Organic Matters

• Season 4: Switching from sheep to organic beef, cereals and agri-tourism

  In this week's episode, we meet organic farmer and entrepreneur Richard Ball, farming on the Meath/Westmeath border. Richard and his wife Bairbre switched from lambing a few hundred ewes to a more diversified operation, including agri-tourism, organic beef boxes, more recently oats. Richard talks about the important role the farm plays in supporting his tourism business, Johnsfort, with the Balls hosting farm stays and a range of tours across the island. This includes local tours tapping into what the Boyne Valley and Ireland's Hidden Hearts have to offer. He also touches on his experience reintroducing tillage back onto the farm, producing oats and his herd of Dexters, Angus and Shorthorn cattle, with meat sold direct to consumers, as well as a small herd of Highland cattle.

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  16:47

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• Season 4: Producing Turkeys for Christmas, Milling Oats and More

  This week on Organic Matters, we meet mixed farmers John and Fiona Curran in Co. Meath. The Currans manage a range of enterprises, including turkeys, tillage, beef and sheep. Fiona speaks to our presenter, Hannah Quinn-Mulligan, about raising turkeys for the Christmas market, while John talks through the ins and outs of the tillage, cattle and sheep enterprises. The Curran’s are currently growing winter barley, sold as animal feed and milling oats, which are sold to Flahavan’s. The tillage is complemented by suckler-to-beef and lamb enterprises, with the majority of cattle raised to beef and sold to The Good Herdsmen, while the lambs are processed organically by Irish Country Meats.

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• Season 4: Organics helping to save rare breeds and grasslands

  This week on Organic Matters, we meet cattle and sheep farmer Tom Keane, located on the banks of the Shannon estuary, Co. Limerick. Tom, along with his brother Michael, has been championing native breeds and conservation grazing, and he speaks about how they complement his organic farm. Tom talks about his native Irish Droimeann breeds and how his farming system supports animal health and nature protection. He also keeps Galway pedigree sheep as well as Shropshire and Shetland breeds, with the wool fully utilised for bespoke products. The farm is located in a protected area and part of the Great Grassland Trails of Ireland, and Tom touches on the range of birdlife and wild plants, such as the bee orchid and hairy violet, present on his limestone grasslands.

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• Season 4: Balancing organic tillage, beef, horses and nature

  This week on Organic Matters, we meet Philip and Eleanor Cussen, who farm in Co. Tipperary. They blend their love for nature and Irish Cobs, with growing tillage and rearing suckler cattle. They talk about the conversion of the farm over 10 years ago, re-establishing a suckler herd and dipping their toes into organic tillage, producing milling oats, which has become an important element of their enterprise. The Cussens touch on the importance of cooperating and learning from other organic farmers, and how Eleanor’s passion for the Irish cob horse breed is an integral part of their farming story. They also speak about how they have developed a greater appreciation for the wide range of biodiversity on the farm.

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  22:14

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• Season 4: First time tillage farmer successfully growing crops and selling direct

  This week on Organic Matters, tillage and beef farmer Reuben Cope, based in County Kilkenny, speaks to Hannah Quinn-Mulligan about converting to organic farming and taking the plunge as a first-time tillage farmer. He talks about the crops he now grows, including red clover, a range of cover crops, intercrops of barley and peas for animal feed, wheat for flour, and milling oats, touching on yields, sowing dates and more. Rueben also discusses selling wheat directly to produce flour, highlighting the value of heritage wheat varieties and the growing demand for high-quality organic wheat from artisan bakers. Much of the bread and pastries made with his flour can be purchased locally, as well as in his own seasonal farm shop, which also features his own beef and organic vegetables, many sourced from a local organic vegetable grower.

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