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INDUSTRY SNAPSHOT How farmers have fared in 2016

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BREXIT // FLOODING // ETHIOPIA // NETTLE FARMING // WHISKEY // IRISH PALATINES // AGTECH // TRAD MUSIC // LAW // ARTIST RETREATS // MOTORING // FASHION // FOOD // COPING WITH STRESS

28/06/2016 15:26

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Vaccination is an important aspect of BVD control as the number of susceptible herds increases. However, herds are being left susceptible to BVD because only one in four farmers is completing a two-shot primary vaccination course as required1. Furthermore, foetal protection should last a whole 12 months and protect against both types of BVD, with Type 2 becoming an increasing problem in Europe2.

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References: 1. Meadows (2010) Cattle Practice 18(3): 202-215; 2. Doll & Holsteg (2013) Cattle Practice 21: 216.

An educational service from Boehringer Ingelheim Limited, Vetmedica, makers of Bovela. POM. Further information available in the SPC or from Boehringer Ingelheim Limited, Vetmedica, Bracknell, Berkshire, RG12 8YS, UK. Email: vetmedica.uk@boehringer-ingelheim.com. Date of preparation: Feb 2016. AHD 9013.

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WELCOME EDITOR: Joseph O’Connor DEPUTY EDITOR: Conor Forrest EDITORIAL STAFF: Orla Connolly, Rachel Murray, Christopher O’Riordan MANAGING EDITOR: Mary Connaughton CONTRIBUTORS: Ruraidh Conlon O’Reilly, John Fagan, Penny Gray, Valerie Jordan, Ian Maleney, Darragh McCullough, Aisling Meehan, Dean Van Nguyen, Ken Whelan CREATIVE DIRECTOR: Jane Matthews DESIGN: Alan McArthur ARTWORK: Ingrid Bernat, James Moore PRODUCTION EXECUTIVE: Nicole Ennis PRODUCTION MANAGER: Mary Connaughton SALES DIRECTOR: Paul Clemenson MANAGING DIRECTOR: Gerry Tynan CHAIRMAN: Diarmaid Lennon Ashville Media Group, Old Stone Building Blackhall Green, Dublin 7 Tel: (01) 432 2200 All rights reserved. Every care has been taken to ensure that the information contained in this magazine is accurate.

The publishers cannot, however, accept responsibility for errors or omissions.

Reproduction by any means in whole or in part without the permission of the publisher is prohibited. © Ashville Media Group 2016.

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Welcome to our summer issue of Ear to the Ground magazine, which follows another successful series of the programme on RTÉ One. Spring is a fascinating time on any farm and back in April, presenters Ella, Helen and Darragh were involved in The Big Week on the Farm, a week-long live production for RTÉ shot in a lambing shed on a farm just outside Castlepollard. Farmer John Fagan shares his experience of allowing a TV crew and cameras on to his farm and what was gained from allowing viewers to witness the true nature of his work.

The hot topic in farming and business at the moment is the impact of a British exit from the European Union. In light of the referendum result, we explore how Brexit might affect farmers both sides of the border.

In our last issue, we reported on the IFA crisis resulting from controversy surrounding levels of executive pay at the association. This time around, we speak to newly elected president Joe Healy about how he plans to regain the trust of disillusioned farmers.

As covered in our 23rd TV series, our own Darragh McCullough was in Ethiopia last December and he reports on how agriculture in the country has been developing in recent years. He looks at the work of Irish charity VITA in teaching local farmers to grow more improved varieties of potatoes and more drought resistant crops.

Elsewhere in the magazine, we check in on the challenges facing farmers across each sector and talk to those on the frontline about the support needed from the new Government. We also look at other agri issues such as flooding, protecting your property against burglary, coping with stress and new trailer safety laws.

In our regular lifestyle section, we have the latest on motoring, fashion, books, food, art, wildlife and a whole lot besides.

At Independent Pictures, and on behalf of our colleagues at RTÉ, we hope you enjoy the magazine and continue to tune in to the show.

INDUSTRY SNAPSHOT How farmers have fared in 2016

IFA president on regaining trust

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31/05/2016 08:56 17/06/2016 31/05/2016 11:25 13:12

28/06/2016 10:49

ON THE COVER: Áine Lawlor, John Fagan and Ella McSweeney pictured on John Fagan’s farm as part of the Big Week on the Farm programme

John Cummins Executive Producer Independent Pictures

PHOTOGRAPHY: Sasko Lazarov/ Photocall Ireland

EAR TO THE GROUND 1

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CONTENTS

Contents

48

A WEEK TO REMEMBER

FEATURES

INDUSTRY SNAPSHOT How farmers have fared in 2016.

