Farmer Martin Calvey has been announced as the first Farming for Nature winner, beating off stiff competition from five other shortlisted farmers to win a public vote cast by almost 4,000 people.
“In all honesty I was dumbfounded,” Martin Calvey told the Irish Farmers Journal.
“The standard was so high I would have put my money on any of the other five guys to win.”
The Bord Bia-sponsored competition has been running for four weeks, with the winners announced in Kinvara, Co Galway, on Sunday night by MEP Mairead McGuinness.
Calvey created Achill Mountain Lamb in 1962 and has built it up into a large family-run business that supplies lamb to all over Ireland.
“I started Achill Lamb in order to survive,” he said.
Never a lot of employment on Achill Island
“There was never a lot of employment on Achill Island and I was aware from a young age that there was a fantastic opportunity for Achill lamb.
“I think I made my first sale to a local hotel when I was about 12 or 13 and it’s just grown from there.”
He stressed that farming on the island was very much a collaborative effort. The family run a flock of 150 black-faced mountain sheep on their shareholding of the 20,000ac of commonage on Achill Island.
“We actually farm on open unfenced mountain, we don’t fertilise it and we don’t use any artificial sprays on it,” Calvey said.
“There’s no travel, it’s processed on the island and prepared on the island. It’s unique and doesn’t happen anywhere else in Ireland.”
Martin also wished to thank Colin Gallagher and Derek McLoughlin who nominated him independently for the award, and he expressed his admiration for the hard work of the award organisers.
"The work the BurrenBeo Trust are doing is inspirational and highlighting the need to promote and elevate the positive side of farming for nature," Martin's daughter, Martina Calvey added.
"We've had a great couple of days at the Burren Winterage event and we're so delighted and honoured to be part of a future plan to promote awareness of the positives of farming."
Martin Calvey is also unique in that there are no weight limits on the lambs he accepts into the abattoir.
“My price covers all weights; there’s no cut-off point,” he said.
“I pay the farmer for every kilo he gives to me and invite him into the abattoir to see his lambs being weighed.
“The sheep lambs mid-April and work from there. We only prepare the lambs from July to the first week in February.
“I have been paying my farmers 10c/kg to 15c/kg more than other producers because they’re supplying local lamb and I want to incentivise them to keep supplying us.”
Martin Calvey Sr with his son Edward and daughter Grainne inspecting lamb at the family abattoir, Keel, Achill, Co Mayo. \ Michael McLaughlin
Achill Mountain Land has won numerous awards for its taste and is sold in a range of high-end restaurants and hotels. Calvey says that he has a preference for the type of lambs he feels yield the best taste.
“There’s a lot of arguments about quality and taste but I know from 56 years of experience that castrated male lambs are much sweeter and much tastier than what other organisations might say,” he insisted.
“The ram lamb is rougher meat and the cut wouldn’t be as nice.”
Farming for Nature
The Farming for Nature awards were the brainchild of Dr Brendan Dunford and Brigid Barry, who are heavily involved in the Burrenbeo Trust, which has helped to oversee the launch of tailored grant scheme for the Burren farm community which champions biodiversity.
Speaking on the Farming for Nature awards, Brendan Dunford said: “This year’s finalists represent such a rich and varied cross section of all that’s great about Irish farming: hardworking farmers who love their land and their livestock and who really care for their natural environment.”
Hard working farmers who love their land and their livestock
The project coordinator Brigid Barry pointed out that there had been an incredible buy-in from the public, with almost 4,000 votes cast and an initial longlist of 150 farmers across Ireland.
She described each farmer on the shortlist as winners and said: “We look forward to see what 2019 brings as there are many more inspiring stories to share out there”.
Read more
Focus: farming for nature
Farming for Nature Awards – final farmer profiles
Farming for nature Q&A
Farmer Martin Calvey has been announced as the first Farming for Nature winner, beating off stiff competition from five other shortlisted farmers to win a public vote cast by almost 4,000 people.
“In all honesty I was dumbfounded,” Martin Calvey told the Irish Farmers Journal.
“The standard was so high I would have put my money on any of the other five guys to win.”
The Bord Bia-sponsored competition has been running for four weeks, with the winners announced in Kinvara, Co Galway, on Sunday night by MEP Mairead McGuinness.
Calvey created Achill Mountain Lamb in 1962 and has built it up into a large family-run business that supplies lamb to all over Ireland.
“I started Achill Lamb in order to survive,” he said.
Never a lot of employment on Achill Island
“There was never a lot of employment on Achill Island and I was aware from a young age that there was a fantastic opportunity for Achill lamb.
“I think I made my first sale to a local hotel when I was about 12 or 13 and it’s just grown from there.”
He stressed that farming on the island was very much a collaborative effort. The family run a flock of 150 black-faced mountain sheep on their shareholding of the 20,000ac of commonage on Achill Island.
“We actually farm on open unfenced mountain, we don’t fertilise it and we don’t use any artificial sprays on it,” Calvey said.
“There’s no travel, it’s processed on the island and prepared on the island. It’s unique and doesn’t happen anywhere else in Ireland.”
Martin also wished to thank Colin Gallagher and Derek McLoughlin who nominated him independently for the award, and he expressed his admiration for the hard work of the award organisers.
"The work the BurrenBeo Trust are doing is inspirational and highlighting the need to promote and elevate the positive side of farming for nature," Martin's daughter, Martina Calvey added.
"We've had a great couple of days at the Burren Winterage event and we're so delighted and honoured to be part of a future plan to promote awareness of the positives of farming."
Martin Calvey is also unique in that there are no weight limits on the lambs he accepts into the abattoir.
“My price covers all weights; there’s no cut-off point,” he said.
“I pay the farmer for every kilo he gives to me and invite him into the abattoir to see his lambs being weighed.
“The sheep lambs mid-April and work from there. We only prepare the lambs from July to the first week in February.
“I have been paying my farmers 10c/kg to 15c/kg more than other producers because they’re supplying local lamb and I want to incentivise them to keep supplying us.”
Martin Calvey Sr with his son Edward and daughter Grainne inspecting lamb at the family abattoir, Keel, Achill, Co Mayo. \ Michael McLaughlin
Achill Mountain Land has won numerous awards for its taste and is sold in a range of high-end restaurants and hotels. Calvey says that he has a preference for the type of lambs he feels yield the best taste.
“There’s a lot of arguments about quality and taste but I know from 56 years of experience that castrated male lambs are much sweeter and much tastier than what other organisations might say,” he insisted.
“The ram lamb is rougher meat and the cut wouldn’t be as nice.”
Farming for Nature
The Farming for Nature awards were the brainchild of Dr Brendan Dunford and Brigid Barry, who are heavily involved in the Burrenbeo Trust, which has helped to oversee the launch of tailored grant scheme for the Burren farm community which champions biodiversity.
Speaking on the Farming for Nature awards, Brendan Dunford said: “This year’s finalists represent such a rich and varied cross section of all that’s great about Irish farming: hardworking farmers who love their land and their livestock and who really care for their natural environment.”
Hard working farmers who love their land and their livestock
The project coordinator Brigid Barry pointed out that there had been an incredible buy-in from the public, with almost 4,000 votes cast and an initial longlist of 150 farmers across Ireland.
She described each farmer on the shortlist as winners and said: “We look forward to see what 2019 brings as there are many more inspiring stories to share out there”.
Read more
Focus: farming for nature
Farming for Nature Awards – final farmer profiles
Farming for nature Q&A
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