Weather proof farming: Galloways are go!

Weather proof, recession proof, climate change proof cattle.

Really, the galloway got it all!

Here are two pics of Joe Condon's cattle taken today and yesterday (R). You can see a deterioration in the weather, but no let up in the cattle's foraging. They love this weather! When goats are coming down the hills in Wicklow, these Galloway cattle go higher.

They develop a double coat of hair in the winter, and have an extra thick skin. This means they don't develop a layer of fat over the winter - Lean, mean eatin' machines!

No expensive, climate busting, potentially GM and ultra-globalised compound feeds are needed for these cattle - they just keep eating the grasses that they themselves help bring on.

As a brucie bonus, this also means that the meat produced is grass fed meat, even over the winter and even for finishing. Who else can claim this?

This is meat that could be produced, literally, if the island was blockaded. This is meat that can be produced when and where nothing else can, and for a fraction of the costs and risks. Other farmers with other breeds will suffer, and will expect some sort of state support if this weather continues. These cattle don't need this.

All of this is also good for the bottom line - compound feeds are expensive, and the consumer pays in the end.

And its not just that there are negatives associated with compound feeds - in this weather it is hard to move them around. Simply put - farmers may find them hard to source and get a supply of.

Joe on the other hand, has no feed or fertilizer bills, and his machinery is a quad bike. The Galloways have access to sheds, but they don't bother to go in as they don't like going indoors.

So costs, with this farming system, simply disappear.

This is farming from the Celtic and Norman times, but it is also farming for the future.

JOHN FEEHAN ON OMEGA BEEF DIRECT FARM PART 2

Here is part two of Dr.John Feehan's visit to the Omega Beef Direct holding, the model farm for this Organics with Altitude initiative.

Part one can be found here

I walked the Omega Beef Direct farm of Joe Condon in the hills above Ardfinan on the slopes of the Knockmealdown mountains the day after Tipperary won the All-Ireland hurling final in September. It was the wettest day we had had for weeks but nobody cared in the slightest. The ground had no time to soak up all that rain, and rivulets meandered across the boggy slopes to swell the torrents tumbling over the Old Red Sandstone rocks that form the core of the hills. Joe’s Galloways grazed under the pouring rain with total unconcern, inured through their thick coats to such minor vagaries of the weather. They are made for these hills, selected over centuries for this environment, comfortable up here in all but the harshest of weathers. A careful eye is kept on condition, especially in the winter, and extra feed is given where they are not up to standard.

At key stages they are fed in grass paddocks on lower ground. The farm is organic, so no fertiliser is used on these paddocks, with the result that they have a wide diversity of grass and herb species: bents, sweet vernal-grass, crested dog’s-tail, Yorkshire fog, with an abundance of yarrow, self-heal, tormentil, cat’s-ear, lesser stitchwort, mouse-ear and lots of others.

For the rest of the time the animals are on the mountain (which is freehold commonage, where sheep also graze) – a mosaic of wet and dry heath, heathy grassland and bog with lots of sphagnum – on which they wander extensively, feeding on the wide variety of grasses, herbs and shrubs here, the mixture being the key to their general good health. Any scarcity of feed is compensated for by the area over which they forage (at an unhurried, energy-conserving pace).

The vet is a rare visitor to the hills above Ardfinan. How different this is from conventional beef farming, where intensive grassland management results in a sward that consists largely if not entirely of rye-grass and white clover, which provide the animal with the most monotonous of diets: and where animals are selected with a more single-minded eye to price and consumer fashion. The varied diet on the hills, on the other hand, is exactly what nature intends for these animals: which accounts for their robust health – and evident contentment. Their short life has been stress-free, lived under the natural conditions in which they are most at home.

One of the unforeseen costs of modern farming has been the affect of the clover-ryegrass diet on animal health and welfare. The superior quality of the ryegrass sward on the best soils had been recognized since the 18th century – with reservations – but the animals’ diet was never restricted to it. The mixed sward of traditional farming provided grazing animals with a nutritionally varied and balanced diet conducive to better health and greater contentment.