11

BACK TO THE FUTURE 27 Mairead McGuinness on how looking back can help shape our future.

GETTING IT RIGHT ON THE ROAD New RSA rules and 41 regulations for agricultural machinery.

NEW BEGINNINGS 30 IFA President Joe Healy on regaining the trust of farmers.

FIGHTING THE FLOODS Calls for a more co-ordinated approach to tackle flooding.

UNDER PRESSURE Coping with stress on the farm.

COMMUNITY BEAT The garda in Ennistymon acting as friend and adviser to the locals.

15

18

23

35

BREXIT: WHAT HAPPENS NEXT? How a British exit from the EU might impact farmers.

37

05

45

KNOWLEDGE IS KING A look at educational opportunities in the area of agriculture.

SOMETHING OUT OF NOTHING Two teenagers have made a viable business out of cow manure.

BACKING PLAN BEE Protecting bees under the new All-Ireland Pollinator Plan.

2 EAR TO THE GROUND

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CONTENTS

FEATURES 48

A WEEK TO REMEMBER Farmer John Fagan reflects on his Big Week on the Farm experience.

54

HOME INTRUDERS Solicitor Aisling Meehan looks at your legal rights.

57

THIRST FOR GROWTH The Irish whiskey renaissance is well underway.

60

HELPING THE HARVEST Darragh McCullaugh reports on farming developments in Ethiopia.

67

GRASPING NETTLES Building a successful and sustainable business on nettles.

78

ON FOREIGN SOIL Irish farmers plying their trade abroad.

87

FUN ON THE FARM A Co Dublin crèche instilling a love for farming in pre-school children.

91

A PLACE TO CALL HOME A look at the legacy of Palatines in Ireland.

97

HIGH HOPES FOR HOPS A catchup with Ireland’s first commercial hop plantation.

114

WHAT’S HE BUILDING IN THERE? A look at the men’s sheds phenomenon in Ireland.

103

AGTECH INNOVATION The latest developments in agriculture technology.

116

A POTTER ABOUT THE FARM Meet farmer, potter and entrepreneur Lucy O’Gorman.

ATTITUDE ADJUSTMENT One man’s bid to raise awareness of prostate cancer in rural Ireland.

120

TRAD TO THE BONE The new wave of Irish traditional music updated for the 21st century.

125

THE ART OF RETREAT Three retreats offering artists time and space to focus on their work.

128

THE CULL OF THE WILD Is the cull of badgers the only solution to protecting cattle from Bovine TB?

130

KING AND COUNTRY Interview with broadcaster and arts aficionado Philip King.

137

BOOKS

139

FOOD

145

FASHION

150

MOTORING

160

DOWN ON THE FARM Ireland rugby captain Rory Best’s farming background.

108

114

WHAT’S HE BUILDING IN THERE?

37

KNOWLEDGE IS KING

LIFESTYLE

67

GRASPING NETTLES

60

HELPING THE HARVEST

EAR TO THE GROUND 3

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INDUSTRY

Industry Snapshot IRELAND’S AGRICULTURAL SECTORS CONTINUE TO FACE TURBULENT TIMES  SOME MORE THAN OTHERS. CONOR FORREST SPEAKS WITH EXPERTS WITHIN EACH INDUSTRY TO DISCOVER MORE ABOUT HOW THEY HAVE FARED SINCE JANUARY. This year is proving to be something of a difficult period for many Irish farmers – price volatility, income reductions, delayed payments, a lack of access to credit, and of course, Brexit, are just a few of the issues facing Ireland’s agricultural sector. That’s despite its importance to the national economy; the value of food and drink exports in 2015 exceeded €10.8 billion, around 5 per cent of Ireland’s GDP, a position highlighted by the newly appointed Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM), Michael Creed. “The agriculture, food and the marine sectors are key economic drivers for Ireland and we all recognise their essential role in providing employment and economic development in rural areas in particular,” he noted. Livelihoods are very much at stake. Speaking just after his appointment as IFA president, Joe Healy noted that farm incomes are one of the largest issues facing those working in agriculture today. “There is unrelenting downward pressure by powerful retailers and processors on farm prices. This is not sustainable,” he said. “Based on what consumers are paying, farmers are entitled to more. This means a viable price above the cost of production and a fair return on work and investment.”

