The Organic Producer is produced by the LeitrimOrganic Farmers Co-op, in co-operation with theWestern Organic Network and is distributed to allregistered organic farmers in North West Ireland, tosubscribers nationwide and to agricultural agencies in theRepublic and Northern Ireland. If you have informationyou would like included in the next issue, please send itto: The Editor, Organic Producer, Leitrim OrganicFarmers Co-op, The Enterprise Centre, Hill Road,Drumshanbo, Co. Leitrim.Phone: 071 9640868, Fax: 071 9640869,Email: leitrimorganic@eircom.net.(Download at www.leitrimorganic.com)

Autumn 2010 ISSUE 33

12 Issue 33 Autumn 2010 Organic Producer

Livestock For SaleTwo Purebred RegisteredAberdeen Angus Bulls forsale. Full Symbol. CorduffOrganic Farm. Ballinagh,Co. Cavan. To arrange toview, contact PhilipMoynagh 087 7998633/0494337465.Weanlings & Yeanlings AAX Simmental. 7 Females &2 Males. Gander for sale,€30.00. Contact MaureenKelleher – Mc Nally. 071 9641031

Organic Black Gallowaypedigree cattle. "Bulls, Heif-ers, Cows for sale" from Or-ganic Farm (Full SymbolIOFGA Licence No. 418),Galloways of Lecarrow,Spencer Harbour, Drum-keeran, Co. Leitrim. ContactJoachim Schaefer 071-9648960 orgallowaysoflecarrow@gmail.com

Produce For Sale

Duck, Turkey and Hen eggsfor sale. Also Organicpotatoes (Roosters andCara) for sale. ContactMaureen Kelleher - McNally.071 9641031.

Organic Galloway Beef fromOrganic Farm, Galloways ofLecarrow, Spencer Harbour,Drumkeeran, Co. Leitrim.Contact Joachim Schaefer071-9648960 orgallowaysoflecarrow@gmail.com

Wanted

Organic Opportunities

25 acre organic farm fullyregistered organic since1999. Many enterprisesavailable - to work, share,lease, rent or for sale asgoing concern or W.H.Y.Enquiries to John Brennanat 071 9640868 or emailjohnb@leitrimorganic.com

Nationwide Suppliers ofOrganic & Non GM Drug Free Animal Feeds

Willow Farm Organics= Ireland =

Telephone 071 9646942 or 086 8101409Complete range available by the bag, ton or lorry load

100% Organic Unistock(suitable for cattle and sheep). 100% Organic Beef Nuts. 100% Organic Pig Finisher . 100% Organic Poultry Layers Pellets.

100% Organic Turkey Finisher.(Also available in 1 ton totes – minimum 3 ton order)Lorry Load in Bulk Blower Organic Turkey Finisher

For Organic Poultry Finisheralso available Seaweed & Organic Animal Licks

www.organicanimalfeeds.ieemail: willowfarmireland@eircom.net

prices available on request

WOOFERS required forhorticulture unit in NorthSligo from March onwards,accommodation provided onsite. In scenic location, closeto the sea. Contact Aidan086 1575623.

For Sale50 tonne of triticale. Fullsymbol. Available rolled orunrolled. Contact Colum087 2468911.

10 Charolais Cross cows forsale. In-calf to AberdeenAngus bull. Longford area.Contact John 086 6073214.

Services

Colour photocopying serviceavailable at reasonablerates. Why not give us a callat 071 9640868

House & OrganicLand Avaiable

House and 2 acres of OrganicCertified Land available in themidlands area, located on theside ofa busy main road, may suitmarket gardening type busi-ness.  Number of sheds andout offices on site.Contact 087 4168988

Organic ConsultancyNew Organic farmingdiscussion / demonstrationgroups to be set up forbeef/sheep farmers, idealway to learn. Contact OliverCrowe, CC AgriculturalConsultants 049 4334462.

Drumshanbo Harvest Feast Says Thank YouThe annual DrumshanboHarvest Feast took placeduring the last weekend ofAugust. It was gloriousweather and the crowds camein their droves. The hugelypopular event, whichspecialises in all that is greatabout regional food, heritage,eco-tourism and theenvironment, drew families,children of all ages, dogs andassorted animals and allmanner of events andproduce.

