Amy and Ross Jackson
Amy and Ross Jackson are organic sheep and tillage farmers from Lacka in North Tipperary. They converted to organic in 2015, and grow 60 acres of organic barley for Waterford Distillery and organic oats for Flahavan’s.
They also keep 120 mature ewes and 20-50 homebred replacements. They sell a proportion of their organic, grass-fed lamb directly to customers through their Lacka Organic Lamb brand. As Amy explains, the organic sheep and tillage enterprises work well together: “The sheep enterprise is very beneficial to our rotation. They play a key role for weed control and soil fertility through recycling nutrients on the farm. At any one time approximately 50% of the land is in tillage with the other 50% being in grassland. We grow crops on the tillage fields for 3-4 years and then those fields are put back into grass, multi-species swards, or red clover – to build fertility, graze the sheep, and make silage.”
Another way in which the sheep enterprise complements the tillage is through the production of organic manure. During lambing season, in March and April, ewes are brought inside to lamb on straw providing dry and comfortable bedding. The straw is a by-product of the barley grown on the farm and, once used, the straw bedding is returned to the land to build fertility.
The grasslands are planted with a range of plants such as chicory, plantain, red and white clover, and ryegrass. Not only are these crops beneficial to the soil, the sheep thrive on these ‘multi-species’ grasslands (or swards) as well. The deep roots of some of the plants bring up vital minerals from the subsoil whilst also sequestering carbon deep down into the soil layers.
After the fields are harvested of cereals, the fields are sown with a mixture of crops such as tillage radish, clover, buckwheat and Phacelia. Known as cover crops, these plants help to protect the soil over winter by supporting soil structure and micro-biology, and minimising runoff and soil erosion. Leafy turnip and fodder rape are also added to these cover crops, and the sheep graze these as winter forage crops.
Speaking about their choice to farm organically, Ross explains: “We enjoy the challenges of organic farming, just doing something slightly different. We enjoy increasing the biodiversity of the farm and it’s lovely to see that we can farm with nature and let nature work for us.”