ITINERANT JOBS AND ADVERTS WITH CHEMISTRY: JUST ANOTHER ORGANIC WEEK

In any given week, there is an abundance of organic farming and food news, from the global to the local. Inevitably, many stories slip by. Usually, this column focuses on one main story. Instead, this week it will round up and analyze some of what's going on in the organic world.

Going global first, it turns out that for interesting reasons, independent business experts in Australia think that organic farming and food have a lot of potential.

Business information specialists IBISWorld rank growth in organic farming-related jobs as being the highest growth area for employment in Australia for 2010.

While some of these jobs are quaintly described as �itinerant� agricultural jobs, in other words transient fruit and vegetable farm hands, jobs across the spectrum are predicted, including at the business, promotion, and research ends.

Organic farming is also ranked second highest as a growth area overall, outscoring traditional big hitters like oil and gas production and health insurance.

IBISworld cite higher returns for farmers, increased ranges, increased consumer demand, and organic farming's resilience and adaptability in the face of extreme weather conditions as being positive signs for the industry.

Interesting lessons for Ireland?

At EU level, there are still a few days left to vote for what will be a mandatory EU organic logo. While this logo will be compulsory, private symbols will still be allowed after this logo is introduced.

Many have criticised the entire notion of a loosely regulated public on line vote for the organic logo.

After all, the Wolfe Tones' version of 'A Nation Once Again' topped a BBC poll for best song ever. Likewise, the recent UK Christmas number one was a song by Rage Against the Machine rather than the X factor winner. In both of these votes, committed campaigners changed the result.

More importantly perhaps, not engaging branding and copyright experts from the beginning of the logo choosing process has troubled many.

However, experts were at least engaged to whittle the entrants down to the last three: you can vote by going to either the Organic Trust or IOFGA (Irish Organic Farmers and Growers Association) websites.

Speaking of which, back home, IOFGA, have launched a new, improved and very detailed website.

Along with a searchable database and a dedicated section for producers, there is also information on their school gardening initiatives and more generic information on organic food, such as news, events and links. So now, both IOFGA and Organic Trust have top notch websites.

At the organic food end of the spectrum, two little bits of history were made here in Ireland.

Ireland's first certified organic gastropub was opened in the Dundrum shopping centre. Ruairi Maguire's Bar and Organic Kitchen describes it itself as both a traditional Irish pub and a place that only serves 100% organic food.

Glenisk also made a bit of history lately, with their TV advert: surely an Irish organic company's first TV advert? This is a milestone for organic in Ireland, and the advert does look exceptionally well.

It also looks exceptionally warm, sunny and picture perfect in the advert: nice young family, lots of nature everywhere, windmills in the background � the kind of vista that looks especially appealing in the middle of a cold winter.

As a moment in time, during the clutter of a 2 minute ad break, this advert, which is called, ' it's only natural', stands out as an oasis of calm.

Explaining why they choose such a subtle approach for their first advert, Glenisk suggested that the advert encapsulates messages of family, future environmental sustainability, the soil, nature, and, yes even milk.

Interestingly, the location has been quite technologically adapted, as what you see was actually filmed, or perhaps more accurately created, in a cold Irish December.

And I couldn't help a wry smile when I noticed on the Glenisk facebook page who had made their organic ad: a company called Chemistry. That, you couldn't make up.

National Organic Awards: 2009 entries now open

See below for info on the upcoming National Organic awards.

Now in their third year the National Organic Awards are recognised as an important feature in the organic food and drink industry calendar. The objective of the awards is to recognise the achievements, and raise the profile, of Irish organic food and drink manufacturers. The awards were established as part of the National Organic Plan under the auspices of the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries & Food and Bord Bia and last year attracted 100 entries from organic companies nationwide.

Entry forms and more info are now available for the 2009 Awards here. The categories for this year�s awards are:

Best Organic Retail Product;

Best Organic Local Product;

Best Organic Export Product;

Best Organic New Product; Best Sustainable Organic Product and

Best Overall Organic Product.

Entries must be registered as organic under EU regulations as well as being certified by Organic Trust, IOFGA or Marketecology (IMO). All products must also be manufactured in Ireland with the essential raw material sourced in Ireland. Closing date for entries is Friday August 21st.