The Chairman and the organisingcommittee of the Festival would liketo thank all the visitors who came toDrumshanbo and added so much tothe atmosphere and enjoyment ofthe weekend. The committee would

like to give thanks all those whogave of their time so freely; the localrestaurants who gave cookerydemonstrations; the chefs whoprepared enormous quantities offree food for visitors; thecraftspeople who demonstrated avariety of skills including woodturning, basket weaving and bee-keeping; the stall holders whopresented and sold the best of localproduce including meat, bread,jams and honey, cakes, cheese,flowers and organic wine. Thanksalso to those who entertainedvisitors, whether it was throughtraditional music, the children’spuppet show, the ice rink or therange of historic and biodiversitywalks. The committee would also tothank their sponsors, includingFáilte Ireland, Bord Bia and a rangeof cross-border funding, withoutwhose help the event would not bepossible. This year the coop was

the lead group for the event withTommy Early, Martin Reading andJohn Brennan representing thecoop. The event is an important partof the coop’s role in promoting smallfood producers and highlightingorganic food and farming in theregion.

Finally, the committee wouldlike to apologise to anyshopkeepers or residentswho might have in any waybeen inconvenienced duringthe Festival through eitherparking restrictions or thevolumes of traffic. We hopeyou will appreciate that anyinconvenience was entirelyunintended.

Aberdeen Angus Cow withcalf at foot for sale. Contact087 9721152.

Small square bales of Junehay saved without rain forsale. Contact 089 4213822(Roscommon area).

Mohill Storytelling FestivalDiversification is a way of life for farmers and those in the organic sector.

Western Organic Network memberTony Cuckson has branched outand will be a featured storyteller atthe 12 Annual MohillStorytellingFestival on the OctoberBank Holiday Weekend, 22 - 24th

October, 2010.Storyteller/musician Cuckson will beon stage at the Gala Concert at theLough Rynn Castle Hotel in Mohillon 23rd October. He will be joinedby fellow storytellers DanielleAllison, Fiona Dowling, Susie Minto,

Mattu and singer/harpist Fionnuala Gill.Tickets can be purchased on thenight for €15.The Festival is launched Fridaynight at the Canon Donohue Hall onMain Street of the Leitrim village ofMohill, with all the storytellers beingjoined by winners of the local storycompetitionfor school children. Children fromprimary to secondary age range are

eligible for prizes for an illustratedstory on the theme of "Awakening."

Other events over the weekend arefree or by donation and includechildren's storytelling at MohillLibrary on Saturday morning, 23rd

October.

For the full festival programmeplease visitwww.mohillstorytelling.com orcontact Bee Smith on 071 964 3936

2 Issue 33 Autumn 2010 Organic Producer Organic Producer Autumn 2010 Issue 33 11

Application for Associate Membership

· Associate Members have access to all Co-op services.· Receive free quarterly Newsletter (Organic Producer)· Can advertise Small Ads free in the newsletter or website· Can sell organic beef, lamb & other produce to the Co-op· Can attend general meetings and contribute to discussions· Can participate in all Co-op activates and training sessions· Are eligible for co-option onto the management committee.An Associate Member does nothold a shareholding and receivesno dividends.The cost of Associate Membershipin 2010 is €50.00 per year.Payment can be made annually bystanding order with your bank.Please request a standing order formfrom the office.

Membership Application FormI wish to become a Member ofLOFC and enclose €50 pleasesend me a standing order form

Name: ……………………………….............Address:……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..................................County: ……………………………….Telephone: …………………………..Email: …………………………………

Organic Status .………………………Producer of …………………………..

Please make cheques payable to:Leitrim Organic Farmers Co-op,The Enterprise Centre,Hill Road,Drumshanbo,Co. Leitrim.071 9640868

• Full Range of Organic Feedsin Stock

Bags or Bulk

• Caltech Organic Feed Blocks

• Seaquim

Thos. F. Tighe,Agri Supplies,

Strokestown,Co. Roscommon.

