Kate Egan

Co Westmeath

Kate Egan is a Farming for Nature finalist.

Kate always farms with nature in mind. Since she began farming here, she has planted hundreds of native trees, and has recently started digging a pond.

The grassy lawn around her house is managed as wildflower meadow areas and she has planted lots of pollinator-friendly flowers.

She uses no chemicals on her farm, and grows vegetables, fruits, flowers and manages hens, ducks and geese to sell at a local market.

Kate’s love for wildlife extends to the bats she and her family share their home with.

It’s a maternity roost of several hundred soprano pipistrelles and a smaller roost of common pipistrelles, so the bats are there from April onwards.

Thomas and Claire O’Connor

Co Kerry

Thomas and Claire O'Connor, Farming for Nature finalists.

Thomas and Claire sold their pub and bought a 25ac farm in 2007 in Gleann na nGealt valley near Camp.

After a lot of intensive work they now have a mixed organic farm producing vegetables, salads, wheatgrass, meat, poultry and eggs.

Their plan now is to apply what they have learnt about biological and ecological farming to supply quality, nutritionally rich food for the local community. They sell their produce locally in their shop in Tralee.

They hold open days, farm visits and workshops on their farm and run transition farming and biodiversity education days to help share their knowledge.

Tom Moloney Co Limerick

Tom Moloney farms with the wellbeing of his livestock, wild plants and animals foremost in his mind.

He has retained native hedgerows, ancient forest, planted more native trees and protected wildflower meadows in spite of the financial cost to himself.

He accepts no subsidies as he feels regulation may affect his ability to protect nature. He has started an organic vegetable business with his nephew to supply local restaurants.

Joe Condon

Co Tipperary

Joe and Eileen Condon, Knockmealdown Mountains, Co Tipperary

Joe’s farming career began in 1996, when he expanded his small holding to include 50 acres of enclosed land and access to over 2,000 acres of commonage in the Knockmealdown Mountains, Co Tipperary.

For Joe, farming for nature is synonymous with farming smartly, and his research into breeds of cattle that would enhance the landscape culminated in his purchase of a herd of Galloways.

A low-input system makes economic and environmental sense.

The final product is sold and marketed directly to consumers under the brand Omega Beef Direct and is available in a selection of local shops. Selling direct has improved this farm’s position in the food chain.

Michael Hickey

Co Tipperary

Irish organic farming pioneer Michael Hickey farms for nature near New Inn, Co Tipperary, with his wife Ute and sons Luke and Liam.

Michael, who lived and worked all over Australia for 10 years, returned home in 1981 to take up his family farm.

Michael designated his field perimeters as habitats, and by the time the REPS scheme was introduced, they provided examples for official hedgerow policy

Michael breeds all of his own Aberdeen Angus replacements, and for most of his career they have been butchered locally and sold directly to consumer groups. His horses have been trained and mostly exported to England.

Mark Armitage

Co Tipperary

Mark runs an Aberdeen Angus/Stabiliser herd, as well as growing cereal crops and herbal leys.

Herbal leys have traditionally been used to build soil fertility and structure in an arable rotation, acting as a minimal input, four-year break crop, but they bring significant benefits not only to the soil health, but also to the health and diet of livestock and the wider environment.

Mark is also an advocate of no-till drilling and imported the first John Deere 750A no-till drill to the country from Denmark.

After a complete refurbishment on farm, he now uses this drill on cereal crops and grass leys.

Boyd Bryce

Co Donegal

Boyd and his wife Bridie farm 350ac of mixed arable and sheep pasture, woodland and wildlife habitat on Inch Island, Co Donegal.

Boyd’s farm at Strahack is managed with nature to the fore. In addition to farming his natural shoreline, wetland and woodland areas specifically for wildlife, he sensitively manages his hedgerows, standards and scrub.

A recent example of his work from 2018 is a LEADER-funded Hidden Pools project that opened up three areas of wetland, flax dam and natural pools for newts, frogs and wildfowl. In conjunction with this wetland project, he re-fenced his adjacent shoreline lands in the Lough Swilly SAC for grazing with Belted Galloways to encourage breeding waders and floral diversity.

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