This Farming Life - June on Castlefarm

What it means to be an organic farmer in Ireland today … Jenny Young writes about life and work on an organic mixed farm in Co Kildare - and selling its produce

After two months of intensive AI the Angus bull is now with our herd of cows. His presence will ensure that any cow not in calf to AI will produce an Aberdeen Angus beef calf for our farm shop. For me this means no heat detecting of cows and time to concentrate on other aspects of the farm.

This spring our first Kerry heifer was born into the herd. She is a result of AI. AI gives us the ability to choose bulls, best suited to our type of farming, extensive and organic. This year we inseminated some cows with Mount Belliard straws, so we hope these cows produce heifer calves next spring. Like the Kerry cow, they will bring a bit of colour and diversity into the herd. Otherwise our bread and butter breeds are Jersey and British Fresian.

This month I am concentrating on eliminating 2 types of pests, rabbits and thistles. I don’t shoot but have encouraged a couple of members of the local gun club to hunt on our land. Our organic grass is just too precious to be feeding to the rabbits that are multiplying by the day.

As organic farmers we do not spray weeds with pesticides so I spend 10 minutes each day digging thistles with a dock digger. We don’t have many thistles but they too can spread very fast, so it’s my aim to eliminate plants before they reseed later in the summer.

I have been very busy working with the cows this spring so the Castlefarm vegetable patch has been neglected. But at last we have fresh vegetables in the garden. The tomato and aubergine plants in the poltunnel are slow to flower after a late start this spring, but the cucumber and courgette plants are fruitful already. The weeds have also started creeping in and I probably need to spend a few days hoeing and weeding.

I am delighted the monthly BrookLodge Market we attend is getting busier. Many of my regular farm shop customers are attending to buy, soak up the atmosphere and of course listen to their renowned Jazz band. For me, now a full time farmer, I enjoy the market as much as a social occasion as a marketplace for our produce. The market takes place outside Aughrim in Wicklow on the first Sunday of every month.

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Castlefarm Shop, Narraghmore, Athy, Co Kildare, Email jenny@castlefarmshop.ie, log onto www.castlefarmshop.ie or telephone 087 678 5269 Follow us on facebook or on twitter @castlefarmjenny