Tel: 071 9639040Fax: 071 9639071Mob: 086 8918883

ORGANIC FEEDS

Guidelines for Finished cattle

1. Your cattle may be out of test so it is important to check that you have had a herdtest within the last calendar year

2. For cattle to qualify for premium prices they must be under 30 months and your herdmust be in the Bord Bia Quality Assurance Scheme

3. Cattle must be in your herd for 70 days to be considered as quality assured cattle

4. All cattle going to a processor must be accompanied with a cattle intake form. Thisnow applies whether you are certified by IOFGA or Organic Trust. (also availablefrom coop office)

5. All cattle must be accompanied by a Food Chain Information or FCI (form availablefrom the coop) or can be downloaded from www.agriculture.gov

6. Cattle over 30 months of age are generally not wanted and only receiving a 5%premium, as they are ineligible for the supermarket trade.

7. It is important as far as is possible to have cattle finished well before of 30 months atthis time of year, as there can be a delay in moving cattle to the factory. If you arestill having problems with this you will need to review your breeding/feeding policy.

As we are now in the busy time of the cattle year it is important to remember that youwill need the following before selling cattle:

Organic feed for sale

Wheat Oats Ration

Ph. Pat Lalor 087 2557679Ballard Organic Farm

Kilbeggan, Co Westmeath

IOFGA AGM

The IOFGA AGM takes place onSunday 17th of October at 2.30pm.This year the AGM will be held in theNano Nagle Centre, in Mallow, CoCork.If anyone wants an entire version ofthe Annual Report, please emailgrace.maher@iofga.org or the officeat iofga@eircom.net and we will posta full version out to you. It will also bepossible to get a full version on theday.We look forward to seeing memberson the day.

4 Issue 33 Autumn 2010 Organic Producer Organic Producer Autumn 2010 Issue 33 9

SCENES FROM THE HARVEST FEAST 2010

Rossinver, Co.www.theorganiccentre.ie Ph: 071-9854338

Get Ready To Grow for 2011We offer courses to get the necessary skills and gain confidence for all yourgrowingendeavours:

· APPLE DAY at The Organic Centre in conjunction with the Irish SeedSavers

Association 3rd October

· Plan your garden now 9th October

· Seaweeds in season – an introduction with Prannie Rhatigan 9th Octo-ber

· Growing in polytunnels 16th October

· Wheatgrass, sprouts and juices 16 October

· Get your garden in shape for next year 23rd October

· Wine making 23rd October

· Discovering and planting new hedgerows 13th November

· Growing fruit – Winter workshop 27th November

Ever thought of a Green Manure to improve soil fertility and structure? Wecan advise and provide you with the right green manure for your needs. Call

6 Issue 33 Autumn 2010 Organic Producer Organic Producer Autumn 2010 Issue 33 7

I was wrong about veganism.Let them eat meat – but farm it properlyThis will not be an easy column towrite. I am about to put down 1,200words in support of a book thatstarts by attacking me and oftenreturns to this sport. But it haspersuaded me that I was wrong.More to the point, it has opened myeyes to some fascinatingcomplexities in what seemed to be ablack and white case.In the Guardian in 2002 I discussedthe sharp rise in the number of theworld's livestock, and theconnection between theirconsumption of grain and humanmalnutrition. After reviewing thefigures, I concluded that veganism"is the only ethical response to whatis arguably the world's most urgentsocial justice issue". I still believethat the diversion of ever widertracts of arable land from feedingpeople to feeding livestock isiniquitous and grotesque. So doesthe book I'm about to discuss. I nolonger believe that the only ethicalresponse is to stop eating meat.In Meat: A Benign Extravagance,Simon Fairlie pays handsometribute to vegans for opening up thedebate. He then subjects their caseto the first treatment I've read that isboth objective and forensic. Hisbook is an abattoir for misleadingclaims and dodgy figures, on bothsides of the argument.There's no doubt that the livestocksystem has gone horribly wrong.Fairlie describes the feedlot beefindustry (in which animals are keptin pens) in the US as "one of thebiggest ecological cock-ups inmodern history". It pumps grain andforage from irrigated pastures intothe farm animal species least able toprocess them efficiently, to producebeef fatty enough for hamburger