All entries will be critiqued by an expert panel of judges including Hugo Arnold, food writer; Evan Doyle, proprietor, Brooklodge & Wells Spa; Cian Doorley, Musgrave Retail Partners Ireland; Dr Oliver Moore, journalist, researcher and organic blogger and Darren Grant, proprietor, The Organic Supermarket. Winners will be announced at an awards ceremony in Bord Bia in early September.

Media Contact:

Nicola Donnelly

Corporate Communications

DD: 01 6142258 | Mob: 087 9703678

the end of REPS : implications for organic farmers

Organic farmers are still reeling from the twin cuts in REPS and the Organic Grant Aid scheme.

According to Kate Carmody, Chairperson of IOFGA, �many farmers had been finishing up their current REPS plans and were waiting to join REPS 4 and convert to organic farming. We currently have many members who are finalising their applications for grant aid and IOFGA are very disappointed with the short notice given to announce that the scheme was closing�.

Some organic farmers I have spoken to have claimed that they were advised by their REPS planners not to try to transfer out from REPS 3 to REPS 4, as the waiting lists were said to be too long.

This, coupled with the fact that some farmers did manage to transfer successfully from REPS 3 to REPS 4 has especially angered farmers.

It is now the case that some farmers will have five years of funding, totaling tens of thousands of euros, while competing in the cattle mart with neighbours with no such cushion. Farmers have described this situation as anti competitive.

IOFGA also felt that it was very important to mention that REPS and the Organic Farming Scheme are separate, and that the Organic Farming Scheme is still very much open:

�We would like to point out that the Organic Farming Scheme is still open to people and overall we are hopeful that the stability within the organic sector given the current economic difficulties will still encourage people to convert to organic production and help the market realise its potential here in Ireland.

The Organic Trust has been especially vocal in its criticism: �The Organic Trust have expressed very serious concerns about the closure of REPS 4 as this will adversely affect the on-farm incomes of 33,000 farmers over the next 2-3 years. This will have a devastating affect on the rural economy and the horrific consequences of this decision across the Irish economy generally will become evident very soon.�

They point out that farmers in REPS 2 and 3 farmers �would have had a valid expectation that they could enter REPS 4 on the completion of their REPS 3� and that they are now at a �severe disadvantage� because of �this arbitrary decision� which, they suggest, was not as a result of any �fair or equitable selection process.�

Specifically in relation to organic farmers, according to Helen Scully of the Organic Trust: �900 organic producers in REPS 3/2 will have their incomes significantly reduced when their REPS 3/2 contracts end which will undoubtedly have an adverse affect on the modus operandi of those farms - farms which are producing top class organic food in a sustainable and responsible manner.�

While many have suggested that the ending of REPS will have negative consequences as regards government aims for increasing organic farming's land base from 1 to 5%, the situation is not entirely clear cut.

It may also be the case that the Organic Farming Scheme will now appear more attractive than it previously did. This may especially be the case for what will be an increasing yearly number of former REPS farmers.

The lack of REPS money may in fact lead to a rush towards the Organic Farming Scheme: less intensive sheep and beef farmers may see it as one of the few remaining funding options.

This could have implications as regards sustaining what there is of a price premium in beef and sheep.

This then could lead to relative over-subscriptions and corollary pressures on available funding.

However in a context of a government target of 5%, it would be incredible if funding was not available to cope with an influx of farmers: increased numbers are inevitable with a move towards 5%, and this will incur costs for the state.

Should such a rush occur, it is likely that, with the ending of the grant aid for organic, beef and sheep will continue to be the main area of new conversions to organic.

New organic recruits: a lot done....

There has been a significant increase in the number of new applicants for conversion to organic, according to the two main certification bodies.

May 15th was the deadline for both the Organic Farming Scheme, and for REPS 4. The majority of organic farmers are in REPS, though it is no longer a technical requirement.

Some of the figures below are complicated by the fact that organic farmers often have mixed enterprises. It is also the case that these are preliminary and approximate, rather than final figures.

(photo: Am I boaring you?: by Steve Ford Elliott for attribution see here, for more of his work see here)

That said, both Organic Trust and the Irish Organic Farmers and Growers Association (IOFGA ) are pleased with progress.

According to IOFGA, they received about 150 new applicants. This is up from last year's 100, and the previous year's figure, which was just under 80.

This represents an increase of about 15% on their current membership of approximately 1000, or an increase of 50% on the numbers converting last year.

