It took three connecting flights to get there and two to come back but I had an enjoyable few days in Slovenia last week, discussing how more biomass (thinnings and brush) could be extracted from forestry.

Several areas were identified for further research and development via operational groups.

These groups involve various sectors coming together in a region to define an agricultural or forestry question/problem.

The sectors could be farmers, foresters, processors, retailers or anyone else either affected by the problem or with a role to play in finding the solution.

The groups are funded under the Rural Development Programme (RDP) in each country. Ireland’s most recent call for projects has just closed but will open up again for applications in August.

The eligible costs for projects can run into hundreds of thousands of euro, and they can be funded up to 100% by the RDP.

Nitrogen versus water quality

An example given to the meeting in Slovenia was a German project on wheat production.

The problem was the level of nitrogen being spread on the crop, which was affecting the quality of local water supplies. Simply applying less nitrogen would lead to an uneconomical crop yield.

So, what to do?

The project has not long started so there are no accepted solutions just yet, but what the region did do was bring together tillage farmers, harvest contractors, chemical merchants, environmentalists, and even local bakers to form an operational group.

Together, the group mapped out a series of tests and actions to try to find an answer that everyone would be happy with.

Funding for this work came through their national Rural Development Programme. The participants are paid for their time spent on the project, and all the while they’re moving towards a more efficient and safer agriculture enterprise.

To use the popular business phrase, it’s a win-win situation.

However, one word of discontent to emerge was the level of red tape involved.

While most agreed that it was manageable, the feeling was that it could have been made easier if officialdom showed more flexibility and common sense when dealing with people who weren’t administration experts like themselves.

There were people from all over Europe at the forestry meeting in Slovenia.

It’s some consolation to know that nearly everyone had tales of woe from the world of officialdom. Brexit notwithstanding, the member states of the EU are united in their grief at the hands of bureaucrats, but also reconciled to the fact that red tape now makes the world go around.

Kieran Sullivan and his brother farm part-time in Co Waterford. You can follow him on Twitter: @kieran_sullivan

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