Mr. Padraig Fahy:

When I was in school I liked accountancy, so I will give the committee some facts on the farm. Fruit and vegetable growing and supplying was mentioned. Fruit and vegetables is an entry point for many consumers. It is the first thing they go to in the shop when try to buy organics. We get a market premium for horticultural crops of between 50% to 100%. The cost of production is about 25% to 50% greater depending on the scale of the farm, and our yields are between 20% and 30% less. As our farm expanded this year we have five other farmers around Ireland who are growing crops, and are contracted to supply into our farm.

We are on the edge of the Suck Valley and in 2002 we brought in 14% of organic matter. When one starts with really good soil, one can build up the organic matter. That is the key to getting it right. It is important that when farmers come into conversion, they do a lot of work in the preceding years.