�The majority of the new applicants are livestock farmers� according to Angela Clarke, certification manager of IOFGA. �Most of these are beef farmers, with some sheep farmers as well�.

She points out that more of these applicants are growing grain for feed than in previous years.

Geographically, most IOFGA applicants this year have come from the west and north west.

Horticulture numbers remain small, with about 10 new applicants. However, of this number, there was no large, field scale operator who applied to convert.

Similarly, there were few dairy farmers opting for the organic option, with �about five� choosing this route. Even this is significant, however, as there are less than 20 in the republic at present.

IOFGA did not report significant new processors, retailers, seafood companies or exporters.

On the other hand, the Organic Trust have new applicants from processing, including meat processing and food businesses more generally.

They also claimed to have �a number of new retailers� and an organic soil conditioner according to Helen Scully, National Co-ordinator and Certification Manager.

A new trend for the Trust is applicants incorporating pigs into their enterprises.

Otherwise, there are similarities. Very few applicants in horticulture, with most for the Trust being from mixed enterprises.

While last year's deadline saw tillage farmers apply, this year they report no major moves in this sector.

Like IOFGA, most applicants were in beef and sheep. Their geographical spread is wide, and more balanced that other years, according to Helen Scully. However, there are still, for the Organic Trust, laggard counties such as Louth and Donegal.

In total, Organic Trust report an increase of 11% in their membership. Organic Trust are thought to have close to 500 members on their books at present.

The new certification body, IMO, remain in the aquaculture sector only, and have not yet received applicants from other sectors.

Because they are a global certification organisation involved in certification across many areas, those involved in export and processing are likely to be their main target area in the future.

There are a number of positives in these figures. They suggest that organics has grown since 2005, despite the recent recession.

Collective initiatives in upland livestock, the north west and in diary which may also increase the numbers.

However, it is still a slow rate of growth when compared to the plan in the programme for government of 5% land area converted to organic by 2012. At the current 1%, this remains an ambitious target.

As this 5% figure is for land area not productive capacity, the conversion of an Grianin, with 2500 acres next year, will be significant in adding to the figures.

Some in the organic sector, particularly in horticulture, have criticised the fact that the figure is land area based. They complain that as it may be possible to reach 5% but not increase production of organic food in Ireland significantly. Organic horticulture as an example can produce large amounts of food on a very small area of land.

As the always apt Fianna fail albatross proclaimed: A lot done, more to do.

Organic Growers of Ireland established

�We just felt that we we're being represented, so we decided to do something about it�.

So says Jason Horner, founder member and driving force behind a new group called Organic Growers of Ireland.

Their steering group consists of many high profile names in organics. Along with Jason, the group features Siobhan Morris (consultant), Padraig Fahy (grower, former IOFGA chair), Cait Curran (grower, trainer and editor of Organic Matters) and Laszlo Kenderesi (organic trainer).

Thus far, this new representative organisation has found a receptive audience amongst organic growers.

�I brought 40 handouts to the recent NOTS conference, but we had more than twice that turn up� according to Jason Horner.

Another indicator of both the interest and the need in representing organic horticulture is the response OGI got to their initial expression of interest letter.

�30 people got back straight away, the vast majority of whom were growers� according to Jason.
He goes on � at the NOTS conference, we circulated a questionnaire: we got 66 responses from the 80 people in room, and most were interested in getting involved.�

Jason also points out that over half of these were registered growers, with others also being involved in the sector, including students of the organic colleges, organic advisors and consultants.

Jason was also keen to point out that OGI is �non aligned. We're independent politically and financially, and will try to represent all growers equally�. He points out that they will be open to members of both IOFGA and the Organic Trust.

The organisation aims to represent the needs and views of the organic horticulture sector. It also lists the following objectives:
To support effective and dynamic promotion of organic produce
To identify training needs of growers
To share practical and market information and facilitate networking between members.
To improve access to technical information on organic horticulture
To encourage new entrants to organic production

In the next short while, OGI aims to take specific actions to start achieving its aims. It will aim to establish an interactive website, with discussion board, blogs, buying and selling areas as well as areas for technical advice specific to Ireland.

While this might sound like par for the course, in reality organic growers are amongst the most internet-savvy of the entire farming community:

A similar orgnaisation in the UK, one which Jason has already had dealings, the Organic Growers Alliance, has 160 members on its books: only 3 are listed as non-internet users.