Today we are concerned in an unprecedented way about animal welfare, and methods of animal husbandry conducive to better welfare are more likely to win favour with the buying public and can be exploited by the farmer to help offset any immediate decrease in income that results from losses of ‘productivity’ resulting from the adoption of more extensive methods. Reduced veterinary bills, and the greater satisfaction that accompanies work of developing the new skills required are all factors that further restore the balance.

The problems associated with the breeding of animals purely for yield as estimated by weight and monetary outcome are being recognised increasingly. The new paradigm for sustainable agriculture currently being modeled by Liam Downey and Gordon Purvis at UCD has as one of its two poles rumen function: in effect, a farm on which the animals are healthy and happy as well as productive: and the other pole is a pasture management that provides this while at the same time maintaining biodiversity, landscape quality and the physical and chemical integrity of air, soil and water.

Putting the animal’s welfare first does come at a price, because these cattle will not deliver the ‘prime’ cuts our modern extravagant taste in meat leads us to demand. But once you have tasted a hamburger made with this Omega Beef you may come to redefine your taste in beef!

The claim that animals reared under more natural conditions – with more space and freedom and a more varied natural diet – taste better is widely accepted, but is generally based on personal experience and often anecdotal. Scientific research is now beginning to add quantitative teeth to the claim. Recent work in England and Wales has shown that beef, lamb and milk from species-diverse pasture have improved flavour, colour and shelf life, and higher levels of beneficial fatty acids. This work begins to provide a scientific basis for the concept of ‘terroir’, which links locally-produced foods to particular geographical locations.

The way of farming practiced by Omega Beef and similar enterprises has enormous value in conservation terms. It keeps bracken from establishing and prevents dominance of scrub, furze and heather, maintaining a more open mosaic of microhabitat conducive to greater biodiversity. Indeed, it may prove the ideal way to counter the dominance of bracken on mountain land everywhere. This is conservation grazing – the way the uplands should be managed – at its best. It was by and large the way they were managed in the more extensive economy of the 19th-early 20th century: the fossil field pattern and the evidence of drainage and field enclosure on the hills above Ardfinan are relics of the enormous effort in manpower involved. Those who farm the hills today – rather than leave them to their own less biodiverse ecological devices – are benefiting from the vast legacy of their labour.

This is a model of sustainable farming that combines optimal use of marginal land, conservation of biodiversity, and animal welfare, with top quality meat. This is farming that consciously anchors itself in a tradition: with a sense of cultural continuity and environmental sustainability.

*****

Flags and bunting festooned every town and village I drove through as I made my way up to Thurles in the evening to join the throngs gathering to welcome the victorious Tipperary team home. There should be flags somewhere to celebrate the model of sustainable farming that is Omega Beef Direct.

JOHN FEEHAN ON OMEGA BEEF DIRECT FARM

Recently, Dr. John Feehan of UCD visited Joe Condon's farm, the Omega Beef Direct holding, which is the model farm for Organics with Altitude. Here, we'll post what he thought of the visit.

John Feehan is a renowned academic and author of the definitive book on rural Ireland and farming: Farming in Ireland: history, Heritage and Environment.

(A video of his presentation at the Feasta Food event in UCD 2005 is available here)

What he wrote about the visit will be posted as two distinct entries. The first posting outlines the background context of food production in modernity. The second posting will be about the Omega Beef Direct farm visit itself.

John Feehan:

Among the greatest challenges faced by humanity in our time is that of doubling food production in order to feed a population expected to reach 9 billion by 2050. Two-thirds of these people will be in dense conurbations to which they have moved because they can no longer find enough to support them in the countryside. These people will not have the land resources to feed themselves, and will depend increasingly not on food produced in the urban hinterland or indeed elsewhere in their own country, but on imported food.

The options available to meet the challenge do not include taking more land into cultivation, because there is no more land: the good land is already in production. Most of what is left is desert, mountain or city: and indeed, in 2006 the International Food Policy Research Institute reported that 40 per cent of what is farmed today is seriously degraded. We cannot afford to lose any more farmland: in 50 years time we will need every hectare of agricultural land we have.

