“Sure, it’s better to light a candle than to curse the dark.” I first heard this ancient proverb from Michael Davoren, leader of the Burren IFA, over 20 years ago, and it has stuck with me ever since.

At the time, Michael was mustering support to address a multitude of challenges which he felt were being imposed, from afar, without consultation, on his farming community through “new” environmental initiatives, such as SACs and REPS.

Almost uniquely, Michael saw opportunities where others could only see challenges.

It was this positivity and foresight – and the leadership and dogged determination that went with it – that led to the instigation and subsequent success of the BurrenLIFE Project and its successor, the Burren Programme.

I, along with some exceptional colleagues, was privileged to be part of this journey – which saw the Burren’s environment measurably improve, brought significant funding into the local economy and gave farmers renewed hope and purpose – and the respect they deserved for their work.

Michael’s candle – showing that farmers, with the right support, can deliver for the environment and benefit from doing so – became a flame, a beacon for many other people and places across Ireland and beyond.

Bad news

I’m reminded of this almost daily when I hear what seems like a continual stream of bad news on the theme of farming and the environment.

Take your pick – climate change, biodiversity loss, declining water quality, degraded soils, the demise of rural communities, dismal financial returns in some farming sectors and increasing levels of “over consumption and malnutrition” arising from nutrient-poor and ultra-processed foods.

These are all facts – backed by reams of research and teams of scientists – and we have to accept them, curse the dark though we might. But who is talking about the opportunities for the ordinary Irish farmer within these challenges?

Because there are opportunities, make no mistake about it, but it will take vision, courage, partnership, leadership and creativity to avail of them.

Unfortunately, however, the current narrative around these issues isn’t moving us forward. In fact, it has become so polarised, negative, over-simplified (think culling cows and flooding fields) and reactive that you’d be inclined to abandon all hope.

This is precisely the time we need to “light some candles” and thankfully there are plenty of them already lit in the form of ordinary – yet extraordinary – farm families right across Ireland who can help illuminate what the “pathways to sustainability” might actually look like.

I really believe that farmers can gain more control over their destiny and unlock support from funders scientists, advisers, consumers and others

While these paths, like life itself, are varied and full of twists and turns, they aren’t as calamitous as some would have us believe. In fact, they may even lead to a better and more resilient future for generations of Irish farmers to come.

I’ve been invited by the Irish Farmers Journal to contribute some pieces on the sustainability theme, complementing the “Footprint Farm” articles.

To declare my interests: I have huge respect for farmers – their work ethic, their honesty, their decency and their absolute love of their land and livestock. This has been fully borne out by two decades of experience working with Burren farmers.

Farming and nature can – and often do – go hand in hand.

I also love our rich Irish heritage of hedgerows, rivers, meadows and mountains. What I can’t for the life of me understand is why these two things – farming and nature – are so often presented as incompatible when I have seen, time and again, how they can work together to remarkable effect.

Painting their own canvas

Over the coming months, on a fortnightly basis, I hope to share some stories from Irish farm families who are finding their own ways to make sustainability “real” on their farms, “painting their own canvas” so to speak.

I’ll be sharing some of what they have done and why, and looking at what the result has been for their family, their income, their wellbeing and that of their farm environment.

But it will be their story and perspective, not mine, as their voices and experience carry much more authenticity, power and eloquence than mine could ever do.

My hope for these articles is that – like the aforementioned candles – they will illuminate and hopefully inspire. My broader ambition is that Irish farmers – like those in the Burren, led by Michael – will take ownership of an agenda that is all too often foisted upon them from above and outside.

By doing so, I really believe that farmers can gain more control over their destiny and unlock support from funders (public and private), scientists, advisers, consumers and others.

This can help shape a brighter future for Irish farm families, for the food they produce and for the environment on which they – and we all – depend, giving us a sustainable farming future of which we can all be justly proud. I hope you enjoy these Irish farmers’ journeys.

Bio: Brendan Dunford

From a farming background in Co Waterford, Brendan Dunford lives with his family in Co Clare.

He currently works as an independent adviser on various rural environmental projects. Previously, he was manager of the BurrenLIFE Project and the Burren Programme.

Brendan is a founder of the Burrenbeo Trust charity and of initiatives including Farming for Nature,

The Hare’s Corner and the Burren Winterage Weekend. He is a former board member of the Heritage Council and currently an advisory board member of the EPA.