Ivan Ward and his father Richard farm a 200 acre mixed farm at Fortagusta, Arthurstown, Co. Wexford. The farm has been in the family for over 150 years and many aunts and uncles still remember the long summer holidays spent as a child at Fortagusta. It was a place full of activity, and many people were needed to manage the summer work: turning hay, weeding potatoes, harvesting corn, shearing sheep, grooming horses, and picking berries for the summer wine. They still remember having supper with fifteen at he table in the long evenings.

But agriculture changed, and the Wards were confronted by this change as well. Rising financial pressure on agriculture led to less people being employed on the farm and the work was mainly left to the family members.

It took another generation to realise agriculture was moving in the wrong direction, and when Ivan took over as head of the farm it didn't take long to persuade his father to change the farm to organic management principles.

Today the chickens are back, cows are milked, and one even sees horses again. Although Ivan and Richard work very hard, they at least get satisfaction from it. When asked, what the real essential motives were to go organic, Ivan answers:

" There are many specific reasons to go organic - the fertility of the farm, the health status of the animals, our own health and safety - but deep inside I feel that organic farming represents my general humanitarian view of life ".