Meade Farm increases organic growing by 12%
Year-on-year growth has been seen by Meade Farm in the organic sector since 2015, with the Lobinstown, Co. Meath-based company increasing its organic growing by 12% this year and adding a second harvester to the fleet to allow for these additional organic growing acres.
"Demand by the younger cohort for organic produce is partly driven by the perception from sources such as the EU Green Deal that organic farming is better for the environment," contended Robert Devlin, general manager, Meade Farm.
"Soil health is always a top priority for us, so we are using more and more regenerative ag in terms of crop rotation and bio-fertilisers on both our organic and conventional crops.
"To reduce crop inputs in our conventional crops, we've also just bought an Amazone sprayer with individual nozzle control which lets us operate with greater accuracy, using smaller width-part sections for headlands,`' Devlin said.
He continued: "Between this new nozzle type and the use of GPS guidance systems, we'll be able to reduce areas of overlap by up to 85%. This is good for the soil, and for the environment.
"At the moment, we are harvesting Orla and Acoustic variety organic potatoes. We are always trying to find the next big variety, one that is more drought-resistant, blight-resistant, faster growing and better skin finish.
"Teagasc does brilliant work on this front, so we put any promising varieties on trial."
It has been a busy season for Meade Farm and its ongoing efforts to promote the potato, staging the National Potato Day 5K and Spud Funfest recently to kick off festivities for National Potato Day on October 4.
The fundraiser for local schools brought runners through potato country and ended in the farm where there were various activities for all ages on offer.
"We love this opportunity every year to raise funds for good causes like our local schools and to reinforce the connection between healthy lifestyles and eating potatoes," said Eleanor Meade, business operations manager.
"This year, in addition to the 5K run and loads of activities for children, we invited Chef Adrian out to show our participants some really quick easy ways to prep potatoes in the airfryer.
"It's all about convenience these days, especially with younger consumers. Airfryer recipes are where it's at and Chef Adrian prepared some exquisite roasties for the audience," Eleanor said.
This event and others like it are proof positive that a recently published research paper on food culture in Ireland is spot on, she contended.
"Ireland's food landscape is evolving and the Irish, with each passing year, are celebrating their food more and more with gastro tours, foodie events, social media and culinary courses.
"Myrtle Allen may have kicked off the appreciation for Irish food and the potato has been along for the ride from the very start," Eleanor added.
Jeni Meade, sustainability manager at Meade Farm, said that "research by Sinead Reil and Kathleen Farrell 'Foodism in Ireland: feeding foodie philosophy or showing a shift in contemporary food culture?' provides an in-depth analysis of the evolution of Irish food culture".
"One of the biggest takeaways for me, of their research is that there is a clear trend that people want to explore and understand their food for themselves including its provenance and production methods.
"Events like this and all the other great events in the Boyne Valley food series such as the Samhain Festival in Kells this November are ways that Irish consumers are connecting in more meaningful direct ways with the quality produce of Ireland," Jeni added.
