As I was editing this week’s paper, I was laughing at Margaret Leahy referring to the P-line when she’s blackberry picking. What’s the P-line, you may ask? Think about your average dog and his hind leg – and pick above that, says Margaret. Sound advice, I’d say.

On our recent trip to west Cork, my two, nearly three-year-old son Jack, loved the extra bit of freedom we allowed him. One beautiful end-of-summer evening, we were catching up with friends and the kids were running down the field. Safely in view, I noticed Jack had wandered off from the group and was standing at the ditch. I walked down to check on him and as I got closer, he turned around with a cheeky grin and a guilty look. His smudgy smeared mouth revealed his antics and his black stained little hands were most definitely below the P-line. But you know, he survived – even if the berries should have been washed. As my friend said, if he tasted one that wasn’t ripe and a bit sour, he wouldn’t be long getting rid of it.

We’ll bank it as one of his first core blackberry memories, and hopefully, there will be plenty more to come. That’s one of the beautiful parts of nature, it guides us through the seasons. The sweetness of blackberries taste of the seasons changing, allowing us to savour the end-of-summer rays before the autumn creeps in.

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September signals back to school and excitement ahead of the National Ploughing Championships and here in Irish Country Living, it also means we’re in full planning mode for our Women and Agriculture conference which we are delighted to launch this week.

The sweetness of blackberries taste of the seasons changing, allowing us to savour the end-of-summer rays before the autumn creeps in

Tickets are now on sale for our conference which takes place in the Radisson Blu Hotel & Spa, Rosses Point, Co Sligo on Thursday 23 October. Between now and then, a day won’t go by when that conference isn’t on my mind. It has become quite the production – but that’s only because we want to make it better each year.

I can see all your faces now, the ladies that come every year, with big hugs and updates on life, and the kids, and the farm. It is always a happy reunion. And then there’s the women, a little shyer, who say they’ve heard about the conference and this is their first year. Some come on their own, gifting themselves a day to fill up their cup. Others grab a friend, leaving with a smile and a promise to return next year. Whether it’s your 15th year, or your first, we look forward to welcoming you.

We’ll be revealing our keynote speaker shortly and we have a stellar line-up of speakers to accompany her. Our very own Neven Maguire is fresh off the DJ decks at Electric Picnic, and he will be cooking up a storm. Speaking of storms, Evelyn Cusack and Séamus Walsh are releasing their new book They Say It Might Rain, the day of the conference and they’ll be speaking about the very close and interesting relationship that farming families have with the weather. And on the back of our successful succession series, we’ll have a panel discussion on the topic, with succession facilitator Heather Wildman who works with families right across the UK and beyond.

Details of how to book your ticket are on page 2. We’ve previously held two fantastic conferences in Sligo and we’re looking forward to returning west.