If you've always wanted to get involved in a cattle drive, here's how...
Previous Burren Winterage cattle drive walks saw hundreds of visitors accompany the cattle to their upland pastures, following an agricultural tradition that is thousands of years old, and helps to preserve the Burren’s unique flora. Picture: Burrenbeo Trust
Thankfully, many farmers consider themselves custodians of their land — and the nature it holds — for future generations. They take this responsibility very seriously and want to farm their land in the most biodiversity-friendly way possible. The Farming for Nature Awards offer a wonderful way to recognise these farmers, who go on to become ambassadors for the scheme, and by hosting farm walks and forums, they share their passion for nature and explain how they have succeeded in balancing nature conservation with business on their farms.
Nominees for the Farming For Nature Awards 2022
Each year, 15 farmer ambassadors are nominated by environmental specialists across Ireland, interviewed and shortlisted by a panel of judges, who agree on five finalists for a public vote. On the competition webpage, you can watch excellent video interviews with each nominee, which highlight the valuable work farmers do in nurturing their local biodiversity. The public is then invited to select the farmer they find most interesting and inspiring.
This year’s public vote Ambassadors are:
- Brigid O’Connor, County Kerry
- James Ham, County Westmeath
- Mark Gillanders, County Monaghan
- Mark Harold-Barry, County Tipperary
and
- Sean Condon, County Limerick
Awards coordinator, Lucy Bowler, said: “We are delighted to have Farming for Nature Ambassadors this year from Monaghan to Waterford, from organic to conventional, from beef to forestry, each with so much to share on how to farm alongside nature. We would really encourage the public to view their stories to get a flavour of what farming for nature is all about. I think every farmer in Ireland will be able to relate to at least one of these stories and learn a little something — we plan to organise Q&As with these farmers and educational walks on these farms in 2023.”
The five finalists will be featured at the annual Burren Winterage Weekend on October 29, where the winner of the public vote award will be announced.
Burren Winterage Festival
Events include several Burren farm walks; a day-long Burren Winterage School on the theme of Education for Sustainable Development in Rural Areas; a Farming for Nature Networking Day; discussions with bestselling authors James Rebanks and Jane Clarke; transhumance cheese tasting; a butter-making workshop, and a children’s nature-writing workshop.
The flagship event of the festival, the Community Cattle Drive — where hundreds of people are invited to join a local farming family in herding their cattle to the upland pastures — will take place on Sunday, October 30. The Burren Food Fayre will offer walkers a chance to ‘taste the Burren’ by sampling the best of local foods.
Winter grazing by cattle, which slows down scrub encroachment, allows the Burren’s world-renowned array of flowers and insects to flourish unhindered in summer, making the farming practice crucial to the conservation of both biodiversity as well as maintaining the extraordinary array of monuments in the region.
The Farming for Nature website has lots of videos, podcasts and resources on how farmers can make a massive difference for nature on their farms. At a time when intensive farming and maximising productivity seems to be the only option open to farmers, this scheme and its ambassadors provide much-needed inspiration and hope.
There’s still time to vote in the Farming for Nature Awards! Voting closes at midnight on Friday, October 28. To watch the nominees’ videos, and cast your vote: farmingfornature.ie/awards/voting/
The Burren Winterage Weekend 2022 takes place from Wednesday, October 26 to Sunday, October 30 in Corofin, County Clare and the Burren. Places are limited for all events and will require pre-booking. To see the programme of events and book: burrenwinterage.com
Burrenbeo Trust: burrenbeo.com
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