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INDUSTRY

SPOTLIGHT

SHEEP Sean O’Leary, Chairman, IFA Dairy Committee

Dairy

Income levels are certainly a major concern for the dairy sector. Despite the removal of milk quotas, demand has not kept up with supply, and prices have dropped to lows of 21c/L. News that broke earlier this year certainly didn’t help – nine executives at Ornua, Ireland’s largest co-op, were revealed to have shared over €9 million in pay, bonuses and pension contributions over the past two years. The weather has also worked against dairy farmers in terms of reduced grass growth which has failed to meet demands, alongside closed borders in Russia and less than anticipated demand in China. IFA dairy chairman Sean O’Leary has highlighted access to credit as being of great importance, noting that the banks must do their part to open lines of credit to struggling farmers.

“Glanbia launched a product...basically loans to farmers backed by financial institutions. The interesting part of it was that the repayment amount is linked to where milk prices are. I think that banks will have to move towards that over time,” he says. O’Leary also explains that the IFA is seeking a moratorium until 2017 on the Superlevy deductions from milk cheques.

The first three months of 2016 were quite positive for Ireland’s sheep farmers, with good solid prices resulting from more demand than supply. Farmers were disappointed to learn of the Department of Agriculture’s failure to develop a targeted payment for sheep, despite funds available under the Rural Development Programme, though the inclusion of sheep fencing under the most recent TAMS II payments has been welcomed. “ICSA continues to put pressure on processors to pay a fair price for spring lamb,” says John Brooks, sheep chairman, Irish Cattle & Sheep Farmers Association. “Spring lamb is a specialised product that requires additional costs and labour on the part of the farmer. We also need to see flexibility on the 20kg maximum weight. Weather conditions have of course been challenging too, making everything that little bit more difficult for the hard working sheep farmer.”

SPOTLIGHT

ORGANIC

The IOFGA’s Field Talk programme is farmer led and designed to assist farmers who have recently converted to organic production. For more details about the 2016 programme please contact IOFGA on info@iofga.org or see www.iofga.org

A significant increase in interest in the organic farming sector in 2015 has seen large number of farmers transforming their farming enterprise to organic production, a trend which has continued into 2016. “However, in the absence of a new tranche of the Organic Farming Scheme opening we do not anticipate that many farmers will make the switch. In tandem with this growing interest, the market has remained strong with sales of organic products increasing on the domestic and export markets. To date in 2016, feedback from members shows a rising demand from consumers for a wider range of organic products,” says the Irish Organic Farmers and Growers Association (IOFGA).

6 EAR TO THE GROUND

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Price volatility has played a major part in the performance of the beef industry – a report in the Farming Independent earlier this year noted that beef farmers are essentially working for €2 per hour, while prices for exports to the UK fell by more than 7 per cent during January and February, a combination of a weaker Sterling and lower prices for UK beef. Prices are also set to come under pressure in the second half of the year, with Bord Bia noting that an additional 50,000 - 80,000 head of cattle will be slaughtered, which could mean prices may be cut. Much of the concern arises from exports and the trade front. Beef exports to the US have totalled just €6m in the first three months of 2016, far short of predictions. Negotiations are, however, underway to allow Irish beef exports to China recommence following a 15-year ban, which could have a short-term benefit of more than €100m. Of paramount concern to Ireland’s beef producers was the potential opening up of the EU market to Mercosur countries (Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay and Venezuela, alongside several associate countries). Given that 90 per cent – around €2bn – of Irish beef is exported to Europe, former Minister for Agriculture Simon Coveney wrote to European Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom earlier this year urging her to halt any deal – beef has since been removed from the proposed trade deal. This threat is similar to that posed by the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), which could offer US beef farmers greater access to European markets.

SPOT LIGHT

POULTRY Despite avian flu concerns and global currency fluctuations, rising Irish poultry consumption is a positive trend. With over three million chickens sold each week, the Irish poultry market is set to grow by around 4 per cent over the next year or so. The Brexit result has concerned some Irish poultry producers – 84 per cent of our poultry exports are sent to the UK – as is the potential Mercosur deal. Confidence has been bolstered by a recent investment by Manor Farm – the largest chicken processing operation in Ireland has announced investment to the tune of €25m.

