The soil must be man's most Treasured Possession. So He who tends the soil wisely and with care is assuredly the foremost among men. Sir George Stapleton
Ballard Organic Beef
At Ballard Organic Farm, we produce and sell in excess of 300 organic beef cattle every year. These animals are purchased from a network of about 22 other certified organic beef suckler cow farmers. This network of suppliers has been built up over the past nine years and the buying takes place in September/October in locations ranging from the Burren in Co. Clare to Bundoran in Co. Donegal.
Throughout their lives, the animals are fed totally on an organically produced diet, all of which is produced from the farm at Ballard. The animals diet is monitored daily and a Keenan diet feeder along with Keenan technical assistance, is used to feed the cattle. The animals are bedded every day through out the winter with clean dry straw so as to ensure maximum animal welfare standards are maintained
The animals' diet consists of cereals, chopped straw-to aid digestion, sea weed minerals and red clover silage. The drinking water for the animals is gathered on the farm from the roofs of all the farm buildings and it is stored in an underground tank.
The meat is sold on the Irish and UK markets into catering and retail outlets. Most of the meat is processed by Goodherdsmen Ltd in Co. Tipperary which is the only processing facility in Ireland exclusively dedicated to organic production. If you are interested in finding out how to source our beef, please contact either myself or John Purcell at Goodherdsmen Ph. 052 45500.
Ballard Organic Cereals
While we use most of the organic cereals which we grow on the farm for our own beef animals, we also sell surplus cereals to other organic cattle, sheep, pig and poultry farmers. The cereals are grown as part of a well thought out rotation which is the genesis of successful organic production.
A new grain drier was purchased in 2007 which ensures maximum flexibility at harvesting time regarding the weather and ensures that the grain is in the ideal state for storage i.e. dry and free from weed seeds. In addition, the grain store was extended in 2008 which now facilitates the easy storage and handling of the different categories of grain for various uses.
We also purchase organic cereals e.g. wheat and barley, from neighboring organic growers. This allows us to have a variety of cereals to suit the needs of most organic producers, although we do not supply mixed rations for customers. For further information on these products, contact me through the contact section.
Since 2008 organic oats are grown at Ballard Organic Farm and are sold to Flahavans in Waterford for organic porridge
Visitors to the open farm will receive an in depth explanation of the production methods involved in both the beef and cereal enterprises.