production. Cattle are excellentconverters of grass but terribleconverters of concentrated feed.The feed would have been muchbetter used to make pork.Pigs, in the meantime, have beenforbidden in many parts of the richworld from doing what they dobest: converting waste into meat.Until the early 1990s, only 33% ofcompound pig feed in the UKconsisted of grains fit for humanconsumption: the rest was made upof crop residues and food waste.Since then the proportion of soundgrain in pig feed has doubled. Thereare several reasons: the rules set bysupermarkets; the domination of thefeed industry by large corporations,which can't handle waste frommany different sources; but mostimportant the panicked over-reaction to the BSE and foot-and-mouth crises.Feeding meat and bone meal tocows was insane. Feeding it to pigs,whose natural diet incorporates afair bit of meat, makes sense, aslong as it is rendered properly. Thesame goes for swill. Givingsterilised scraps to pigs solves twoproblems at once: waste disposaland the diversion of grain. Insteadwe now dump or incinerate millionsof tonnes of possible pig food andreplace it with soya whoseproduction trashes the Amazon.Waste food in the UK, Fairliecalculates, could make 800,000tonnes of pork, or one sixth of ourtotal meat consumption.But these idiocies, Fairlie shows,are not arguments against all meateating, but arguments against thecurrent farming model. Hedemonstrates that we've been usingthe wrong comparison to judge the

efficiency of meat production.Instead of citing a simpleconversion rate of feed into meat,we should be comparing the amountof land required to grow meat withthe land needed to grow plantproducts of the same nutritionalvalue to humans. The results areradically different.

If pigs are fed on residues andwaste, and cattle on straw, stoversand grass from fallows andrangelands – food for whichhumans don't compete – meatbecomes a very efficient means offood production. Even though it istilted by the profligate use of grainin rich countries, the global averageconversion ratio of useful plant foodto useful meat is not the 5:1 or 10:1cited by almost everyone, but lessthan 2:1. If we stopped feedingedible grain to animals, we couldstill produce around half the currentglobal meat supply with no loss tohuman nutrition: in fact it's asignificant net gain.It's the second half – the stuffing ofanimals with grain to boost meatand milk consumption, mostly inthe rich world – which reduces thetotal food supply. Cut this portionout and you would create anincrease in available food whichcould support 1.3 billion people.Fairlie argues we could afford touse a small amount of grain forfeeding livestock, allowing animalsto mop up grain surpluses in goodyears and slaughtering them in leanones. This would allow us toconsume a bit more than half theworld's current volume of animalproducts, which means a good dealless than in the average westerndiet.

He goes on to butcher a herd ofsacred cows. Like many greens Ihave thoughtlessly repeated theclaim that it requires 100,000 litresof water to produce every kilogramof beef. Fairlie showsthat thisfigure is wrong by around threeorders of magnitude. It arose fromthe absurd assumption that everydrop of water that falls on a pasturedisappears into the animals thatgraze it, never to re-emerge. Aridiculous amount of fossil water isused to feed cattle on irrigatedcrops in California, but this is astark exception.Similarly daft assumptions underliethe UN Food and AgricultureOrganisation's famous claim thatlivestock are responsible for 18%of the world's greenhouse gasemissions, a higher proportion thantransport. Fairlie shows that it madea number of basic mistakes. Itattributes all deforestation thatculminates in cattle ranching in theAmazon to cattle: in reality it ismostly driven by land speculationand logging. It muddles up one-offemissions from deforestation withongoing pollution. It makes similarboobs in its nitrous oxide andmethane accounts, confusing grossand net production. (Conversely,the organisation greatlyunderestimates fossil fuelconsumption by intensive farming:its report seems to have beeninformed by a powerful biasagainst extensive livestockkeeping.)Overall, Fairlie estimates thatfarmed animals produce about 10%of the world's emissions: still toomuch, but a good deal less thantransport. He also shows that manyvegetable oils have a biggerfootprint than animal fats, andreminds us that even vegan farmingnecessitates the large-scale killingor ecological exclusion of animals:

in this case pests. On the otherhand, he slaughters the claimsmade by some livestock farmersabout the soil carbon they can lockaway.The meat-producing system Fairlieadvocates differs sharply from theone now practised in the richworld: low energy, low waste, just,diverse, small-scale. But if we wereto adopt it, we could eat meat, milk

and eggs (albeit much less) with aclean conscience. By keeping outof the debate over how livestockshould be kept, those of us whohave advocated veganism haveallowed the champions of cruel,destructive, famine-inducing meatfarming to prevail. It's time we gotstuck in.George MonbiotCourtesy : The Guardian

8 Issue 33 Autumn 2010 Organic Producer Organic Producer Autumn 2010 Issue 33 5

PHYSIOLITH Natural soilconditioner and Litho Physalgspecialist P and PK, calcified

seaweed fertilisers.Full range of mineral licks available instock. Suitable for Certified Organic

farmers and growers.Local agent for Roscommon/Leitrim area.