Pat O’Flaherty

The news isn’t good for the pig farming sector either – prices again are playing havoc with their enterprises and cashflow, with average prices running around €1.34 to €1.38 per kilo, though some producers are experiencing some relief. “I was talking to a guy the other night, and he said he was getting a better price than that 30 years ago,” says Pat O’Flaherty, IFA National Pigs Committee Chairman. The IFA has called for the establishment of a pig industry forum in order to address current issues and develop a clear path for the industry going forward.

Experiencing one of the worst crises in recent memory, Irish pig farmers were promised emergency aid last September – a payment of €3,000 for each producer.

O’Flaherty tells me that this payment hasn’t been received as of yet, and lays the blame partly at the door of the Department of Agriculture and their IT systems.

EAR TO THE GROUND 7

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INDUSTRY

SPOTLIGHT

FORESTRY & HILL FARMING

Tillage

Recent hardships within tillage farming have left IFA grain chairman Liam Dunne questioning the future of the sector. With world stocks at a 29-year high, prices have fallen, and Dunne notes that tillage farmers are unlikely to reach the cost of production this year (averaging around €130/tonne). Even those who farm contract crops, such as malting barley are experiencing low prices, though forward selling available since just before Christmas has helped.

The IFA has advised farmers to leave some land fallow, as it’s still considered a crop under the direct farm payments scheme and overall sowings are set to drop by as much as 15,000 ha. EU regulations are also proving difficult – the impending expiration of the glyphosate licence (which controls “economically important weeds”), could be of serious signifcance.

Low prices, coupled with a difficult spring, has led to an income crisis for tillage farmers – access to credit is proving impossible for some.

Liam Dunne also spoke about the situation of one farmer he recently spoke to – with half his farm sown, the farmer has run out of merchant credit, and can’t access the funds to sow the rest of the farm, or fertilise the remainder. “He’s a microcosm of what is starting to happen. It’s been poor prices now for the fourth Liam year in a row,” Dunne explains. “Everybody keeps sowing on Dunne the basis that it will turn around but guys can’t keep bouncing up bills. In one sense, you could easily say the industry is on a wind-down.”

SPOT LIGHT

Launched at the beginning of the year, the Land Availability for Afforestation report has identified 1.8 million hectares of land (regarded as limited in terms of its agricultural uses) which could be used to plant forestry – with the most recent Budget reinstating tax free forestry income, this could be a viable alternative for farmers. Falling afforestation figures remain a concern, however. Hill farmers, meanwhile, have expressed concern at a recent ruling which awarded €40,000 to a walker after she slipped on a boardwalk on the Wicklow Way and liability issues that could arise from introduced structures.

Progress has been made on the Commonage Management Plans – when stocking plans are being completed, a maximum eligible area will not have to be determined.

HORTICULTURE

RHSI Garden Russborough volunteers manning the stand at the Rare and Special Plant Fair, held at Russborough

Ireland’s horticulture sector has seen some improvement this year, despite recent weather conditions which resulted in late and stunted growth. “There is very little grass growth, so lawn products are slow,” explains Jim Clarke, Director of the Royal Horticultural Society of Ireland, and Managing Director of Johnstown Garden Centre. “There is a continuing strong interest in vegetables, herbs and fruit plants. Trees and larger plants are selling well, with a demand again for more mature plants, particularly for garden screening.

Indoor plants are very strong again, with people more aware of the beneficial effects of plants in the indoor environment.”

8 EAR TO THE GROUND

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COLUMN

Actress Muireann Ryan and Michael Sommers, Artistic Director, Farming and Country Life 1916, Teagasc, at the Teagasc Mellows Campus, Athenry for the launch of the Teagasc’s 1916 Farming and Country Life 1916 event

Some things we’re familiar with today were unheard of and undreamt of 100 years ago – like smartphones, the internet, fast food, obesity, supermarkets, motorways and climate change to name but a few. As we reflect upon and commemorate important events in our history, it can be difficult to fully grasp what a different world our forbearers lived in.

Today we’re told that Ireland is fast becoming “the fat man of Europe” as obesity levels rise among men, women and children.

There are calls for a sugar tax to curb our sweet tooth and endless TV programmes about food, the multitude of cooking methods and the endless choices we have - at least in the developed world.

You can also watch the TV doctor telling you how your food choices are killing you as the lethal combination of too much of the wrong food coupled with our increasingly sedentary lifestyle gives rise to alarming rates of diabetes and other lifestyle related illnesses.

