CAP Network Ireland’s Innovation Hub has been busy collecting innovative organic farming knowledge from across European projects as part of the second round of its Organic Knowledge Transfer (KT) Pilot. Drawing on operational learnings and feedback from Round One, the team collaborated closely with the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) to refine the strategic search criteria for this second cycle.
To address the sector's most pressing practical challenges, scoping activities were focused on sourcing proven innovations that fit into nine priority thematic categories (Organic Market & Supply Chain; Consumer Education; Organic Fruit and Veg Production; Organic Tillage Growth; Organic Livestock Growth; Organic Processing; Socio-Economic Benefits; Labour; AKIS (Agricultural Knowledge and Innovation Systems))
Knowledge collection for the second round commenced in late spring 2026. Across European research consortia and national initiatives, 14 projects have been identified to date as generating valuable, actionable insights with high transfer potential for the Irish organic farming sector:
- BIO-KB-Stiere: A Swiss breeding programme selecting artificial insemination (AI) sires evaluated strictly under 100% forage-based management. For Irish organic beef and dairy producers, it could provide breeding criteria and genetics proven to maintain body condition and fertility on pasture-only diets without expensive concentrate supplementation.
- Eco-Ready: A European initiative deploying Living Labs and real-time observatories to assess how climatic shocks and market volatility impact farm viability. Its predictive models could provide Irish organic advisors and organic farmers with practical decision-support tools to navigate weather related feed deficits and manage supply chain uncertainties.
- BIO2: A circular bioeconomy project developing marine-derived bio-fertilisers alongside botanical and microbial alternatives to synthetic pesticides and anthelmintics. The results may offer compliant, natural solutions for Irish livestock producers tackling parasites like liver fluke and roundworms, as well as bio-inputs for crop nutrition.
- GreenChicken: A German research project evaluating mobile housing and 100% organic diets for poultry using home-grown legumes and insect protein. It has the potential to provide practical nutritional blueprints for Irish egg and poultry producers striving to achieve feed autonomy and eliminate reliance on imported organic soya.
- GROFarmS: An Irish organic project that examines organic drystock production blueprints, specifically comparing beef finishing regimes (red clover silage vs. combi-crops/cereal-pea mixes), lifetime animal growth performance, economic benchmarking via the National Farm Survey, and knowledge transfer interventions.
- InstaGreen: A European urban farming innovation utilising low-energy indoor systems and biodegradable wood-cellulose pads for low impact microgreen production. It could provide Irish horticultural growers and market gardeners with an accessible, low-capital enterprise diversification model suited to year-round protected cropping in high-value local markets.
- INTAQT: A multi-country consortium establishing analytical biomarkers to authenticate the nutritional quality, animal welfare standards, and pasture intake of livestock products. These verification tools have the potential to allow Irish organic processors and Bord Bia to scientifically prove grass-fed credentials and defend premium organic exports against greenwashing.
- KitoGreen: An EU-approved substance derived from fungal chitosan that triggers systemic acquired resistance against plant pathogens. It has the potential to provide Irish organic tillage and field-vegetable growers with an approved, plant-strengthening bio-fungicide to counter severe blight and mildew pressures.
- LOESS: A European soil health education project designing hands-on diagnostic toolkits and community modules under the EU Soil Mission. Adapting these toolkits for Irish advisory services could equip converting farmers with simple, visual methods to assess and enhance biological soil health without synthetic inputs.
- OH-FINE: A Horizon Europe thematic network connecting regional hubs to promote farmer-led innovation and co-designed trials, such as cereal-legume intercropping. With participating Irish commercial farms, it fosters peer-to-peer knowledge exchange to help new scheme entrants troubleshoot early agronomic hurdles.
- PATHWAYS: A European project exploring sustainable livestock transition pathways using the holistic "One Welfare" framework. Its life-cycle sustainability datasets provide robust evidence on how pasture-based organic grazing delivers essential environmental and greenhouse gas benefits while sustaining farm livelihoods.
- ProOrg: A transnational project that established an objective Code of Practice and assessment criteria for gentle, low-impact organic processing technologies. It could provide emerging Irish artisan processors and food co-operatives with technical guidelines to develop value-added organic goods while safeguarding nutritional integrity.
- Public Goods Tool (PG Tool): A comprehensive on-farm diagnostic software measuring 12 environmental, social, and economic indicators. It offers Irish farmers and advisors an auditable framework to quantify the diverse public goods delivered by organic holdings, supporting claims under results-based agri-environmental schemes.
- SEEGSLIP: A UK research initiative benchmarking the ecological and financial resilience of 100% pasture-fed livestock systems. It delivers empirical proof for Irish drystock farmers that eliminating purchased concentrates and synthetic inputs can protect net farm margins, even when stocking rates decline.
The CAP Network Ireland team is currently finalising the detailed write-ups for each of these Knowledge Outputs (KOs) and validating the technical data directly with the respective project leaders across Europe. Once this validation phase is complete, a structured analysis will be undertaken alongside Irish organic farming experts, advisors, and industry specialists. This expert group will examine each output within the Irish operational context and map clear impact pathways to ensure the knowledge can be seamlessly adopted by end users on Irish farms.
This validation and impact pathway mapping will take place between now and the end of the year. Members are encouraged to keep an eye on the CAP Network Ireland Innovation Hub and upcoming e-bulletins for detailed updates on the most impactful KOs emerging from this phase of the pilot.
Visit our Innovation Hub here.