Contact Seamus Collins

Community InternetFacility

available for those in the organicsector and others who need it,

i.e. students and the unemployed(for projects and research).

This is a low cost serviceand is based at

Leitrim Organic Farmers Co-opEnterprise Centre, Hill Road

Drumshanbo, Co LeitrimIf interested, pleasecontact the office on

071 9640868.

Organic Sheep Trade Steady2010 has seen an improvementin demand for organic lamb andit looks like demand will remainstrong into next year. Overallthere has been a remarkableimprovement in the conventionalprice. Based on a study I carriedout in 2009 the average price forconventional lamb was €3.80 in2007. Currently the price at whatis peak season stands at €4.40.It is possible to get a premium of15% to 25% over this pricedepending on the outlet youchoose.

Despite the recession andreduced incomes there has beenan increase in consumption oforganic lamb in the homemarket. This goes against thegeneral trend of slightlydownward sales been thespeciality and organic areas.This trend has seen noted byGoodherdsmen who are morepositive towards organic lamb atpresent. John Purcell said hedoes not understand where thisis coming from and he also

points to good demand from nontraditional customers such asDenmark and Germany.

One theory is that people havereturned to making food fromscratch, and have become moreaware of provenance of food.Organic lamb seems to be abeneficiary of this trend.Although no lambs have beenexported to Northern Ireland thisyear the home market has beenable to absorb domesticproduction to date as well takingin lamb from Northern Ireland. Itwould seem that production hasdropped in Northern Ireland as aresult of lack of markets inrecent years. Many sheepproducers have downsized theirflocks also, and this has resultedin a greater equilibrium in themarket between supply anddemand. The market this yearsees IrishCountry Meatscontinue toprocess lambs inCamolin, but in

smaller numbers.Goodherdsmen are processing100/week in Hacketstown andAthleague. This move back toAthleague is providing avaluable outlet for the manyproducers in Roscommon,Galway and Westmeath. Qualityof lamb coming out of this areais excellent, and producers herehave the capacity to increaseproduction if the market demandis there.

I recently made a presentation toThe National Organic SteeringGroup where I highlighted theissues of seasonality, and loss oflamb to the conventional sector.The Department and Teagascboth agree that is vital toaddress this seasonality if weare to realise the potential ofIrish Organic Lamb.

STRONG DEMAND AT DRUMSHANBO MART

There was a strong demand for both cattle and sheep at the recent September sale. 135 cattlewere offered and 230 sheep. This was the largest entry of sheep ever, and prices were verystrong with store lambs making €74 to €89 with ewe lambs to €91. A small selection of qualitySuffolk hoggets made from €150 to €165

The cattle sale was small by the previous year and there were some outstanding prices. Most ofthe cattle were born in 2009 and there were relatively few weanlings.

BREED SEX WEIGHT kgs PRICE €

LMX M 270 700

AA M 225 630

CHX M 295 675

AAX M 530 940

CHX M 455 910

SIX F 415 675

CHX F 265 560

SHX F 405 745

DRUMSHANBOMART 2010

The remaining Organic sale’s that willtake place this year are as follows:

• Saturday October 23rdCattle & Sheep

• Saturday November 20thCattle & Sheep

10 Issue 33 Autumn 2010 Organic Producer Organic Producer Autumn 2010 Issue 33 3

WANTED:10-20 Horned ewe lambs.Organic or In-conversion. Light and cheap.Contact Conor: 0876457032.

FOR SALE:36 Limousin cows for sale, full symbol, scannedin calf to pb Limousin bull.Contact 087 2894641

FOR SALE:9 Suffolk breeding ewes for sale, contact 0872521866, Galway area.

