100% organic experience (From Western Telegraph)

100% organic experience

A Pembrokeshire dairy farmer is proving that it is possible to produce milk organically without any conventional feed inputs.

From August, all milk marketed as organic may have to be produced from non-conventional feed.

A derogation currently allows up to 10% of conventional feed to be used in organic livestock systems. Rather than scrapping this derogation altogether it is anticipated that it will be reduced to 5% to allow farmers to phase in the changes.

But some organic farms have chosen to adopt 100% organic inputs from the outset.

For the last five years all the organic feed requirements of Bruce Carlisle's 80-head dairy herd at Little Pencoed, Lawrenny, has been grown on farm or through a partnership agreement with his neighbours, Ian and Fiona Elliott.

Mr Carlisle doesn't grow a dedicated protein crop, but relies on short-term red clover lays to deliver all his herd's protein requirements. This fits in well with a rotation of brassicas and potatoes. Starch comes from 40 acres of winter oats and barley.

His mainly New Zealand-type friesians /MRI crosses get a daily ration of between 4/5kg, producing an average annual milk yield of 5,000 litres. He reckons a holstein on his all-year-round calving system would be under-nourished in early lactation, but he can feed a tonne a cow.

The current regulations allow dairy stock to be fed 10% non-organic feed over 12 months, up to a daily maximum of 25%.

Although Mr Carlisle accepted his view would not be shared by all organic farmers, he believed that removing the conventional feed derogation will increase the integrity of organic milk.

"Our customers expect organic cows to be fed organically. The removal of the derogation will prevent a possible backlash from the public some time in the future.''

Farmers have their own individual concerns about the changes but one general worry is that it could push the industry towards seasonal milk production, deflecting a steep rise in winter feed costs.

As a director of the organic milk supply co-operative, OMSCo, Bruce Carlisle admitted this was a concern.

"The last thing any market wants, especially a small market, is a seasonal supply of milk. Our customer is predominately liquid milk based and we don't have the ability to release milk into cheese, butter or skimmed milk powder,'' he said.

"We really need a year-round supply of milk or we could find ourselves with major supply problems.''