Areas of the world that are critical to feeding today’s 7 billion will no longer be able to supply their current grain surpluses to meet the need of burgeoning nations that can no longer feed themselves, as rising temperatures put pressure on the world’s great cereal-growing areas and water tables continue to fall as a result of the overpumping of aquifers – in effect, the mining of fossil water that cannot be replaced.

This is a challenge that will take all of our ingenuity and skill, all the more so because it has to be met without further loss of biodiversity and without compromising environmental integrity.

Here in Ireland we are in a privileged position. We will have ample supplies of water into the foreseeable future, and the marginal land allowed to slip out of productive agriculture constitutes a productive land bank that can be reclaimed. We will see farmed once more land on the margins that was taken into production in earlier times and abandoned as the tide of intensification concentrated on the ‘best’ land. This includes the extensive acres on the hills taken from the wild as the population rose to its pre-Famine peak of eight million people to be fed from local resources: reclaimed at a cost in human labour we can hardly comprehend in our mechanized society.

This land cannot be made productive however by applying the oil-dependent intensive techniques of the last 60 years, which will have become obsolete half a century hence. In a future in which the high price of oil will have made the extensive use of fertilizer uneconomic, we will need to develop – or recover – an agriculture that is based on inherent fertility.

This will require an understanding not only of the principles of the applied science of agro-ecology, but of how those principles are to be applied in the unique circumstances of each place. In its newfound adherence to the principles of self-sufficiency this new agriculture will be a return to the older knowledge of the past, but the greater understanding and control which the advance of science and technology have given us will mean that it is enhanced by the best of appropriate technology.

RTE radio 1's CountryWide features Organics with Altitude

Organics with Altitude featured on RTE Radio One's CountryWide. Darragh visited Joe and Eileen Condon's farm and discussed Omega Beef Direct.

He also gave a great mention to Organics with Altitude.

Links to both sites and the show itself can be found here: CountryWide

Scroll over to 20 minutes and the feature is there.

What is Organics with Altitude

Organics with Altitude is an initiative based on the farming and food business model developed by Joe and Eileen Condon - Omega Beef Direct.

The Condons are certified organic and stock Galloways on their upland farm, which is a mixture of enclosed and unenclosed land.

The Galloways are year round grazed, slaughtered and processed locally, the meat is dry aged for a minimum of two weeks, packed in an on farm packaging unit, and sold direct to restaurants, on line and at farmers markets.

The Organics with Altitude initiative involves training and mentoring a selected group of farmers from various parts of Ireland's uplands to replicate this model. Along with Galloways, other suitable upland animals are promoted, primarily blackface mountain sheep and Dexters.

Management supports are in place to help with the initiative, in the areas of development, coordination, research and promotion.

The mentoring involves one-to-one support for each stage of the protocol - production, slaughter, preparation, distribution and the consumer.

We have written a production protocol for cattle, which encompasses each stage from production to the consumer. A parallel protocol exists for the extra mature blackface mountain sheep.

We are in the process of developing a team of regionally diverse farmers to farm and operate in a way similar to Omega Beef Direct: so we are encouraging and helping to develop suitable upland breeds, artisan butchering, direct routes to market and organic certification for these farmers.

(We feel that organic guarantees product differentiation, helps with relationships with butchers and price premiums. It is also a prerequisite for any of the more advanced supports we can offer).

Each farmer retains ownership of their product from beginning to end. they are encouraged to build up their own farming and food business model in their own region first, building their own business and brand.

We also encourage and facilitate farmers to work together, towards building Organics with Altitude as an organisation (potentially a co-op or a company, the farmers themselves will decide) with export potential. We are already working on export potentials in a number of ways.

Omega Beef Direct wins Irish Food Writers Guild Award

The model upon which the Organics with Altitude initiative is based, Joe Condon's Omega Beef Direct farm and food business, recently picked up another award.

This time, it comes from the Irish Food Writers Guild, and is for Environmental Sustainability.

For more on sustainability and Omega Beef Direct, see earlier entry onto this blog here

YEAR ROUND GRAZING GALLOWAYS

Despite the floods, frost and snow, the Omega Beef Direct farm has thrived. The Galloways are well used to tough conditions, and manage just fine outdoors.