FOR SALE20 Texel X ewe lambs for sale.contact Conor 087 9795371 (Offaly area)

FOR SALEAngus x Charolais weaned bull calves for sale.300kg. Contact 0872521866 (Sligo Area)

November Sale for Irish Moiled CattleAs part of its work onbiodiversity Leitrim OrganicFarmers continues its work toencourage rare breeds throughthe Irish Moiled CattleProgramme. Jim Gannon andJohn Brennan are members ofthe board of the society andrepresent the broader interest ofthe breed south of the border.The society has appointed anew secretary for the Society,Gillian Steele from Glenavy inCo. Antrim. This will help torelieve the hard pressedregistrar Mark Logan and allowfor increased membership to thesociety. Rare breeds continueto attract interest and theirsupport under REPS 4 assistedgreatly with the take up fromOrganic farming. There is still

support under the AEOSscheme but at a reduced rate.The Irish Moiled has many traitsthat make them ideal for organicfarmers. The animals are apolled which is an asset from ananimal welfare point of view.They also have traits such ashardiness and the ability tograze particularly rough pastureand rushes. The cattle alsofinish at low carcase weightsimilar to Aberdeen Angusmaking them suitable for manyorganic farms. The coop isworking to place additional bullswith AI in the hope of increasingthe potential of the breed. A saleof Moiled cattle will take placeat the organic Mart inDrumshanbo on November 20th.

This will help to increaseawareness of the breed amongorganic farmers and the widerfarming community.

A meeting of Irish MoiledCattle Breeders will takeplace at the offices of LeitrimOrganic Farmers Coop,Drumshanbo on November20th at 11am preceding thespecial Moiled sale atDrumshanbo Mart.

This meeting is being held todiscuss how best topromote and support the breedin the south of Ireland and isbeing organised by Jim Gannonand John Brennan supported bythe coop.

Comment & OpinionComment & Opinion

This is a question that I havebeen pondering over recentweeks. What is the smarteconomy?. Is the one thatallowed the banks to selfregulate leading the nation tothe verge of bankruptcy?. Itseems that the smarteconomy should be one thatlooks to its natural resourcesas a way to recovery. Takingthe case of Iceland where itseemed the only road torecovery was to join the EUand to get the money fromthe European Central Bank.But then they stood back andthough about their strengthsand what this would mean.Firstly it would mean havingto open up Icelandic waters toEU fishing boats and weknow what that has done toour Irish Fishing grounds.Secondly it would open upIcelandic agriculturalproduction to competitionfrom Europe. So joining theEU was going to decimate themost important sectors of theeconomy.

Now we are in the EU so weare not in exactly the sameboat but we have advantagesin terms of our naturalresources similar to Iceland.So i contend that properharnessing of our naturalresources is a “smart” thing todo. Dependency on ForeignDirect investment into Irelandis not the basis for putting the

economy on a sound footing.With harmonising of tax lawsthroughout the EU we will nothave the 12% corporation taxas a carrot to potentialinvestors. Many EU countriescompeting with us have farbetter infrastructures bothfrom a will logistics andbroadband standpoint. Addedto this will be the inevitablebrain drain that our cyclicalrecessions bring, and surely ifwe want to have the“smartest” economy then weshould avoid “live exports”especially when it comes toour people.

Now that discussion aboutproperty is no longer part ofdinner party discussions, andbankers are putting theirmoney on low risk deposit,what is left that is tangible?,only land. In order for us toadd value to this resource wewill need to become smarteras food producers, and lookto diversifying our farmingaway from commodity drivenproducts. “Smart Agriculture”will require the ability toincrease the value of theproduce whilst sustaining theenvironment. This will havespin off’s in terms ofincreasing the opportunitiesfor eco tourism which is theonly hope of attracting highvalue European discerningtourists to our shores, oftensampling a range of food and

experiences that cannot befound elsewhere. Our abilityto foster this form of tourismcould revitalise our ruralareas and curb the braindrain. This will only happenwhen there is a plan that allrelevant agencies of the statehave signed up. It will alsorequire a form ofinterpretation of Europeandirectives that do not heap aburden of red tape onfarmers. It will requireagencies to have people withsolid business experience toassist those that wish tomake our rural economiesthrive and prosper. Finally itwill require functioningfinancial institutions with anunderstanding of the needs ofsmall rural businesses.Without these conditions The“Smart Economy” will remaina distant echo is the mind ofthe PR agency executive whodreamed up the term.

Geese For Sale7 four month old goslings,3 grey goslings (female),4 white goslings (male),1 two year old grey goose(female).Aclare, Co. Sligo.Contact Rosie Hynes on087 9014211.

Is Agriculture part of the “Smart Economy”?