As Autumn starts to approach the Organic calendar begins to hot up. A few Teagasc organic demonstration farm walks remain, entries need to organised for the National Organic Awards and National Organic Week itself is being planned.
Remaining walks include field scale vegetables (August 26th Offaly) Beef, sheep, pigs, tillage, direct selling (August 31st Laois), dairying and biodiversity (September 1st Tipperary), beef, sheep, pigs, tillage (September 2nd Cavan), dairying tillage and farm shop (Kildare) and horticulture and direct selling (Galway).
(Pic: Una Ni Bhroin of Beechlawn Organic farm, which is holding an event for National Organic Week 2010)
All walks are on at 2 pm this year. This factor does make it more difficult for part time farmers to attend, which has had a bearing on numbers: last year's times were more varied.
Some of these walks are especially noteworthy. The Cavan event is on Richard Moeran's land, who also, as it happens, now supplies excellent organic poultry. This poultry is usually available at Declan McCarthy's organic mobile butcher's unit in various parts of the north west, including Cavan and Sligo farmers' markets.
Moeran is most noted, however, for his rare breed pigs. So if this area is of any interest to you, its well worth visiting his Mountnugent holding.
The last two walks have distinct direct selling elements: indeed the event on 3rd September on Peter and Jenny Young's farm, is on a holding which features a veritable A-Z of diversification, from cheese making to allotment training. In offering the latter, the couple train both farmers in offering allotments and allotmenteers in growing.
Now in their 4th year, the National Organic Awards have highlighted some spectacularly fine foods. Last year's winner, Moonshine dairies' unhomogenised milk, was and still is a fabulous product at a great price.
This year's awards have been extended to include organic horticulture growers. The announcement of the awards will coincide with National Organic Week (13th-19th September).
The award categories are: Best Organic Retail Product; Best Organic Local Product; Best Organic Export Product; Best Organic New Product; Best Sustainable Organic Product.
Each of the above five winners will then be put forward for judging for the Best Overall Organic Product. Application forms are available to download from the Bord Bia website
Also on their site, the list of events for National Organic Week itself is growing and growing. These range in size from tastings and tours to seminars and conferences. There are events on in the Nano Nagle Centre (Cork), Gortbrack (Kerry), Beechlawn House (Galway), various farmers markets and stores, and more soon to be announced.
Organic conferences are listed for both the Wexford Organic Centre and for the Hodson Bay hotel
According to Eileen Bentley of Bord Bia the aim of the week is to increase �the awareness of organic food benefits amongst core target audience� which she describes as �female, pre-family/young family.�
She goes on: �We will be doing this via a mix of activities on a national and local level, including national press advertising, bus shelter advertising, PR, on-line activities, in-store point of sale materials and funding for local producer events nationwide.�
She also makes reference to local events listed on the site and to the awards as being part of this promotional work. On the day of the awards' announcement, September 14th, �a workshop seminar for organic producers targeting the German market will also be held in Bord Bia, delivered by Grunekopfe Berlin� according to Bentley.
One element that will differ this year for National Organic Week is the promotional phrase used. Following a complaint to the Advertising Standards Authority of Ireland, last year's phrase 'Organic: good for nature good for you' has been dropped.
The new phrase? 'Organic farming: good for nature good for you.' The latter is OK because its an approved EU phrase, whereas the the former was adapted.
Just how the word farming changes the meaning so much is a bit mysterious. It must be all the weeding. Organic farming � helps you get fit!
For a listing of the ever expanding array of events being held forr National Organic Week, see here
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