In fact, relying on getting feeds onto a holding in floods, or relying on using sheds with frozen water, would have been very challenging - especially on top of a hill.

All the better then, that the Omega Beef Direct farm relies on neither feeds nor sheds. The foggage winter grasses' growth keeps the ground warm, even when there's 4 inches of snow on top.

Sustainability & Organics with Altitude 2: the local dimension

What's local about Omega Beef Direct:

well, what isn't? The farm and food business are located in the Knockmealdown mountains, on the Tipperary Waterford border. Every aspect has a local dimension, from the beginning to the end.

• Firstly, the Galloway breed has lived in the uplands of Ireland, including the Knockmealdowns, for at least 1000 years.
• Some of the stock comes from on farm breeding.
• Then there's the feed: local plants growing out of the ground beneath the cattle's feet. No brought in feeds are used, so all food eaten by the cattle is from the farm itself. Indeed, no intensive agri-industrial inputs are used, so all the growing the grass and animals do comes from the careful husbandry and farm management.
• Slaughter happens in nearby Lismore, where Michael McGrath has decades and indeed generations of experience as an artisan butcher catering for the needs of local farmers. The meat is packed back on the farm itself in a dedicated packing unit, and hung for 3 weeks.
• Packaging is done on the farm itself
• Packaging and branding reflect the local dimension, as does the website.
• Retail is mainly local too: most of the meat sold is sold through Dungarvan farmers' market, while a new stall has also been opened in Clonmel. Even the Waterford city chef who feature's Omega Beef Direct burgers on his menu comes to the farmers' market in Dungarvan to purchase. The only shop to stock Omega Beef Direct meat is Ardkeen quality food store, also in Waterford.

So along with the very self sufficient farm, that's Clonmel, Lismore, Dungarvan and Waterford city. In other words, the two counties the farm straddles, and all within an hour of the farm.

Sustainability and Organics with Altitude

Organics with Altitude is based on the farming system of Omega Beef Direct.

So what's sustainable about Omega Beef Direct?

Well, what isn't?

• The breed chosen by the farm are Galloways. As Galloways have a think double coat, they do not need to be housed indoors for the winter. In fact, they thrive in the outdoors at altitude. So no unsustainable high energy winter feeds are bought in for feeding: the animals stay outdoors and eat what's beneath their feet. Simple as that.
• There are 64 different plant species per hectare, according to an ecological survey done by consultants BEC. This is far higher than either most farms or the uplands in general, which are actually facing scrub encroachment due to undergrazing. Omega Beef Direct stocks the right animals at the right stocking rate, which encourages optimum plant biodiversity, according to the ecologists who surveyed the farm.
• The holding is certified organic, so none of the high fossil fuel using agri-industrial inputs are used - synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides etc.
• Not only is this meat produced without winter feed or these agri-industrial inputs, it is also processed, packaged and sold locally, keeping the food miles and carbon footprint down to an absolute minimum. All of this is done within one hour's drive of the farm, and the packaging is actually done on farm. Retail is at: Dungarvan and Clonmel farmers' markets, as well as at a restaurant (Bodega) and quality food store (Ardkeen) in Waterford City: all retail options themselves are key local food supporting outlets. By supporting these retail options, Omega Beef Direct is helping the region develop and maintain its future food sustainability.
• Some meat is sold via web sales; in this case, large freezer boxes of low input meat sold to other locations on the island is still a sustainable option, as it reduces the need for constant trips to the shop (minimum order is 5 kg).
• Omega Beef Direct is not just environmentally sustainable it is economically sustainable too: less than 20% of the income comes from state supports.

In short, this is post peak oil farming and food retailing, well within the natural carrying capacity of the region the farm is located: on farm and regional biodiversity, climate change impacts as well as the economic sustainability of the farm and food business are all taken into account in this enterprise.

About us

Omega Beef Direct:

The Condon's stock Galloways on their certified organic farm, which is made up of 20ha unenclosed upland and 20ha enclosed upland grazing. They use local artisan butcher Michael McGrath in Lismore, and sell their meat at the Thursday farmers' market in Dungarvan. They also sell through their website and to quality restaurants, such as Bodega in Waterford.

