Farming for Nature: Recent Episodes
Farming for Nature
Irish farmers talk about how and why they make space for nature on their land. (FFN (https://www.farmingfornature.ie) is a not-for-profit initiative set up by scientists & farmers to restore the ecological health of Irish farmland.)
Liam and Justina Gavin own Drumanilra Organic Farm on the shores of Lough Key, Co. Roscommon. When they took over the farm in 2012, they had two ambitions: to feed their family with home grown food, and to generate a sustainable and independent income from the farm by supplying food directly to the public. They tell Brigid how they've done it.
Thomas O’Connor farms 25 acres in the Gleann na nGealt valley near Camp, Co. Kerry, and sells his fresh organic produce in a farm shop, Manna Organic Store, in nearby Tralee. He talks about how fungi is the basis of everything he produces on his land.
Bruce Thompson is an intensive dairy farmer from Laois. He has a particular interest in reducing animal remedies through prevention, and is a strong advocate for the urgent need to protect our dung beetle populations.
Brigid speaks to Kim McCall about why and how he makes biochar. Kim and his wife Mireille own a 214-acre mixed livestock stock farm in Calverstown, Kilcullen, Co. Kildare with a herd of 75 pedigree suckler cows, a flock of 80 sheep, as well as a few pigs in the summertime.
James Gilmartin is a 7th generation mixed farmer. He keeps a suckler herd and a small herd of Dexters, as well as a small flock of sheep. Part of his farm is commonage and a very important High Nature Value habitat for various species, including the endangered Marsh Fritillary butterfly.
Maurice Deasy farms 120 acres in northwest Tipperary. He grows heritage Irish grains to preserve their genetic diversity, and uses them in his own brewery on the farm. He also has 20 acres of mixed woodland and wetland through his farm. He tells Brigid how he farms with nature in mind.
Aonghus Ó'Coistealbha is a market gardener from Connemara Co. Galway, and he owns 'An Garraí Glas', a 1-acre farm where he grows chemical-free vegetables including lettuce/salad leaves, onions, tomatoes, radishes, herbs and more. A tremendous amount of vegetables are grown from a small space, not to mention a challenging landscape with plenty of stone and a strong Atlantic prevailing wind. Aonghus is particularly interested in regenerative farming; composting, soil health and building fertility is of utmost importance to this farming system.
Gearoid Maher farms 80 cows on 80 hectares in Co.Limerick. He tells Brigid how he manages to operate an economically successful farm while restoring nature on his land.
Jim has a 16 acre hill farm in Clare where he intensively grows vegetables and fruit. He tells Brigid why homemade compost is the backbone to his farm, and how it works with nature to boost fertility.
Colm talks to Brigid as part of Farming for Nature's "Ask the Farmer" series. Here he explains in detail how and why he now farms with nature in mind. (Please rate, review and share!)
James Ham of Moyvore, Co. Westmeath is one of the last farmers in his county to use traditional technique of hedge laying on his land. He farms 128 acres with his wife Martina and their land is 50% woodland, with the rest grass and spring barley. Here he talks to Brigid about trees, coppicing and hedgerows.
James Ham's profile here.
Farming for Nature website here.
Contact Brigid info@farmingfornature.ie or go here.
Farming for Nature on twitter, facebook and instagram.
Eoghan has a farm of 73 acres (including 40 acres of mountain commonage) overlooking the Atlantic near Eyeries on the Beara Peninsula, West Cork. For the last 12 years he has given 30 acres over to nature, mostly in the form of highly species-rich native Atlantic temperate rainforest.
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Eoghan - http://www.eoghandaltun.com
Farming for Nature- https://www.farmingfornature.ie/nominees/eoghan-daltun/
Contact Brigid - info@farmingfornature.ie
Twitter - https://twitter.com/farmfornature
Aoife Reilly of Glasraí Farm owns a 7.5-acre farm in Hollymount, Mayo, with her husband, Joe. They employ seven people, and nature is intrinsic to what they do. The farm is highly productive not only in terms of food production but in terms of soil health and wildlife. There are three ponds, mixed hedgerows and a variety of trees, all of which provide habitats for wildlife.
Aoife's farm - https://www.glasrai.ie
Farming for Nature - https://www.farmingfornature.ie
Email: info@farmingfornature.ie
Address: Farming for Nature, C/O Burrenbeo Trust, Glebe Road, Kinvara, Co.Galway
Project Coordinator: Brigid Barry
Phone number: 087 1797352
Cathal Mooney owns Heather Hill Farm in Donegal, where he produces pasture-raised turkey, pasture-raised chickens, lambs and eggs and wildflower honey. He says, *"Our goal is to produce local food for the community. We want our customers to become friends and come to the farm to see how their food is produced.”
Guest - Cathal Mooney
Presenter - Brigid Barry*
Donna Mullen has a 43-acre farm in Meath, and she's found different ways to make her farm a magnet for seven bat species. She explains what she's done and how any farmer across Ireland can do the same...
Guest - Donna Mullen
Presenter - Brigid Barry, Farming for Nature
Contact - info@farmingfornature.ie
Twitter @farmfornature
On 29th October, the annual Farming for Nature awards took place in Corofin, Co. Clare. Brigid Barry spoke to the winner, Sean Condon, who is a dairy farmer from Limerick.
