Health benefits of St Tola’s goats cheese highlighted

REPRESENTATIVES of Government departments should form a strategy group to promote the long term health benefits of organic food, according to an award-winning North Clare producer.
Siobhán Ní Ghairbhith, who runs St Tola Organic Goat Farm believes Government departments such as health, education and agriculture and other agencies should play a more proactive role marketing and promoting organic food.
Situated in Maurice Mills between Inagh and Ennistymon, Inagh Farmhouse Cheese has won a number of awards including a World Cheese Awards Bronze medal last year.
Acknowledging the Department of Education organises National Organic Week in early September, Ms Ní Ghairbhith insists more work could be done promoting this important event by getting the multiples such as Dunnes and Tesco on board.
While An Bord Bia produced a very good national organic conference last year, she told Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Shane McEntee, small producers need more marketing support, during his visit to the farm on Friday last.
“We need marketing support to publicise the long-term health benefits of organic produce. While exports are important, there is no point in flying organic food to the other side of the world because it defeats the whole purpose of it being organic, due to carbon footprint.
“The levels of obesity will have a long-term detrimental effect. Organic food is much healthier. St Tola’s cheese has much lower fat and is much better for digestion.
“Education has to start at a very good age when children are at school and must be carried through at home. You can eat very healthy food on a very small budget. It is not about the amount of food you are eating, it is the quality of what you are eating.
“Some people say organic is expense. It is not expensive when you consider the overall health benefits. Do people question how you can buy a chicken for €4 in the supermarket? That doesn’t make sense,” she said.
She said people are far more health conscious now and are eating out less and dining in more often at home, where they want the same culinary experience of a restaurant by buying good quality products.
The slowdown in demand for organic cheese in the food catering sector is compensated by an increasing demand from multiples such as Super Valu, Dunnes and Tesco.
St Tola is one of four organic cheese producers in the country including goats, sheep or cows.
She acknowledged the minister is interested in the organic sector, which is now even more important since the Government’s publication of Harvest 2020, promoting long-term sustainability and development for Ireland and the world.
She took over cheese production from her neighbour Meg and Derrick Gordon in 1999 and went organic in 2001.
There are five permanent employees on the farm and from March until October, it employs another four people part-time. The farm supports 200 milking goats, 10 pucks and a large number of kids, 50 of which are kept annually as replacements. The extra kids are used as pets and replacements in other farms, while the surplus go to Bóthar.
While nannies are being milked morning and evening, they are fed organic grain at that time. They can produce on average up to 2.8 litres a day.
Up to 15% of their produce is exported. They’ve always enjoyed the strong market in UK, also export a small amount to Germany, more price themselves than ourselves.