OGI will also develop an Action Plan. Both Teagasc and the Department of Agriculture Fisheries and Food (DAFF) have organic action plans.

However organic growers I have spoken to have been annoyed at the complete lack of horticulture in the Teagasc plan, and the lack of concrete, tangible horticulture actions in the DAFF plan.

An example of the forgotten nature of the organic horticulture sector is the fact that the plan for converting 5% of Ireland to organic is area rather than productivity-based. Inevitably, this mitigates against the more concentrated and productive horticultural sector, compared to more extensive sectors such as sheep and beef.

Following on from this, OGI aims to have representation on the various organic-specific steering, advisory and marketing groups.

There will also be a media dimension: they aim to make accessible the UK OGA magazine for members, as much but not all of the technical info will transfer. They will also look to inputing into that publication.

Likewise, OGI will be aiming to contribute regularly to the Irish farming and organic farming press.

Another action is to establish farm walks � both Jason Horner and Padraig Fahy have held Teagasc organic farm walks in recent years.

A further development to this is their desire to conduct study trips to the UK, where the organic horticulture sector is more developed.

Forever upbeat, Jason finished on a positive note: �The market is there, you only have to look at the level of imports. So in a sense, the market is established. I do believe there is capacity to grow�.

To contact OGI, (email only) irishorganicgrowers@gmail.com

New organic certifier announced for Ireland: IMO

Earlier this month, the Institute of Marketecology (IMO) were approved to operate in Ireland as a new organic certification body.

IMO are a large globally recognised certification body, for whom organic is just one area.

This again brings to three the number of organic certification bodies in Ireland: until quite recently, the Irish Organic Farmers and Growers Association (IOFGA) and Organic Trust were accompanied by Demeter Standards, the certification branch of the Biodynamic Association of Ireland.

IMO has been active in the field of organic certification for more than 20 years. Their world-wide activities are accredited by the Swiss Accreditation Service (SAS).

Thus far, IMO have had a presence in Ireland through certification of aquaculture products as organic to the private German-based Naturland standard. Irish Companies such as Atlantic Fare list Naturland amongst their certification bodies.

According to Minister for Food Trevor Sargent TD, who announced the arrival of IMO as a certification body, �With the inclusion of aquaculture within the scope of the new Organic Regulation from 1 January 2009, there should be opportunities to expand the organic aquaculture sector and IMO�s approval is therefore timely.�

The issues facing the seafood sector have been outlined elsewhere in this edition, and indeed in last weeks. This boost for the organic aquaculture industry in Ireland is noteworthy, especially as this particular sector does indeed seem poised for action.

Take for example the attendees at the upcoming BioFach event, Europe�s largest organic trade show. Each year, over 2500 exhibitors and 45,000 visitors attend the show in Germany.

Historically, Ireland�s representation at BioFach has been very poor. While the exception has actually been the seafood sector, this year, their presence has increased.

At the upcoming exhibition in February, the vast majority of the 20�odd Irish attendees registered thus far are seafood related, from seafood companies such as Irish Seaspray to suppliers of feed to the sector.

While they have a strong base in seafood, IMO�s potential expansion beyond aquaculture would make for interesting times for the other certification bodies in Ireland. IMO claims to have representatives in over 30 countries and activities in over 90 countries.

Their global clients include US-based Whole Foods and Dr. Bonner. Their relationship with Wholefoods led to the Whole Trade Guarantee program, which includes both social justice and environmental dimensions.

This reflects trends at the global organic movement level, through the activities and statements of organisations like IFOAM, the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements, who are the umbrella group for organic organisations across the world.

On the ground, however, organic certification bodies are constrained by their resources and remit.

Many in indigenous organic organisations feel frustrated that they are essentially doing the state�s work - certification � rather than any of the other myriad areas for which they have little time. These include educational, promotional, representational, supportive, advocatory or advisory.

It is also unclear what the consumer will make of another certification body. At present in Ireland, recognition of the two Irish-based certification logos is very low � lower than that of the UK�s Soil Association logo in fact.

According to the research, for the Irish consumer, the word organic is �the logo�. Soon, the consumer will have yet another logo to decipher, the mandatory EU logo, which is currently being redrawn.

It is also of course the case that arrival of another certification body will be hailed as welcome competition. This may be so.

However, there has been competition between IOFGA and the Organic Trust for many years. All the while, this competition was accompanied by calls for one organic organisation, as well as calls for the organisations to work more closely together.