Omega Beef Direct: has featuered on Corrigan Knows Food (Richard Corrigan) Fresh from the Farmers' Market (Clodagh McKenna) and Ear to the Ground, all RTE 1.

Watch the Corrigan Knows Food clip here

Dr. Oliver Moore: Received his PhD from the National University of Ireland in November 2007. His research has been in the areas of rural development, agri-food and in particular in the direct selling of organic food. He is published in the International Journal of Consumer Studies. He writes the weekly organic farming column for the Irish Examiner and is a member of the Irish Food Writers' Guild.

Ground-Breaking Initiative Targets Dynamic Upland Farmers

An innovative pilot project, supported by the Organic Unit of the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (DAFF) has been announced.

The ground-breaking initiative is aimed at upland farmers who have a mixture of privately owned and commonage land, and who have a passion for farming.

This project, known as Organics with Altitude, will be a replication of Joe Condon’s Omega Beef Direct farm and food business, located in the Knockmealdown Mountains in south Tipperary.

The main principles of Organics with Altitude will be:

· Organic certification.

· Extensive upland grazing.

· Galloway cattle.

· A complete agri-food protocol for farmers to follow, encompassing production, butchering, preparation, distribution and consumption.

· Direct selling to the consumer.

Interested farmers who participate in the project will benefit from fully-supported mentoring and training for all stages of the protocol, from production through to direct marketing to the consumer.

A limited number of spaces for this venture are available for selected, motivated individuals. These individuals will spearhead the development of this sustainable upland food business model in their respective regions.

For selected farmers, Organics with Altitude will arrange for farm and food business walks. These will involve accessing the Condon's farm, the packing unit and farmers' market.

There will be regional training days in Kerry, Cork, Mayo, Donegal and other selected areas.

Individual visits to farms across Ireland, as well as mentoring sessions for farmers interested in the initiative, will also occur.

This mentoring and training will be carried out by organic upland farmer, Joe Condon and Rural Development Specialist, Dr. Oliver Moore. This project has a life-span of 12 months.

According to Joe Condon: “I'm absolutely delighted that we will be going ahead with Organics with Altitude. Direct selling your own organic meat from the right upland breeds is a definite positive option in the current economic climate.”

He goes on: “This is a low cost, low input farming option which can be a win-win situation for both the farmer and the consumer.”

The initiative will have supports in place in the areas of research and development, networking between farmers, project development and promotion.

Farmers involved in the initiative will have access to various research areas pertinent to this project and already underway, such as:

· Omega Beef Direct's extensive research into Galloways on the uplands

· Nutritional research: in particular, research currently underway into Omega levels in grass fed Galloways, as well as research into vitamin levels.

· Traceability of meat to specific geographic location.

Organics with Altitude will also help develop certified organic, extra mature, blackface mountain lamb.

According to Dr. Moore “farming in the uplands is already restricted. As well as this, the recent cutbacks in farming supports have made the situation more difficult again”.

He continues: “Applicants for the Organic Farming Scheme will from now on be expected to have an output and market focus, to have engaged with the organic sector already, and to have in place a business plan. In this context, upland farmers should give Organics with Altitude serious consideration”.

For more, contact:

info@organicswithaltitude.com; www.organicswithaltitude.com

Joe Condon 087 2735447: joe@organicswithaltitude.com

Oliver Moore 086 8047854: ollie@organicswithaltitude.com :

OWA part 4: back in the warim: the winding road back to Dungarvan

OWA part 3: a break, more info, and over to the packing house

Back at Joe and Eileen's house, we took a short break (we got a bit caught in the wind and rain - the wind was so fast that the rian clowds moved on quickly too.

However, we appreciated the tea all the more after that. In the marque, we gave a semi formal presentation on the overall OWA project ,and fielded more questions.

The simplicity of the packing system was a real revelation to participants. In fact, the whole process farming and food business Joe puts himself through revelaed itself as suprisingly low maintence and not overly taxing in terms of labour hours.

OWA farm walk part 2: on the farm

We met a few more at the farm itself, including a pair from county down, which was quite a treak!

