Introduction – project purpose, funding, and partners

The organic lamb and beef sector faces significant challenges that threaten long-term growth and ability to meet ambitious national and EU targets. While recent supports, such as the Organic Farming Scheme and the National Irish Organic Strategy 2024–2030, have driven expansion, systemic issues within the supply chain remain unresolved.

Lack of coordination and fragmentation within the sector are major issues. Organic farmers often operate in isolation, leading to weak connections between producers, finishers, marts, processors, and retailers. This disconnect creates inefficiencies and contributes to high levels of leakage — 70% of organic lamb was sold as conventional in 2023. Leakage not only devalues the organic premium but also reduces the availability of certified organic lamb and beef for processors and retailers, undermining market confidence.

Organic farming, particularly in upland areas, often produces animals that require finishing before reaching market specifications. Weak links between store producers in the West and potential finishers in the East — or the absence of local finishing capacity — result in leakage. Seasonality further compounds these challenges, with production concentrated in certain periods, limiting supply to processors and retailers year-round. High transport costs, distribution inefficiencies, and limited processing capacity exacerbate these issues.

Finally, the sector faces challenges in communication and collaboration. Weak links between stakeholders, coupled with insufficient data on supply chain dynamics, hinder efforts to address systemic problems. These issues risk isolation and disillusionment among farmers, jeopardising the sector’s ability to retain participants and attract new entrants.

This project addresses these challenges by focussing on improving coordination, reducing leakage, exploring innovative finishing and distribution models, and extending seasonality. Working with hill lamb, producers and finishers, and coordinating the activities of the participating farmers should contribute to extending the season. Through training, capacity building, and active engagement with marts, the project aims to transform the organic lamb and beef supply chain into a sustainable, efficient, and resilient system.