One hundred years ago the concept of obesity was a very alien one. Most people struggled to feed themselves and their fami-

Back to the

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FOLLOWING A MAJOR TEAGASC EVENT DEMONSTRATING WHAT LIFE WAS LIKE 100 YEARS AGO, WE ARE REMINDED OF HOW LOOKING BACK AT OUR PAST CAN HELP SHAPE OUR FUTURE, WRITES MAIREAD MCGUINNESS MEP AND VICEPRESIDENT, EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT. EAR TO THE GROUND 11

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COLUMN

Nev and Dave Swift of Claiomh.ie with Prof Gerry Boyle, Director General, Teagasc and Cllr Peter Roache Caothaorlach, Galway County Council at the Teagasc Mellows Campus, Athenry for the launch of the Teagasc’s 1916 Farming and Country Life 1916 event

“WE’RE LUCKY TO STILL HAVE A PUBLICLY FUNDED BODY FOCUSED ON THE PRESENT AND FUTURE SHAPE OF OUR FARM SECTOR.” MAIREAD SAYS:

lies and food bills represented a very significant portion of household spending, unlike today.

People walked – a lot, or cycled. And they communicated with each other – not by mobile phone – but through the written posted word, or as during the confusion over the Rising, by newspaper advertisements!

Life was harsh and simple. There were small shops, not massive supermarkets.

Ireland was an agricultural country in 1916. It still is today but our economy has diversified.

To demonstrate exactly what life was like 100 years ago, Teagasc, in partnership with Galway County Council, hosted a major national event at the Teagasc Mellows Campus in Athenry.

‘Farming and Country Life 1916-2016’ commemorated the Rising and reflected on developments in farming and country life across Ireland over the century.

Interactive villages explored key issues including land ownership, education and co-operation, farming enterprises, mechanisation and sporting and cultural life.

The historic site of Mellows Agricultural Campus was chosen because of its close association with the Rising.

Liam Mellows, who was leader of the Rising in Galway, with over 500 volunteers, camped at the Agricultural College farmyard during the 1916 standoff.

The college has a long and distinguished

history of service to farmers stretching back to 1905 when it was set up by the Department of Agriculture and Technical Instruction. Setting up agricultural colleges and demonstration farms in each of the four provinces was seen as the way to achieve the goal of ‘better farming, better business, better living’.

Today the farm, which was part of the much larger 2,000 acre Goodbody estate, consists of 640 acres. The rest was divided amongst people by the Congested District Board. It focuses on dairying, cattle and sheep production, tillage crops, as well as an intensive pig unit and a poultry unit.

The Teagasc event was not just a reminder of the past, which is always fascinating, but was a salute to those who saw the need for agriculture education and research and who had the vision to make it a reality.

Today the torch for research, education and advisory services has passed to Teagasc.

We’re lucky to still have a publicly funded body focused on the present and future shape of our farm sector.

In 100 years hence what will farming in Ireland look like? Perhaps by reflecting back 100 years we might see the shape of things to come!

Nev and Dave Swift of Claiomh.ie at the Teagasc Mellows Campus, Athenry for the launch for the Teagasc’s 1916 Farming and Country Life 1916 event

12 EAR TO THE GROUND

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27/04/2016 16:37 17/06/2016 29/04/2016 09:59 13:01

POLITICS

NEw

Beginnings IN WHAT TURNED OUT TO BE A LANDSLIDE VICTORY IN APRIL’S ELECTIONS, WEST OF IRELAND FARMER JOE HEALY WON THE RACE TO BE THE 15TH PRESIDENT OF THE IRISH FARMERS’ ASSOCIATION. EAR TO THE GROUND CAUGHT UP WITH THE MAN TASKED WITH REGAINING THE TRUST OF THE AGRI COMMUNITY.

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POLITICS

You could say Galway farmer Joe Healy was something of an outside bet when the campaign to elect the 15th president of the Irish Farmers’ Association began back in early 2016. The 49-year old, who maintains a 100-acre dairy and beef farm near Athenry, had never held a senior position in the organisation yet he received over 50 per cent of votes from 947 IFA branches, a showing that represented a clear discontent with the establishment.