Just how a pan-global organisation will adapt to the nuances and peculiarities of the Irish situation remains to be seen. They can of course point to expertise in this area, having representatives in so many countries.

And with the UK�s Soil Association possibly sounding out its own arrival into the Irish organic certification scene, those considering the organic option may soon have a veritable a la carte menu to choose from.

All I want for christmas....

Before I start my annual christmas list to santy, if you are interested in accessing the most recent organic steering committee report, it's available here

(Pic is from young greens site of a green santy on grafton street)

for the previous wish list, click here

Now for the serious stuff:

Dear Santy
Wow. What a year eh? A real 'may you live in interesting times' of a year. I'm writing this to you from a state of mild confusion. Hopefully you'll understand what I mean, and I'll get some of these organic gifts from you.

I'm confused santy, because I thought that organic and conventional were different. Apparently you can even be sent to jail for claiming to be organic if you are not. There are people employed to go around inspecting operators to make sure they actually are organic to the letter of the law. And yet, when it came time for the Arnold Schwarzenegger-like Total Recall of pork products, they also recalled organic pork too Santy.

So this coming year, for Christmas, I'd love for differentiation between organic and conventional to actually mean something. I think the consumer has actually been more confused by organic pork's sudden disappearance, as they must surely have thought all along that that organic pigs eat different food to conventional ones. What must they think now?

Along with this Santy, I'd love some organic cosmetics. Or health and beauty products as they are usually called. For herself of course � I prefer the more rugged look myself.

Both certification bodies in Ireland now have the right to certify for organic cosmetics, making themselves and the Soil Association in the UK world leaders it seems. All the Irish ones need now are products!

I'd also love for the gift of continued organic growth of organics, if you know what I mean. So hopefully once the farmers can start converting again on New Year's Day � as one of their new year's resolutions - there will be a flood of them Santy. Queues out the door of the IOFGA and Organic Trust offices longer than the Dole queues � that's what we want.

Also, if you could give Minister Sargent the gift of a ring fence around the money he's managed to keep for organic farmers, that would be absolutely great Santy. In fact, make it an electric ring fence, and give him a few high voltage cattle prods. He's going to need them. That would cover a lot. I know I'm giving away a present there, Santy, but giving is a gift in itself.

It seems there is nothing but negative talk and thinking these days Santy. Everyone seems to think that food with ethical values will be the first thing to go. They keep saying 'in the current economic climate' or in these 'recessionary times' as if that means � �stop thinking about frilly little exotic irrelevancies like the planet � we have an economy to protect�.

But Santy, organic is the food of the future - the oil won't last forever. Even Teagasc research points out that organic makes sense for both the planet and the farmer. I know cos I was at their recent conference, and organic farmers are making just as much money as their conventional counterparts. In fact, organic cattle farmers are making up to 56% more. And most still do this while doing a better job environmentally.

I'm sure someone out there was asking for a reduction in the price of feeds, fertilizers and fuels, but there are environmental costs in all of these Santy. I'm not so sure that that's all good news. Your reindeer's don't seem to need any of these to keep themselves going � a bit like those mountain sheep and cattle. I'd love to see more of them going organic Mr Claus � they might as well be. Organic would suit both their farming restrictions and their terrain. They'd get a great mark up if they converted, so they would.

And what about that EU pesticide review? I think you can guess what I want on that one. That might even things up between conventional and organic Mr. Claus. Organic might not seem so expensive then, eh?

Overall Santy, I suppose I might as well ask for a lot, as you do seem to give me want I want when I ask. In other years, I was very suprised at how generous you were. Please keep up the good work.

Yours in expectation more than hope

Ollie

Organic cosmetics to be certified by Organic Trust in Ireland

In a market leading move, the Organic Trust recently announced that it will soon be in a position to certify cosmetics and beauty products as organic.

This would make the Organic Trust, along with the UK�s Soil Association, the only certification body in Britain or Ireland with cosmetics and beauty products on their books.

The area of certifying organic cosmetics is perhaps the most contentious of all the possible areas. There are a number of reasons for this. Firstly, and simply, you can�t or at least shouldn�t, eat cosmetics.

But assuming that people want similar standards for cosmetics they put onto their body as for the foods they put into them, the area is still fraught with controversy.

