraged. The benefits of the organic trading hub allow organic farmers to make better decisions as they now have access to more information on the supply or demand for feed and stock. This information gives confidence and this confidence can allow the organic farmer to plan and grow the farm business. In addition to the existing organic farmers, the development of this innovation has prompted other farmers to consider organic conversion, mainly due to the fact that there is more stability in a future market for the tillage farmer and also having a more direct access to purchasing of stock also builds confidence and makes the change-over to organic farming less daunting.
Quel rôle joue le conseiller ou le service de conseil dans le cas pratique?
The advisor identified the lack of farm to farm linkages and trade and on the back of this initiated the tillage farmer meeting. From this meeting the advisor engage DAFM to conduct the feed survey so that a better understanding could be developed on how
Votre approche peut-elle être transférée et/ou adaptée à d'autres défis d'innovation et régions?
Oui
Transférabilité estimée sur une échelle de 1 pour 5
(où 1 est facile et 5 très difficile)
3
Le moment est critique pour mettre fin à la culture de couverture et la disponibilité de la sertisseuse à rouleaux peut représenter un goulot d'étranglement, Pour toutes questions et demandes de renseignements sur les prochaines classes d'excellence
Marianne Mulhall
marianne.mulhall@teagasc.ie
Lien vers des informations externes
www.organictradinghub.ie