Members decided to opt for fresh blood over experience, having been left angered over pay scales within the IFA that saw former general secretary Pat Smith leave the organisation after it emerged his salary amounted to almost €1 million over two years. Throughout the campaign, Healy played on this anger, presenting himself as an outsider, untainted by controversy, and arguing that only someone from outside the establishment could restore the IFA’s tarnished reputation.

FROM CANDIDATE TO PRESIDENT We caught up with Healy who was fresh off the campaign trail and in demand from media organisations throughout the country. On speaking with him, he comes across as a strong communicator, clear in his message (skills undoubtedly developed during his time as president of young farmers’ organisation Macra na Feirme).

He also knows a thing or two about the media having penned a weekly column for the Farming Independent.

Now he’s been thrown straight into the thick of Association matters. Having been elected on the evening of Tuesday April 19th, he had his first IFA meeting as president the following day, something unheard of in previous ballots. “I think it’s actually a good thing that you come out of a busy campaign and there’s no change,” he says of his adjustment from candidate to president. “You don’t get time to slow down, which is no bad thing.”

When it comes to getting members back on side and quelling the discontent that was so evident during the pay controversy which emerged late last year,

Healy needs to move fast. He believes, however, that much of that anger has already shifted to focus on the everyday challenges faced by farmers across the country. “The anger at the moment and the discontent during spring was mostly to do with farm incomes and the lack of movement to address this,” he explains. “Farmers are looking at processors, they’re looking at co-ops, factories and retailers, and they’re also looking at the fact that there is no real government there seen to be doing anything for us; there’s slow movement at all levels.

“Obviously, there were people talking about the organisation, but more than fees or salaries, the talk was about the need for transparency in the organisation. Farmers feel that this is their organisation, this is their ally that they go to in times of trouble. They felt let down by the lack of transparency and made it very clear about the absolute need for a reinvigorated, strong, powerful organisation to lobby and deliver for them in the future.”

HEALY CONGRATULATES NEW MINISTER FOR AGRICULTURE

Joe Healy congratulated Michael Creed on his recent appointment as Minister for Agriculture. Wishing him well in the role, Healy said he looked forward to an early meeting with Minister

Creed to discuss the severe income crisis in farming. He said the IFA will be working with the new Government on the implementation of the measures on agriculture set out in the recent Programme

for Government. The IFA President welcomed the positive aspects on agriculture contained in the Draft Programme, in particular the new funding for sheep and Disadvantaged Areas (ANCs).

STRONGER ENGAGEMENT So where does Healy start when seeking to achieve greater transparency and recreating the forceful body that once acted as the poster child of farm organisations in Europe? He says the answer lies in generating much stronger engagement with members on the ground. “It’s about letting them know what’s happening, giving them easy access to the goings-on in the organisation,” he stresses. “Whether it is the work we’re doing or our work in lobbying, it’s about access to information involving all areas of income and expenditure across the organisation. That’s one area of rebuilding the trust.”

The other area relates to the IFA’s branch network, which Healy says must also be strengthened, by ensuring that branch officers have the proper skills to call and run meetings and encourage members to talk about the issues that affect them; allowing matters on the ground to feed seamlessly into the county executive and national council.

In terms of the challenges that Healy wants to address head on, the list is as long as his arm and there’s no skimming over the details either. Most fall under what he calls the “umbrella issue of farm income”. He cites concerns with milk prices – “the dairy sector is on its knees at the moment” – and recalls a recent meeting with a co-op that introduced a cut of 8 to 9 per cent on an already low milk price, something he says is no longer sustainable from a farmer’s point of view.

Healy has the inside track on beef too. Having reported on beef prices as

16 EAR TO THE GROUND

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POLITICS

Presidential Election: HOW THE WEST WON JOE HEALY

50.27% HENRY BURNS

30.4% FLOR MCCARTHY

19.33% recently as last December, he sees no improvement in the value of heifers and bullocks, a matter that needs to be addressed. On the sheep side, while the past year has been reasonably good for farmers, the sudden drop in lamb prices is seen as a major blow to those who produced costly early spring lamb.

The tillage farmers, meanwhile, are taking a “hammering” and facing into a tough second half of the year, according to Healy. “It’s an indictment of the state of the industry when you have the grain chairman of the IFA, Liam Dunne, telling farmers that they need to examine whether it’s worthwhile sowing the grain or leaving it in the bag. That’s very disappointing from a grain farmer’s point of view.”

