The Original Organic Farmer

Arriving at the Mulrooney Family Farm in Kilsheelan, Co Tipperary, visitors are left in no doubt as to this family’s philosophy on food and farming. The first thing you notice at the entrance is a sign which reads 'GM Free Farm'. A man of evident principles, Pat Mulrooney was among the first farmers in Ireland to go organic, long before a demand for organic milk existed. He traces his organic epiphany back to the time when his children were very young.
“I was testing the crops in the usual way to check ripeness, by biting down on the grain, when I realised that my daughter, Laura, just five years old at the time, had picked up a sheaf and was copying my actions. Knowing I had sprayed it just a couple of days earlier, I instinctively grabbed it from her. It got me thinking that if I wasn’t comfortable with my own child eating food sprayed with pesticides, it wasn’t right to produce food in this way.” And so began the organic journey.

Back in 1987, when he began the conversion process, there was little in the way of support and advice and Pat and his wife, Angela, had to plough their own route, making early mistakes and meeting obstacles along the way. 5 year old Laura is now in her thirties and a parent herself to baby Eva. Pat and Angela’s other children are Mary Jane and Mark.

A matter of principle

Farming organically purely out of principle, in the early years the Mulrooney Farm’s organic milk was sold into the conventional pool, achieving no premium for the farm. It wasn’t until Glenisk converted to organic in 1995 that the farm had an organic outlet for their milk.
Today, the Mulrooney Farm has a herd of between 60 and 70 cows, comprised of British Friesian and Montbelliarde crosses, and occupies 176 acres of lush Tipperary farmland. The climate allows them to have the herd outside grazing for between ten and eleven months of the year, and a new state-of-the art barn provides shelter for the cows during the coldest and wettest Winter weeks. Angela is a self-confessed weather expert, a trait which runs in her family. “We never miss the weather forecast here and my mother was the same, insisting on complete quiet in the house when the Met Eireann bulletins are broadcast!”

The Future of Farming

It seems redundant to even ask if the Mulrooneys would ever consider converting back to conventional methods. "Back then, we believed organic was the obvious future for farming, and we still believe it", says Pat. “I would like to see more farmers convert and I truly believe that it’s farmers like ourselves who will convince others to make the change. They need to see how it works and understand the benefits, not simply commercially but also in terms of the food we produce and the benefits for the environment.”