Minister Hackett attends first Growing Organics farm walk of 2024
The first in a series, the opening Growing Organics Farm Walk of 2024 was held on the farm of Bill George, Coolanowle Organic Farm, Arles, Co. Laois on May 1, a dairy farmer supplying milk primarily to the Village Dairy.
Operating as Coolanowle Organic Farm, the conversion to organics was started by Bill's father in-law, Jimmy Mulhall in 2001. Full organic status was achieved in 2003. Bill has leased the farm on a long-term lease since 2016, and the main enterprise on the farm of 118ha is dairying, with a mix of tillage crops grown to feed the dairy herd. An additional 32ha of land is share farmed with a local organic farmer.
Breeding and production
The dairy enterprise consists of 150 high EBI cows, with 40% calving in the autumn and 60% calving in the spring. Average milk yields were 5,230L/cow in 2023, while meal intake was 650kg/cow on average. The EBI of the herd has been built up over the last 10 years, now averaging €223 for cows and €300 for replacement heifers. This has been achieved by selecting bulls that are positive and balanced on all traits such as milk, fertility, health and management.
Bill uses sexed semen to breed replacement heifers for the herd. A Hereford bull, along with beef AI, is used to breed non-replacement animals. These animals are kept on the farm and fed whole milk for 13 weeks. They are then sold to his brother in-law, who brings them to slaughter for direct sales at farmer’s markets and online sales.
Joe Kelleher, Teagasc Organic Specialist, and Bill George, Growing Organics Demonstration Farmer, speaking from the open day.
The grazing area
The holding is made up of the grazing platform of 82.75ha, along with three out-blocks used for tillage, silage and grazing replacements. The grazing platform carries 150 cows and 52 replacements, which gives a stocking rate of 2.2LU/ha and a whole-farm grass stocking rate of 2.16LU/ha excluding the tillage and silage area, so the whole farm stocking rate is 1.45LU/ha.
Cows are grazed on a rotational basis around the farm using a paddock system, grazing pastures of multispecies and white clover leys. Bill aims to begin grazing from the first week in February until late November. Topping is carried out as necessary to improve grassland performance and to control weeds.
For more detailed information on Bill George’s farming system, access the open day booklet here.
Opinions of other farmers
Attending the event, Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Senator Pippa Hackett said the farm walk “has been a great way to begin the month of May, which I think all farmers are hoping will bring good weather to allow us get on with the work that has been building up in recent weeks and months.”
Minister Hackett added: “Like any farming system, there are challenges to be overcome when switching to organics, and it was great to hear Bill and Marianne discuss those challenges, and the solutions, so openly.
“There has been plenty of discussion about organics and its pros and cons over the last few years, but nothing beats talking to an organic farmer and getting honest answers to your questions. I’d really encourage farmers to keep an eye out for organic farm walks in their area over the coming weeks and months, and to go along if they can at all to hear for themselves how it works day-to-day on the ground.”
Learn more about the Growing Organics Demonstration Farm Programme here.