The issue of animals still being housed in sheds on farms across the country due to recent heavy floods is another challenge facing the sector. Healy also touches on the issue of access to credit and how Irish farmers are paying an average of over 2 per cent higher interest rates than their European counterparts.

“That’s not a level playing pitch and we need the banks to realise that and become more competitive,” he says, before referencing efforts to eliminate fertiliser duties and tariffs as a means of addressing the farm income crisis.

An area of particular interest to Healy is that of grocery regulations, having been elected chair of the COPA Working Party on the Food Chain days after his election as IFA president. During his tenure he will push for tangible reform

of the food chain in Brussels and says he is committed to convincing the political system of the need for primary producers to be treated with more equity. The work of the group will complement the efforts of the IFA to ensure that retail power and big business doesn’t destroy the Irish and European family farm structure.

A MAMMOTH TASK So Healy is certainly talking the talk, and has been for the last couple of months while setting out his stall on the campaign trail, but is he ready to walk the walk as the new IFA president and represent ordinary farmers at the highest level in Ireland and abroad? And after a whirlwind victory, how does he feel about the mammoth task that lies ahead?

Excited? Daunted?

“A bit of both,” he says. “Someone said that if the dream doesn’t scare you it’s not worth dreaming. Whether this was a dream for me or not, I’m living it at the moment. It is daunting, you can be anxious about it, the adrenaline flows a number of times every day, but that has to be part of it as well.

“I’m looking forward to it, absolutely.

Everything that I’ve done all my life, inside and outside the farm gate, has involved farming. I love talking to and

JOE SAYS:

“FARMERS FEEL THAT THIS IS THEIR ORGANISATION, THIS IS THEIR ALLY THAT THEY GO TO IN TIMES OF TROUBLE. THEY FELT LET DOWN BY THE LACK OF TRANSPARENCY.” representing farmers and all I would say to them is that I will do everything in my power to represent them so that the maximum can be achieved. But your patience will be required; we’re at a very low ebb at the moment and what we need is to hang in there and work with each other and support each other.”

Did You Know?

Joe is a former All-Ireland sheep shearing champion and was once able to free a sheep from its wool in an impressive 90 seconds.

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HEALTH

Under Pressure

FARMING, OFTEN SEEN BY OUTSIDERS AS AN IDYLLIC OCCUPATION, CAN BE ANYTHING BUT  AND THOSE AT THE COALFACE KNOW THAT STRESS IS TAKING ITS TOLL IN RURAL AREAS. RURAIDH CONLON O’REILLY REPORTS.

In March, the EU Agriculture and Rural Development Committee did something unusual for an institution that’s paid to talk: it fell silent. Normal business, of course, resumed after the traditional minute – but not before a powerful point had been made. MEPs and EU Agriculture Commissioner Phil Hogan were acknowledging that the problem of suicide is a fact of life on farms and in rural areas right across Europe. And when an issue reaches these heights, chances are that it’s been a reality on the ground for quite some time now.

“There is something very rotten in our society today if those who produce food are so desperate on their farms that they are committing suicide,” said MEP and former Ear To The Ground presenter Mairead McGuinness. “We do have to ask ourselves what state we are in that we have to eat food three times a day and those who produce it are so desperate.”

None of this is any news to Paul Kelly.

As founder and CEO of the suicide prevention charity Console, Kelly and his colleagues operate the Farm and Rural Stress Helpline in partnership with the HSE. “It’s extraordinary the type of calls we get there; it’s one of the things that really concerns me. There’s not one single rural community that has not been affected by suicide,” he reports. “There is a tendency to keep it quiet; for people to keep it under the radar.”

The helpline was set up during the fodder crisis a few years ago. With feed almost impossible to get hold of, and with banks unwilling to lend farmers the

working capital with which to get by, it was a time of almost unbearable stress on many Irish farms. The helpline went 24/7 in what Kelly describes as a national crisis, and he recalls “heartbreaking” helpline conversations with farmers who were looking after their animals as they were losing the ability to look after themselves.

“Then when the fodder crisis ended we thought – I hate to say this – but things might settle,” says Kelly. “But the calls on a daily and weekly basis continued. In fact, things have not settled. We still have farmers who are going through really difficult times, and going through their own personal crisis which has resulted in many suicides throughout the country.”

Still a round-the-clock service manned by paid clinicians, it takes several thousand calls from the farming community every year – and it is saving lives.