Lovelula.com specialises in on line retailing of natural and certified organic cosmetics and body care products. Lula herself firstly pointed out that that the general labelling rules are weaker for cosmetics than for other products:

�It is currently legal for a product to be labelled organic if this word is part of its brand name even if it contains no organic ingredients whatsoever. Additionally these products can contain any number of chemical ingredients commonly used in conventional cosmetic products�.

Cosmetics often claim to have organic ingredients in them, or to have other, similar standards.

Lula�s company adheres to the BDIH industry standard as a baseline, while also carrying Soil Association approved products. BDIH is a high standard, but it is an internal industry standard with no third party external validation. For this reason, the Soil Association�s certification is considered stronger. It offers both the ingredients list limitations and the external, independent validation of products.

The Soil Association themselves point to some technical limitations in the area:

�Organic beauty products that contain oils and oil-based ingredients such as balms and body butters can be made using 100% organic ingredients and do not require the addition of preservatives. Sometimes they may use a mild antioxidant such as tocopherol or ascorbic acid which are permitted under organic food standards (both the EU regulation and Soil Association standards) and naturally derived.

However, products that contain water, and water and oil based ingredients such as creams, lotions and shampoos need to have some kind of preservative system so that they are safe to use. In addition they may need an emulsifier which mixes together the oil and water ingredients and stops them separating.�

They go on to suggest that organic preservatives are used, and, if none are suitable, then �a preservative that meets strict toxicological and biodegradibility requirements can be used�. The same holds for the emulsifiers.

The main problem, however, is scale and range: very few products are certified as of yet. Companies like Balm Balm, Spiezia and Pai are certified by the Soil Association, but they are conspicuous in their isolation.

In this context, the move by the Organic Trust is very much a leading edge development, putting them to the forefront of the organic certification sector globally.

I asked Colin Keogh, processing inspector with the Organic Trust, about �organic� cosmetics� bad name globally, compared to organic food:

�The Organic Trust places the credibility of the organic sector above all other considerations. In the rush to fill this vacuum for organically certified health and beauty products, we believe that some undeveloped standards have emerged in the world arena. The Organic Trust were adamant that we would not follow suit. Our Standard has emerged from a painstaking examination of many of the comparable organic and natural standards available in the worldwide market, canvassing the opinion of current producers and where necessary commissioning the appropriate experts in the field to ensure we have the most relevant and workable standards that still hold the credibility of being considered �Organic� in the real sense of the word�.

This includes carrying out individual ingredient and process analyses to assess their suitability for inclusion in the Standard.

Colin also suggested that they were still �at the crossing the T�s and dotting the i�s� stage: their stakeholder panel meets in July. Shortly after this, the list of approved ingredients will be made available.

And after this, we should start to see some trustworthy organic cosmetics, produced and certified in Ireland, on our shelves.

New organic training scheme to be available nationwide

A new organisation called NOTS, the National Organic Training Skillnet was launched in Dublin by the Minister for Food and Horticulture Trevor Sargent TD on Tuesday 22^nd April last.

NOTS, which was launched in the European Commission Offices, has a 2 year training budget of �� million.

The programme is a joint venture between IOFGA, The Organic Trust and The Western Organic Network.

The National Organic Training Skillnet builds on the success of the Western Organic Network, which has rolled out training in the west and north west of Ireland to farmers either already involved in or considering converting to organic.

Following a needs analysis and reports into growth blockages in the organic sector, an innovative, affordable and business focused training programme has been developed by NOTS to cater for training needs across Ireland.

The Minister expressed his hope that this new programme would lead to more farmers producing organic food here in Ireland thus contributing to job creation, a reduction in the energy usage and enabling opportunities for both for import substitution and export.

The National Organic Training Skillnet (NOTS) based in Drumshambo, Co. Leitrim is managed by a network manger and assisted by two regional co-ordinators representing the South East and South West of Ireland - Paula Pender and

Doloras Keegan. Paula runs Sonas Organic Gardens Carlow, specialising in protected cropping and vegetables,

Dolorus has a long lineage in organics in Ireland. She was integral to the delivery of training in the Organic Centre, Rossinver, Leitrim for many years. She has also been involved in training people in herb and vegetable growing in east Galway and on Inis Mhor with the Garra� na nOile�n initiative.

According to manager Sean McGloin: �The new programme will run to the end of 2009 addressing the practical skills required by organic and aspiring organic operators and also delivering academic courses through distance learning programmes to master�s degree standard�.

