Initiative that supports high nature work being carried out on land
Ireland is seeing a surge in the growth of wildflowers and fauna. Picture: Eamonn Farrell/RollingNews.ie
The search is underway to select this year’s Farming for Nature (FFN) Ambassadors as part of an initiative to support high nature work being done on the land.
A total of 48 farmers who are going the extra mile for nature across the country were nominated for the prestigious honour last January.
Over recent weeks a judging panel has been out and about visiting those that have been shortlisted to learn more about the work they are doing to incorporate, protect and enhance nature.
A decision on this year’s list of Farming for Nature Ambassadors will follow and a final shortlist will be created for the national awards which are set to take place in October.
Feedback from the farm visits so far has revealed a diversity of nominee farmers with a strong sense of innovation, passion, and care.
Regenerating soil biology, no-till cereal production, creating habitats for rare orchids and butterfly species, making animal bedding from rushes, rewetting, rewilding and conservation grazing have all been reflected in the nominations.
These range from two to 1,700 acres in size and embrace organic and conventional systems in beef, lamb, dairy, poultry, and pig farming.
FFN is an independent, not-for-profit initiative that aims to support high nature value farming in Ireland. It was established in 2018. Much of its impetus has come from the experience of working with farmers in the Burren region.
Now in its fourth year, it has 40 Ambassadors scattered across Ireland, who are inspiring many other farmers to take simple measures to enhance nature on their land.
“Seeing and hearing these farmers share their love of nature, and knowing that they work, day in day out, to make sure it has a place on their farms, is really inspiring – these people are our unsung conservation heroes.
“At FFN we want to share these stories to inspire other farmers as we are convinced that, with the appropriate, targeted financial and technical support, farmers represent a great resource in tackling our biodiversity and climate crises,” it says.
The People’s Choice overall winner in the Ambassador Awards last year was Jim Cronin, who has a 16-acre organic market garden farm at Bridgetown in east Clare.
A leading expert on organic horticulture, he has been adopting biological agriculture principles for the last 30 years without losing many of the traditional methods of farming.
Originally from Ennistymon, his farming ethos is seamlessly entwined with nature conservation.
Not only does he create a habitat for pollinators and wildlife but also for all the unseen worms and micro-organisms, which are fundamental to growing crops and sustaining life above ground.
He has a small suckler herd and two working horses that both help work the land and provide essential manure for soil fertility. He is both a teacher and a commercial grower of fruit and vegetables.
Jim, a founder member of Killaloe Farmers Market, combines the old traditions with new knowledge and methods based on sound principles and proves that one can make a good commercial yield from a small area without compromising nature.
“Listen to your heart. Yes, you have to make money, but every farmer I know is a custodian of the land and intrinsically knows what is best for nature,” he said.
Jim has distilled his farm knowledge down to an exact science and created a bank of wisdom.
Everything he does is a deliberate move to try to harness the resources that nature already offers in terms of soil health, pest control and crop growth.
Ahead of last year’s awards, President Michael D Higgins praised the work of Farming for Nature, which aims to source, share and celebrate the stories of farmers who manage their land in a way that sustains nature, while remaining productive and providing a livelihood for their family.
As well as highlighting the ecological problems and the challenges of climate change mitigation and adaption, he said it is correct to acknowledge, support and indeed commend those farmers who farm, or wish to farm, in a way that will improve the natural health of the countryside.
“Projects such as this are a powerful and tangible exemplar of what can be done from the ‘bottom-up’, tackling the issue at grassroots level and fostering widespread awareness, creating an environmental consciousness that can deliver powerful, far-reaching and lasting results,” he said.
Deirdre Ryan, director of Bord Bia’s Origin Green programme, said the initiative exemplifies the power of partnership and the benefits of knowledge sharing within Irish agriculture.
FFN Ambassadors operate beef, sheep, horticultural and tillage systems and work with a range of valuable habitats including species-rich grasslands and heaths, wetlands, woodlands and hedgerows.
Project co-ordinator Brigid Barry said every farmer in Ireland will be able to relate to at least one of these farmers and admire what they have managed to achieve on their farms.
One of the drivers behind the initiative, Dr Brendan Dunford of the Burren Programme, said the stories told by the Ambassadors are educational and inspirational.
“Their knowledge, passion and eloquence shine through, providing powerful testimony as to how farming and nature can, and must, work in harmony,” he said.
Dr Dunford said the work of these Ambassadors demonstrates that simple actions can make a big difference for the wellbeing of nature and of people and will hopefully inspire other farmers to take some small steps to look after their farm’s wildlife.
“As a society, we must recognise that these farmers are deserving of our respect and support. They embody all that’s great about rural Ireland and they offer great hope for practical solutions to the climate and biodiversity crisis that we face,” he said.
The Ambassador Awards are sponsored by Bord Bia and supported by a wide range of farming and conservation interests including the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, the National Parks and Wildlife Service and the National Rural Network.
