Uploaded April 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
'How being organic is more profitable and productive"
Ken Gill is an organic beef farmer near Edenderry Co. Offaly. He keeps around 60-70 suckler cows and finishes animals at 2 years, which are all completely grass-fed.
Prior to 2015, he was farming conventionally but struggling to make it work financially. He tried organics and has been impressed with the results ‘'The grazing ground gets very little fertiliser, it’s amazing. Soil tests a few years after going organic showed P & K levels had improved rather than declined'.
He has been carefully managing soil fertility since, ensuring no ground is left bare and catching and using effluent that runs off the yard. In his rotation, he produces turnip, kale and rape for fodder, which also has the benefit of breaking up the soil for subsequent crops. He produces around 8 hectares (20 ac) of oats for Flahavan’s, and then introduces red clover for fertility.
Thanks to NPWS and DAFM for supporting this event
'How being organic is more profitable and productive"
Ken Gill is an organic beef farmer near Edenderry Co. Offaly. He keeps around 60-70 suckler cows and finishes animals at 2 years, which are all completely grass-fed.
Prior to 2015, he was farming conventionally but struggling to make it work financially. He tried organics and has been impressed with the results ‘'The grazing ground gets very little fertiliser, it’s amazing. Soil tests a few years after going organic showed P & K levels had improved rather than declined'.
He has been carefully managing soil fertility since, ensuring no ground is left bare and catching and using effluent that runs off the yard. In his rotation, he produces turnip, kale and rape for fodder, which also has the benefit of breaking up the soil for subsequent crops. He produces around 8 hectares (20 ac) of oats for Flahavan’s, and then introduces red clover for fertility.
Thanks to NPWS and DAFM for supporting this event
