About Robin’s Glen

Welcome to Robins Glen.
We are a family run organic farm, with Richard being the “main driver”, supported by Eleanor and our three sons. Growing grain crops, seed crops, Green cover crops and organically certified seed potatoes with a small suckler herd, beside the village of Glenmore,Co. Kilkenny.

This is Robins Glens new website, for Jan 2021. We were going to rewrite our story, however what we wrote ten years ago is still relevant today. When we follow nature as our guiding star we are traveling in the right direction. We have decided to keep our original text and any developments are in green print.

We converted to organic farming in 2009 because we wanted to farm in a more natural and sustainable way. This system of farming allows a rich diversity of microbes, insects and wildlife to continually propagate, as the different organic crops rotate around our farm. (grain crops must be restricted to a very short rotation). We believe pathogens develop in the soil that attack the cereal crop when they are grown more than two years in succession.

When we converted to organic farming, we were concerned about the damage that disease and pests would have on our grain crops. In our previous system of farming, we had been applying chemicals and insecticides to control these diseases and pests. However, we are finding that disease and pests are not a problem in growing organic grain crops. This is mainly because the crop is not forced with fertilizers and chemicals. This allows the crop to grow naturally.

The leaf or cell wall of organic plants is much thicker than that of conventional, helping them to resist attacks from disease and pests. Organic crops also have a lower number of plants growing per square meter. This allows them take up more nutrients and trace elements in the diversity rich soil producing a quality product. Grain yield is lower than other systems of farming but it is more sustainable.

We, like many others, hope that one day scientists will be supported to validate, and help develop the true value and potential organic farming has to offer, our health and that of our environment, ( once they have climbed down out of the pockets of commercialism.) Humanity will only prosper by follow the star of nature. Following the decimal point will ultimately destroy us. Long before the first pyramids in Egypt were built, organic farming sustained our world. In less than one hundred years, conventional farming has almost depleted the planet’s reserves of phosphate, not to mention the bees and other living things on our planet. Where are we going?

About seven years ago we significantly reduced our livestock enterprise, the knock on effect was the last three grain harvests were very poor. We are always experimenting, but are now growing a wide a range of different crop types on our farm.
We are possibly the only organic certified seed potatoes grower in Ireland. Robins Glen is also growing Buckwheat, Millet, Vetch, Mustard and Radish and Clovers. We are working to produce seed which we can use to grow again on our farm. Some of these seeds are in our livestock and wild bird feed which we sell on line. The rest is used as green manure, compost and some as a type of hay or silage for our animals.

These crops harness the energy around us and add to our soil fertility. Changing a farming system is a slow and expensive process with often expensive outlay and loss of income during the process. There is no guarantee of success but we believe we are on the right road. We learn a lot from our mistakes.

Richard like his father and grandfather before him were innovators and work at adopting and building machines to meet our needs .We have learned the hard way ,that one will not get support from government or farm organisations , if a project upset the status quo.

We now try to be as independent as we can without looking for support. It seems to us that the best way forward, to progress projects, is at the grass root level

Robins Glen Web Site..

The “Robins Glen” website promotes and sells Irish organic grain, certified organic potatoes and other organic animal feed products, and deliver in small and large packs directly to your door.

Last summer 2020 some Irish organic grain growers contact us with grain to sell, but we could not purchase. This is because we are waiting for a licence from the department of agriculture to purchase and mix organic grains on our farm. With Brexit we are now not able to meet the demand coming from larger users of grain feed. Once we are allowed to purchase from other organic farmers this difficult situation will be resolved.

It should not be so difficult to progress sustainable solutions here in Ireland . It a symptom of how our system works. One time it was Church and State, now it looks like Multinationals and State.

Adverts on tv about saving money on low priced food. This works against community and local food production. There are people who feel they do not have a choice but to shop there. However there are others making the effort to support and build their community’s independence and self-sufficiency.

The current supply chain system, which is supported by local and national government, leads us to relaying on possibly one or two large providers, of the food our children will need to eat in years to come. Is this what we want?

With your support we hope to substitute some of the imported grain & certified organic seed potatoes, products that you purchase for your livestock, poultry, birds and pets and garden etc with Irish organic products. With products from Robin’s Glen you know where it was grown and who grew it and how it was produced. This is not always possible with many of the imported potatoes or animal and bird products you purchase today.

The feed & food products you purchase from Robin’s Glen, are certified Organic which means they have been produced with no chemical fertilizers, chemicals fungicides or chemical insecticides. When you purchase organic it shows you care about the environment. Remember, we eat what our livestock and poultry eat. It is easy to grow good food like potatoes with no chemicals.

Organic Farming works closely with nature. Therefore we in Robin’s Glen would like to work closely with our customers. Organic production is a community based network system which is about more than just food production but also of sharing ideas and working together for everyone’s benefit. When we all work together we are empowered to create.

We look forward to your comments or suggestions which will help us to improve our products and the service to you.