Guest - Sean Condon, Templeroe Dairy, Limerick
Presenter, Brigid Barry, Farming for Nature
Tommy Earley has a 25 acre bog on his farm in Roscommon, and a few years ago he started the process of restoring it. What did he do? And how did he do it?
Guest: Tommy Earley, beef farmer
Presenter: Brigid Barry, Farming for Nature
For more information visit https://www.farmingfornature.ie/nominees/tommyearley/
With a 200 acre beef farm in Kildare, Anthony Mooney knows that he has a vital role in attracting bird species to his land. He explains how he does it.
Nicholas Redmond has a 50-acre farm in Gerry, Wexford. He talks about his diverse beef & sheep farm, which includes species-rich meadows (from which he makes hay), oak woodlands and mixed-species grasslands.
Where you see bats, you'll find insects and bats on a farm are a good sign that nature is being supported. Tommy Early, a beef farmer from Roscommon, explains how he encourages bats to his land in the West of Ireland.
Gearoid is a dairy farmer from Limerick with 197 acres and 80 purebred Friesian cows. He explains how and why he works with nature on his farm. "“The old rule of thumb was a cow to the acre – and that has been my ethos all along. If I can farm a cow to the acre without pressure then that’s what I'll do.”
Sinéad farms 27 acres with her partner Mick. She explains why they decided to set up an organic microdairy, and how it benefits her business, the wild life and the land.
Hedgerows are the green veins of our countryside, but poor management can leave them all but lifeless. Tipperary's Sean O'Farrell describes how farmers can ensure their hedgerows pulsate with wildlife, to the benefit of the farm - and the farmer.
What does it take to farm the uplands in a way that both provides an income and restores nature? Nia O'Malley farms 150 acres in the Slieve Aughty Mountains in Co. Galway, in the west of Ireland. She explains how her beef farming works to support - not diminish - the wild species who make the uplands their home.
Mimi owns a 28 acre farm in Tipperary with her husband Owen. They have a micro-dairy and sell raw organic cream, butter and buttermilk, and they also farm beef, chickens, pigs and ducks. (They've also just had their first baby, which you can hear gurgling behind the scenes here. Congrats Mimi & Owen!)
Roscommon beef farmer Tommy Earley has created 15 ponds on his farm in the West of Ireland. They attract a spectacular array of life, and he explains why every farmer - and gardener! - in Ireland should create a watery space for nature.
The founders of Farming for Nature, Brigid Barry and Brendan Dunford, explain what the initiative is, and how and why farmers across Ireland should get involved.
Norman Dunne owns a 400-acre tillage farm near Maynooth. Five years ago he transformed the way he farms, in a way that has benefitted nature and his own mental health.
They're known as "the farmer's friend" because they eat rodents such as wood mice, pygmy shrews and rats. But barn owls are struggling in Ireland - there's been a 50% decline in the last 25 years. How can farmers help to restore barn owls to their land? Wildlife expert & tillage farmer, Paul Moore, explains how he brought them back to his 140-acre farm in Midleton, Cork.
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Thomas is an arable farmer with 84 acres in north Co. Cork. He farms speciality crops such as grain-lupins, linseed, lentils, sunflowers, as well as the standard grain crops.
Fergal Smith owns the 66-acre Moy Hill Farm in West Clare. He keeps Dexter cattle, Jacob sheep and runs a large market garden. He sells all his produce direct to his local community.
Patrick Holden is a dairy farmer at Bwlchwernen Fawr in Wales, UK and campaigns for more sustainable food systems. He speaks here during the Burren Winterage Weekend (Oct 2020).
James Rebanks has a family-owned farm in the Lake District in northern England, and is the author of The Shepherd’s Life & English Pastoral. He explains his approach to farming with nature during this talk which he gave for the Burren Winterage Festival, Oct 2020.
Bridget is an 9th generation farmer with 125 acres on the Ox Mountains. She farms sheep, horses, trees and native Irish bees.
Darina Allen owns a 100 acre mixed farm in east Cork, with fruit & vegetables, pigs, beef, dairy cows and hens.
Feargal explains how he farms his land in Mayo in a way that enhances life for endangered species such as corncrake, twite and chough. His farm is now a jewel in the crown of the spectacular Mullet Peninsula on the far west coast of Ireland.
Donna Mullen farms 43 acres in Meath. She explains how she encourages as much wildlife on her farm as possible.
Padraig Corcoran has a beef and sheep farm in Mount Plunkett in Lecarrow, Co. Roscommon. He talks about how he manages his 54 acre farm for food production and nature...
Olly farms in the valley of Glenasmole in the Dublin Mountains. He's new to farming, and talks about his approach to producing food and habitats for wildlife on his land.
Ailbhe Gerrard farms on the shores of Lough Derg in Co. Tipperary. Her approach to farming is not limited to food - she also tries to produce better land for nature.
Sean O'Farrell has a mixed farm near Roscrea in Co. Tipperary. A few years ago he changed the way he farms. He explains why he did this, and how he makes space for wild species on his land.
Roscommon farmer Tommy Earley talks about his farm and how - and why - he leaves spaces for nature
Can intensive farmers make a profit and farm for nature at the same time? Conventional dairy farmer, Donal Sheehan, explains how he has changed the way he farms to encourage more wildlife. Donal is a third generation farmer from the Bride Valley in east Cork, Ireland.