Forget the prices, just hold enough stock to make the schemes!

Danzy

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118097403#Comment_118097403

You should be able to produce more, be a model farmer for wildlife and be a hobby farmer.

Small farmers feed most of the world.

Wouldn't be exactly certain how much European agri feeds but it's certainly well over a billion people. Same with North America, the majority of their agri is still small owner operated. They are the breadbasket of the world.

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You can make a profit easier than not making one, you can do it in a way that is deeply beneficial to nature.

You could have less Cattle, and less biodiversity and still more work than the previous and end up paying money rather than not caring about profit.

Go through a native mature wood in Ireland, the range of bio diversity is going to be quite small.

Biodiversity in Ireland is largely tied to the livestock. The dearth of biodiversity in woodland is never really appreciated.

Under stocked is bad for biodiversity in it's own way, it's a different unnatural.

Birdnuts

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118097092#Comment_118097092

People were much more self sufficient back then and skilled in the way of working the land to minimise off farm inputs - sadly alot of that knowledge has been lost in the past 50 years which has all been about a race to the bottom via industrial farming and big agribusiness corporations:(

lalababa

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118098621#Comment_118098621

I'd imagine so, I never heard of a stipulation to keep a animal overwinter in the scheme.

However I'd be fairly definite in saying you'd have to buy you're spring animals from an organic farm save for 10% of them which can be conventional.

However there is a 2 year lead in period where you might be able to purchase conventional animals.

But yeah better ask the organic societies.

endainoz

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118106914#Comment_118106914

You would have to buy organic animals for summer grazing but your under no obligation to keep animals over winter. It's no secret there will be a big push for people to get into organics and get people into the new environmental schemes in the very near future.

Homer jay

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118097279#Comment_118097279

Our land would heavy clay type, once it gets to this time of year the heavy cows would do a lot of poaching, so all cows are housed now, where as the sheep can work away. I know what you are saying about the mixed grazing, it’s a good mix, there is one thing the sheep don’t like is strong grass.

wrangler

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118108753#Comment_118108753

when we were mixed grazing we'd have most of our lambs gone in august, whereas when we specialised in sheep we'd only be starting to sell in August, however we were financially better off when we go rid of the cattle.

We're farming a small amount of land now and sheep are ideal

Homer jay

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118110141#Comment_118110141

You are running a very high stocking rate, do you have them housed for long over the winter or would you feed them outdoors till it’s time for lambing ?

wrangler

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118110265#Comment_118110265

Yea, they're in from early december, I think it's important to have the land rested for about 100 days. We try to to not have to feed the ewes after lambing or at least have 3 or 4 weeks grass for them when they go out and hope for grass growth then

Kevhog1988

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118110351#Comment_118110351

Are you buying in hay/sileage for the winter then or also taking that off the 11 acres?

wrangler

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118112294#Comment_118112294

No I winter them on straw and meal, have done so for years, even when I had the 5 - 600 ewes,

Much cleaner and more convenient now