The geographical spread of participants was very encouraging. Likewise, the fact that some people got in touch who couldn't attend, but expressed an interest in attending the next one, and some attendees were representing a group of farmers in their regions.

On the left, on of Joe's 40 Galloway's: this one is belted

Also on the left, two Teagasc representatives also attended: John Twomey (Cork) and Terry Cunningham (Tipperary) . John is one of the Teagasc Organic advisors, and is here explaining to a participant some of the nuances that differeniate organic from conventional.

Terry works in rural development, and actually has been involved in organics for many years, having been an early IOFGA member in its formative years.

farm (and more) walk part 1: the market

For the farm walk, we started at the end, so to speak. We brought people to the end point, the point of sale, to see that retail dynamic unfold.

Over on the left is a small section of the farmer attendees, chewing the fat.

Also visible is the very relaxed reality of a fine day at a market. Eileen had to actually do a day's selling Omega Beef Direct beef at the market while the whole thing was going on, as well as loads of other work on the farm and back at the house in and around the marque!

Farm walks are usually just that - walks on the farm. Ours involved each stage in Joe's business.
I have to say I was impressed with Dungarvan farmers' market. The local authorities are v supportive - I met both the EHO and the Town Clerk, and both were positive about the market.
The layout is good, and there are a number of positive food stories eminating from this market.

Paul from Bodega in Waterford mentioned that he will soon be hosting a farmers' market evening in his restaurant

Here's a picture that sums up a lot really: a chef, a farmer and a consumer chatting about their mutual interest: quality organic upland beef.

OWA Webpages now live!

Hi folks. We now have a dedicated section on the Omega Beef Direct Website
Already, there are some downloads there, and more are currently being added.
here it is: here

progress report

Recent happy moments of progress for Organics with Altitude:

Farm Fest 08 was a great success: we gathered up a lot of interested names, and have been communicating with them and key stakeholders outlined in our oiriginal proposal ever since.

The IFA's meat section has disseminated our information to interested parties - a big one!

The Good Herdsman are interested in what we're doing, and will set aside a dedicated space for us in their factories, should the need develop

Both Organic organisations (IOFGA and the Organic Trust) are supportive, as are the main organic training organisation, NOTS

We've updated our production protocol, and will hopefully recieve more feedback from people on it (v v soon, it will be downloadable from Joe's website)

Joe's farm featured on Clodagh McKenna's TV show on farmers' markets, Darina Allen and Trevor Sargent both got in touch with positive statements, and the tests on Joe's beef from Ashtown continue to show great results as regards the Omega levels.

Things are looking good.

This blog: what we'll be doing

Hi Everybody. This blog will chronicle some of the progress of the Organics with Altitude project Joe Condon and Oliver Moore are involved in.

Firstly, we'll present an outline of the Project. Next, we'll provide a set of downloadables from Joe's site. Then, we'll present some of the 'out and abouts' and communications with people we've had over the last short while. Finally, we'll keep doing this latter task, as we hope to keep communicating with people about this project for the next while.

So, first things first - below is a little about what the project is. If you are interested, make a posting or contact Joe through the details below.

Organics with Altitude - our aims and objectives:

To develop a certified organic branded meat product from the Irish uplands.

This product would involve traditional breeds of both cattle and sheep, farmed at altitude, often incorporating commonage, and marketed specifically as being both organic and upland. The overall package will involve a whole system or ‘conception to consumption’ protocol, encompassing the following five areas: production, processing, distribution, marketing, customers.

A micro version of this project is already in existence: the Omega Beef Direct organic farm and food business run by Joe Condon. The aim of this project is to develop a network of similar businesses in other parts of Ireland. These buisnesses will sell direct. Surplus will be branded and marketed as organic meat form the Irish highlands.

Breeds traditional to Britain and Ireland, upland-based producer groups, upskilling and research, branding and marketing are all central to this project, and are all encompassed within the protocol which will be developed. Along with cattle and sheep, other altitude-based meat production may also be considered, including goat, pig and duck.

Finally, this project has recieved some funding from the department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food's Organic Unit.

Contact: Joe Condon on
087 2735447
or info@omegabeefdirect.ie
or visit the site