Irish farming needs a gender reset.

This was the standout message from a recent University of Galway seminar and farm visit which was held to mark both the International Day of Women and Girls in Science and the International Year of the Woman Farmer.

The farm sector needs to learn from past experience to appreciate the true value of women’s participation in agriculture, and apply those lessons in a modern context, the seminar was told.

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“We need to look to the past to see the evidence of the role of women in farming,” said Teagasc sociologist and University of Galway lecturer Dr Áine Macken-Walsh.

“Women’s role on farms has always been pioneering, has actively sought to drive added-value and premiumisation, and promoted working in partnership. That’s what the history is showing us,” she said.

“And that’s what the visit to Regan’s farm in Moycullen showed as well. The real value that comes from working in partnership,” Macken-Walsh maintained.

In his presentation, historian Mícheál Ó Fathartaigh, from University of Galway, challenged assumptions that farming expertise and leadership were exclusively male domains, revealing instead a more complex and inclusive history.

Female instructresses, from the Munster Institute in particular, worked with women farmers to establish Ireland’s butter industry, taking a deliberate strategy to produce a premium - rather than low value commodity - product for the marketplace, he stated.

Dr Mary Curtin of the University of Limerick explained how women’s work and contribution to the farm often remains “invisible” because the land owner is invariably considered to be the “farmer”.

Curtin has carried out extensive research into land ownership, inheritance law and the socio-legal frameworks that shape farm succession.

Her analysis illustrated how structural legal systems influence who is recognised as a ‘farmer’ in official and economic terms.

From a European and global perspective, Dr Valentina Materia of Wageningen University explored women’s entrepreneurship in sustainable agri-food systems.

Drawing on global case studies, she showed evidence of how women pioneer innovative, sustainability-focused business models that later become embedded in mainstream markets.

Short food chains

Short food chains are a key area of activity that women have led and innovated, Materia told the seminar.

A subsequent visit to the farm of Julie and James Regan in Moycullen underscored both the scientific and partnership nature of modern farming.

Julie Regan’s involvement in administration, strategic planning and herd oversight prompted particular discussion.

“Students reflected on the visibility of women’s technical and managerial expertise — and how often such contributions are overlooked in public narratives of farming,” said Macken-Walsh.

However, Macken-Walsh accepted that opinions are changing.

“Most farmers see the necessity to break the mould and encourage greater involvement in the farm by their wife and daughters. They appreciate the benefits of such an approach,” she said.