The exchange, supported by the Erasmus+ scheme, enabled the two organisations to meet and discuss a variety of rural issues, with a particular emphasis on innovative and entrepreneurial ideas for the rural young adults with whom both organisations work.

The first part of the exchange was the annual prize winners’ trip which took place outside the Leuven region on the outskirts of Brussels and throughout Flanders. Around 40 Macra members set off in the early hours from Dublin airport and received a warm welcome when arriving into Leuven.

New ideas

The days were filled with a variety of farm visits and cultural tours, visiting farms from both ends of the spectrum, including a dairy farm with over 5,000 cattle using robotic milking facilities, a biofuel plant and self-sufficient restaurant, and a small family farm with 200 cattle.

One of the most innovative ideas the group experienced was a dairy farm that had repurposed itself as an adventure/team building facility, while maintaining a working dairy herd.

The group enjoyed a fantastic, laughter -fuelled day of team building activities alongside local Groene Kring members, on one occasion throwing sacks of hay around in the barns of the farm, much to the amoosment(!) of the onlooking cows. The day was a great inspiration to many of the Macra members and we will surely see some of the ideas brought back to Ireland and put into action throughout the Macra county events.

Culture

On a cultural high, the group took a day trip to the beautiful city of Bruges for a change of pace and to visit rural enterprises selling their wares at the renowned Christmas markets.

To end the trip, the group was privileged to have a personal tour inside the EU parliament, including a talk detailing the challenges and achievements of the Irish MEPs in Europe.

As the MEPs were in Strasbourg during the trip, the group was able to gain access to the hemisphere and see first-hand where the heated debates take place. We are very thankful to Mairead McGuinness and her team for helping to arrange this experience for our prize winners.

The second part of the exchange will happen this month, as Macra welcomes the group from Groene Kring and provides tours of a variety of farm enterprises throughout the island of Ireland, including an overnight stay with our 2019 Young Farmer of the Year winner, Liam Hanrahan.

We look forward to providing them with a warm Irish welcome and showcasing some of the best we can offer, in both rural enterprise and hospitality.