I’m a mixed farmer from Co Wexford. Born and educated in Ireland and Northern Ireland, I then completed a diploma in agriculture in Aberdeen, followed by university in the UK with a degree in agriculture.

After that, I spent about seven years in RTÉ as a film cameraman. Subsequently, I started freelancing and then did a stint in the newsroom and finally moved to programmes with many farming episodes.

I then ended up farming in Wexford – luckily getting a farm before the enormous jump in land prices when Ireland joined the then EEC.

My farming career has had many different enterprises, including cattle and sheep and also red deer, which I still have. At one time, I was one of the largest tillage farmers in Wexford. I was also spray contracting, with I believe the first self-propelled low ground-pressure sprayer in the country.

These days, the farm is a nature reserve, with some tillage, grassland and cattle. I have applied for the new GLAS. We run nature workshops in the summer and also hedge-laying courses.

The power of green

It is hard to be green, especially with the president-elect of the most powerful country in the world in denial about climate change. Donald Trump appears to be hell-bent, among other things, on reversing the USA’s signing up to the recent Paris agreement on climate change.

It can also be difficult and expensive being green. Diesel vehicles are not now the most green vehicles, but most of us still drive them. My preference would be for a hybrid or electric vehicle, but it is hard to find a practical one, especially for towing.

Perhaps next time around, in my personal circumstances, I could go electric and hire a truck if I need to transport cattle or deer to the market.

But being green can also save cash. For instance, growing one’s own vegetables.

Of course, forestry is very green (think carbon sink). My small plantations will soon provide thinnings for my wood fuel boiler. These thinnings will take care of my heating and hot water.

Solar photovoltaic (PV) will soon or even now be an economical source of electricity.

What is needed for PV and other renewables is our Government to commit to a worthwhile feed-in tariff. I feel they really only pay lip service to renewable energy and to the environment in general. We certainly need a full-time minister for the environment.

There are many other ways to be green and cut down on greenhouse gases apart from forestry.