Adding value to dairy bull calves with organic rare-breed rosé veal
Michael Gleeson’s organic farm is all about diversification, with milk, veal and potentially cheese from his pedigree Kerry herd, plus chickens and barley
‘When I first approached a local butcher enquiring about processing veal from Kerry cows he was hesitant, but then realised it was a truly unique product – rare-breed organic rosé veal,” says Michael Gleeson of Ballyhar Farm Produce, Killarney, Co Kerry.
“That was the encouragement I needed to progress with the idea.”
Michael and his wife Nora Daly have been farming their 30 hectares organically with the Irish Organic Association since 2012.
“When we took over the farm it was a blank canvas and that allowed us to experiment and try out new things, which we are keen to do.
“I have an environmental background so it was important that what we did on the farm in some way preserved our natural heritage, so I suppose introducing the rare-breed Kerry cow was the next step.”
The idea for the rosé veal came when they had their first three calves, one of which was a bull, and Michael wondered what he was going to do with it.
He says most of the demand for his product comes from people from the continent who are living in Ireland.
“Most Irish people are a bit hesitant about veal as a product, but what we are doing is nothing like the crated pale veal that is not a product we would encourage people to buy,” he explains.
“Our veal comes from our Kerry bull calves, and they are raised as sucklers and are grass-fed. The aim is to have the perfect balance of carcass size and meat quality, which is at eight or nine months of age.”
He sells the organic rosé veal through the Village Butcher in Ranelagh in Dublin, who has a growing demand for the product. Prior to Covid-19 Michael had worked with a number of chefs to get his veal onto menus in restaurants and hotels, and this market is gradually recovering.
He also sells a 5kg freezer box direct to consumers which works well as he can process the whole animal and include a mix of cuts, enabling him to remain competitive on price.
“I am aware that a dairy bull calf has limited value so I am trying to maximise the profit I can make, but you can only push so far for a premium price, especially as the majority of the people who buy my rare-breed organic rosé veal are repeat customers looking for something unique,” he says.
Michael has 22 pedigree Kerry cows and has been milking them for the past year.
“The Kerry cow is a dairy cow by nature so I have been working on the establishment of a micro-dairy. Some of the milk was supplied to Ballymac Dairy, who were bottling and selling it locally in Kerry.
“I am also interested in cheese production and have been working with local cheese makers to explore the possibility of making cheese from the Kerry breed milk which is very exciting.
“One issue I have recognised is that in the 20 cows I was milking, there was huge differences in milk performance, which makes it tricky. I have some cows who would match any Friesian for milk output and others whose yield was comparatively poor.
“With rare-breeds you often do not have the genetic diversity available to selectively breed and quickly build up replacements, and that is an area where farmers need more support.
“The final straw was breaking my hand recently which has put the dairy enterprise on hold for now, but the plan is to work towards supplying Kerry cow milk to the local community.
“I am five miles from Killarney so there are potentially some excellent retail outlets that would love local milk from the Kerry cow.”
Michael and Nora also raise organic chickens as table birds. They use the Hubbard breed, which is widely used in free-range systems.
“At any given time we have up to 750 chickens on the farm, in the field, yard and brooder,” Michael says. “They are sold directly from the farm into two fantastic local organic shops: Manna Organic Farm & Store and Milltown Organic Store.
“I also supply hotels such as the Park Hotel in Kenmare and the Lake Hotel in Killarney. During Covid I have also been working with Neighbourhood Food in Dingle and Killarney, which worked out very well.”
To reduce his input costs for organic feed for the livestock, Michael has started to grow organic cereals. To maximise the nutritional quality of the oats, he ferments them in barrels of water.
“The oats are just covered with water and they naturally start to ferment; you have to keep the process going similar to the starter used for sourdough breads,” he says.
“The oats are kept in the barrel for a few days and then they are fed to the chickens who love them. The fermented oats are very easily digested in this format and all the nutrients are readily available, offering a more complete food for the birds.”
Most of the oats grown on the farm are used for the livestock but Michael sells any surplus to other organic farmers in the area.
Last year he teamed up with Torc brewery and distillery in Killarney to supply them with organic barley for their Killarney whisky.
“The barley variety was Laureate, which is good for malting,” he says. “The distillers were looking for barley with low nitrogen levels, meaning higher starch levels which are good for fermentation.
“It worked out very well with the spring crop in 2020 so we are hoping for similar results this year.”
Michael has also worked in rural and urban development for many years and he currently works part-time off-farm as a social enterprise officer for PAUL Partnership in Limerick city, which he finds a good balance with the farm work.
“The day job is interesting, but I love coming home to the farm and working with the animals,” he says.
“I am passionate about local food production and I think we need to really look at what each region has to offer. We have wonderful potential in Ireland, which is underdeveloped in lots of ways.”
Recently Michael worked with local butchers Peter O’Sullivan and Kieran Burns on achieving Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) status for Sneem Black Pudding and he recognises the potential for other products to also achieve that marketing standard.
“It is not always about increasing output — what we are producing is premium produce and it needs to be matched with a good price,” he says.
“While the goal is to maximise quality and production, I am acutely aware that I have a ceiling on what I can produce here — hence the diversification.
“However, I think that it works well and the productive and ecological balance on the farm is maintained and hopefully enhanced into the future thereby creating a truly sustainable farm.”
