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Taking over the family farm presents choices and challenges which Jack Browne relished as an opportunity to do something different.
ithin a few months of taking the reins on his 37ha (91ac) holding near Tullow in Co Carlow, he had converted to organic and developed an agro-forestry project.
“My dad ran the farm as a mixed enterprise with a philosophy of low input and low output,” he says .
“He died in 2014 and for the next seven years the farm was operated under a share farming agreement (in conventional cereals). It was very well managed and it worked great as it allowed me to finish my studies as an engineer and spend some time abroad.
“The farm is divided between myself and my brother, and as it is a second income for me, I wanted the risk to be proportional.
“I was aware it would be a steep learning curve no matter what direction I went in, so the main question was whether I wanted to learn about pesticides and artificial fertilisers, or how the soil could be managed through the incorporation of cover crops and organic soil management.
“As fertiliser costs were increasing drastically, converting to organic farming seemed the best way to go back to the values that my father had, so ultimately the aim is low input farming with premium output.”
In April 2021 Jack converted to organic production with the Irish Organic Association, joining the Organic Farming Scheme and getting supports.
“Last autumn I sowed 20ha of cover crops including phacelia, tillage radish, vetch and linseed; this was recently disc-harrowed back into the land,” he says.
“Shortly I will sow wheat and peas as a combi-crop, some straight oats and peas and oats. The oats will be kept to feed the race horses that my mother and brother breed.
“Another 15ha will go into multi-species swards. As the farm is stockless over time the rotation will include growing some feed for the horses, plus some silage bales to sell to other organic farmers.
“Sowing a diverse range of cover crops will not only serve to build soil fertility but also minimise weeds while adding to soil microbiology.
“I do use some composted farmyard manure from the horses and straw from the cereals so the combination of organic manures and cover crops is the main fertility approach.
Organic conversion is a major undertaking in your first year of running the family farm, but Jack has also developed an agro-forestry project — combining growing trees with arable crops or livestock, where both systems are mutually beneficial.
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‘A few years back an intense storm flattened the oats, making me consider the potential of more trees in the arable land to reduce wind speeds’
“A few years back an intense storm flattened the oats, making me consider the potential of more trees in the arable land to reduce wind speeds,” he says.
“In terms of biodiversity having trees mixed in with crops on the farm is fantastic to encourage wildlife corridors.”
Through the Irish Agroforestry Forum, Jack was introduced to Imogen Rabone founder and co-ordinator of Trees on the Land Project and joined their European Innovation Partnership (EIP) demonstration and research project.
“Ireland has very few silvo-arable projects and currently no formal support for silvo-arable planting,” says Imogen.
“This new planting work will provide a really valuable resource for learning more about what sorts of systems, designs, species and management techniques can work in the area and in Ireland more broadly.
“Jack’s project is hosting a diverse collection of species. Some will thrive and others may not, it is all learning.
“We need to try new things to keep improving our understanding of agroforestry, its many benefits and the challenges in getting it right.”
Through the EIP project the first two years of Jack’s agro-forestry plantation are supported, this includes buying and planting the trees and specific equipment such as tree guards.
“I have planted 80pc of the planned 1,600 trees,” he says. “I have eight rows of trees across a 27ha field. The rows are 3m wide with 24m crop alleyways in between.
“At the far end of the field, the crop alleyways are 80m wide, allowing for greater flexibility in crop rotations.
“The trees are a mixture of native and exotics, including hazel, walnut, sweet chestnut, apple, pear, plum, peach, cherry, quince, medlar, mulberry, crab apple, elder, alder, oak, Scots pine, birch, hawthorn and willow.
“Before planting the trees, I sowed a mix of nitrogen-fixing plants such as Egyptian and Persian clover, with phacelia and fodder radish to encourage pollinators, supply nitrogen and suppress weeds while the trees establish.
“Having a diverse range of trees with edible fruit may result in additional income streams in years to come. For now the focus is on getting the trees in.
Planting trees into arable land does raise a few eyebrows, but I think it has great potential to improve yields both in the cereals and the trees.
“My contractor was here when I was marking out the rows for the trees so he is forewarned!
“The environmental benefits of more trees on the farm over time is really what I am trying to achieve, and taking this direction is liberating as it is very experimental.”
Grace Maher is development officer with the Irish Organic Association, [email protected]
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