�The courses provided are flexible in their geographic location, dates and course duration.�

The courses on offer are literally an A-Z of what people may want in the sector. All production areas from the smallest to the largest will be catered for. The range goes from bee keeping and cheese making to cereal growing and a selection of livestock- orientated trainings, such as veterinary management and grassland and soil management.

Along with this, a suite of business and marketing training will be offered, including accounts, IT, desk top publishing, and marketing itself.

Sean also pointed out that there was a great desire for training in the south and south west. Another change in the training delivery from the previous deliveries with the Western Organic Network will be training for the processing sector.

Larger organic and organic-related businesses, or groups of farmers, may benefit from specialised suites of tailored training to suit their needs.

Steering group chairperson John Brennan said �for the first time, training which has been provided in the West of Ireland is now available in the South, East and Midlands, lack of skills has been identified as a stumbling block to organic farming. This programme should address any training need of both the existing organic sector and those considering converting to organics�.

�I encourage framers and producers to contact the NOTS Management team for further information on training�.

For further information, please contact:

Sean McGloin � Network Manger

The Enterprise Centre, Hill Road, Drumshanbo, Co. Leitrim

Office Tel: 071 96 40688

Mobile: 086 1728442

Email: info@nots.ie

www.nots.ie

Organic by May 15th or not til next year!

Farmers considering converting over to organic this year have a May 15^th Deadline to have their applications with the Department. The EU commission have imposed this deadline on Ireland to streamline EU-wide agri-environmental payments, including REPS and the Organic Farming Scheme.

According to Minister Sargent, �once we have the applications by 15 May we can process them. If this happens, then �farmers will be in a position to receive payment under the new Scheme during 2008.�

According to the Department, the new Commission regulations also lay down rules for the way in which farmers will be paid under the Organic Farming Scheme:

• Payment will be on a calendar year basis; in other words a farmer will be paid for the number of months in the year in which he or she is in the Scheme.

• Payment will be in two stages. The first payment, which will be at the rate of 75%, will be released when the administrative checks (both for the Scheme itself and for the Single Payment Scheme) are completed. In practice this is likely to be early autumn.

• The remaining 25% will be released when the last of the on-farm inspections for the year has taken place. This is likely to be towards the end of the year, probably December.

All undertakings will have an anniversary date of 1 January. Minister Sargent emphasised that the new deadline and payment rules applied to all farmers joining the Scheme, whether or not they intended to join REPS 4 as well.

The organic certification bodies have responded to the announcement of this deadline with an understandable mixture of annoyance and pragmatism.

According to the larger of the two certification bodies, IOFGA: �the announcement that the deadline for entrants to REPS 4 is May 15^th will seriously limit the growth of the organic farming sector this year�.

They suggest that the short timeframe involved �is not realistic as many potential members had hoped to join the scheme throughout the year or had planned to do so once their current REPS Plan had finished later in the year. The late nature of this announcement and the fact that it coincides with the busy spring period means that many farmers will defer going organic until next year.�

They also suggest that this will have an adverse effect on both the government�s 5% organic target for 2012, and on the consumer�s growing desire for good quality Irish organic product.

Helen Scully, certification manager with the Organic Trust was perhaps more pragmatic in her response: �The Organic Trust will be able to facilitate those producers who wish to avail of the May 15th deadline - simply forward completed documentation to the office and it will be processed in a very timely manner�.

For farmers who won�t be ready for the 15^th May, Helen pointed out that �organics is for the long-haul and a decision based on some and not all of the salient facts could present difficulties down the road. When the information and research phases have been completed� (those who want to convert to organic) can then organise to have their conversion plans drawn up over the coming months and submitted to the Organic Trust in December 2008, ready for a January 1st 2009 start date.�

If you can�t make the 15^th May deadline, according to Helen, �don't put the plans to convert your farm to organic production on the back burner - stay with the process and use the June to November period to copper-fasten plans for conversion; to become familiar with the details of the specific conversion plan and to study the organic standards. Plan to have everything ready to submit to the Organic Trust in November/December 2008 so that a January 1st 2009 conversion start date can be availed of.�

While this deadline will put them under strain, it is my understanding that both certification bodies will endeavour to deal efficiently will promptly with all applications.

Organic Trust 01 8530271 www.organic-trust.org

IOFGA: 043 42495 www.iofga.org

Links on the left for both