When it comes to organic farming there's too much talk about philosophy or even religion, according to Dr Noel Culleton, a scientist with the State's agricultural research body, Teagasc. With the kind of straight talk that most Irish farmers appreciate, he added: "Let's talk science."
The man overseeing expansion of Teagasc's organic farm at Johnstown Castle, Co Wexford, is equally frank when talking of Irish farmer scepticism. "There's a feeling that organic farming is a reversion back to the past. I would say, anything but. It's back to the future. It's using the best of technical information and using that to farm organically."
There has been a small organic farm since 1991 at Johnstown Castle; a beef suckler herd with some organic lamb production. But the past few years have seen dramatic transformation of the organic sector, with more and more consumers prepared to pay extra if produce is generated in a particular way. They are concerned about the way food is generated and favour farming in a more environmentally friendly way.
The EU is placing greater emphasis on conservation through integrating environmental and agricultural policies. Within that new framework, "milk has become the cornerstone of organic farming. It is the one area that has developed best".
Teagasc's organic farm with a quota of 40,000 gallons a year will help identify the best options for an Irish farmer going organic. Organic farming avoids or largely excludes the use of synthetic fertilisers, pesticides, growth regulators and animal feed additives.
"But it is not just `farming without . . .' Organic farms have to establish self-stabilising systems, in which pests and diseases are kept at reasonable levels by predators and by enhancing the natural resistance of crops and livestock, where possible."
For farmers, it's about maximising through the use of crop rotations, crop residues, animal manures, legume-type plants, "green manures" and off-farm organic wastes. Incorporating biological pest control to maintain soil productivity, to in turn supply plant nutrients and to control insects and weeds etc, is also important. Essentially, Dr Culleton added, it is about three essentials: generating sufficient feed, effective disease control and marketing.
There may be an issue of perception; the difference between buying a pair of jeans in Dunnes Stores or a Versace brand. Thus traditional milk is sold for about £1 a gallon and "almost designer milk" comes in at about £1.20. But Teagasc is to verify if there is a scientific basis for the difference in perception. With its Moorepark facility in Co Cork, key quality parameters such as fat content, residue levels and process-ability will be assessed.
Reverting to old breeds or using high genetic merit Holstein cows (the big milkers) is not the best way forward, he says. The use of mainstream British Friesian-type cows seems to be a good compromise.
Dr Culleton accepts people are buying the mode of production as well as the product; an ethos including an environmentally friendly form of farming that ensures more birds and bees about the place. In any event, organic farming should not be considered a criticism of mainstream agriculture. Equally, "why should farmers apologise for getting more for their product?"
In Ireland, mainstream dairying is a clean form of production. Grass rather than concentrated feeds is the norm. Yet there is an undeniable demand at home and abroad for the organic equivalent.
To be sustainable in this market, farms will have to be market-driven, not subsidy-driven, he noted. Many farms are 90 per cent of the way there, though in going organic they are not going into competition with mainstream agriculture, merely going after a different market.
With Johnstown Castle being a grassland-based centre, most research is concentrated on organic feed options. A healthy combination of grass and clover sward is the engine leading to high productivity in organic farming. Key within that is the legume species known as white clover. It has the ability to fix atmospheric nitrogen and convert it into plant nitrogen and in turn encourage grass growth. Organic rules out synthetic nitrogen fertilisers.
Teagasc will consider research from Wales indicating red clover fixes nitrogen at twice the rate of its white cousin and focus on its use as a nitrogen converter and incorporation into silage. The organic herd will be divided, with 25 cows feeding on the white clover diet, and the second lot feeding on red clover and, in time, in combination with other grasses, legumes or herbs.
Silage is produced using molasses as a preservative, explained farm manager Mr Rioch Fox. Winter housing uses straw-based bedding. Concentrated feeds are produced on farm, such as organic barley. With fertilisers prohibited, efficient recycling of nutrients is vital. A composting shed helps this process.
A visit to the farm suggests initially little difference from a conventional farm with a high-tech milking parlour, said Dr Culleton. But he is acutely aware that, in every aspect of its operation, it reflects a different mode of farming, which requires "using science even more", and a better form of farm management. It certainly is not quick-fix agriculture.