A STRESSFUL LIFE? The farming life, in the popular imagination, isn’t a particularly stressful one – Kelly, a self-described “city man”, admits that he wouldn’t have thought so either before he encountered evidence to the contrary.

Joe Leonard, a dairy farmer from Stamullen in Co Meath, has been researching that very evidence. Leonard – last featured in these pages when he went into dairy partnership with his neighbour, Ear To The Ground’s own Darragh McCullough – was a Nuffield Ireland scholar two years ago and wrote a comprehensive report on the subject.

With a psychotherapist for a wife (see panel), he takes a keen interest in how stress manifests itself on the farm.

Joe is also acutely aware of his own handling of stress. “It affects my sleep patterns first. You’d be in the middle of the calving season and you’re up at 5 or 6am and you’re going to 8, 9 or 10pm and you fall into bed asleep. But after three or four hours you’d be awake and not able to get back to sleep even though you’re knackered. That’s my first trigger that things are starting to get on top of me. I can’t sleep.

“And then I find that I become indecisive, day-to-day: you might have four or five different things to get done, but you find it hard to make a decision on which way to go or which one to do. I don’t complete tasks. I find that I’m running around in a circle, not being nearly as productive as normal. I definitely make poorer decisions.

“THERE’S NOT ONE SINGLE RURAL COMMUNITY THAT HAS NOT BEEN AFFECTED BY SUICIDE. THERE IS A TENDENCY TO KEEP IT QUIET.”

KELLY SAYS:

18 EAR TO THE GROUND

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HEALTH

Both Paul Kelly and Joe Leonard mention that stigma is a powerful obstacle that urgently needs to be overcome, and indeed Mairéad Leonard has no farming clients at all – male farmers are the last people who are likely to seek help. “It’s male-dominated, and in a lot of ways farmers are our own worst enemies,” says Joe. “A lot of what it takes to be a successful farmer: it takes resilience, it takes self-reliance. But those things can also be the same things that stop us asking for help when we need it.”

He says that mentoring is a great way to ease the burden, and has taken on extra labour and changed some work practices so that his farm is a less stressful place. The media celebrates farming success stories, but it should do better to embrace the day-to-day reality, he says. Courses should teach mental health along with traditional health and safety.

“We need to get to a situation where if work is getting on top of us, if it’s getting us down, if we’re starting to feel depressed, that we can react to that and people can see it as a sign of strength

if you stand up and go: ‘actually no, I need some help here’, rather than it being a sign of weakness.”

To Paul Kelly, family problems, isolation, depression, rural crime, mental health issues and red tape all play negative roles. “Also, we find from talking to farmers that they say the cohesion that they once had in their community is gone. They talk about the local mart gone, about the Garda station closed, and about not being able to go down and have a pint at the end of the day, the library’s gone – they say the only person you might see is the postman.”

He urges better access to mental health services. “I think there has to be more investment. I really feel for the farmers – your heart breaks listening to them on the telephone. We feel in Console that much more needs to be done, at the highest level of government, to support the farming community.”

The Agriculture Committee may have fallen silent for a moment – but silence, campaigners urge, must be made a thing of the past.

Treating Stress “First of all you have to isolate what the stressors are, and how the person is being affected by them. You have to look at the person in a systemic way. Stress is generally manifested in the body. People don’t sleep well, can’t concentrate, lose their appetite, become short-tempered and stuff like that. “You’ve to take time to find out what is going on... facilitating the person to address them one by one – perhaps taking a step back, a little bit of time off at first to rest, see what’s really going on. Then for people it’s just about finding their way. Some people find exercise really good, other people find mindfulness really good.

Other people find dancing good!”

Mairéad Leonard is an IACP-registered psychotherapist.

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ADVERTISING FEATURE

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20 EAR TO THE GROUND

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28/04/2016 12:02 17/06/2016 29/04/2016 10:06 12:25

POLITICS

A

t time of writing, the British public is days from going to the polls to decide on whether its future lies within or outside the European Union. Whatever the result of the June 23rd referendum on EU membership, the question of a Brexit has highlighted the importance of Britain as a trading partner for Ireland. And with the UK accounting for over 40 per cent of Irish agricultural output, no one values this relationship more than Irish farmers. Any disruption to this economic relationship with our closest neighbour is not something they take lightly and in the lead-up to the referendum, Irish farmers both sides of the border were busy pondering what the possible knock-on effects of a Yes vote might be.

As part of the EU trading bloc, there is no current provision for Ireland to negotiate any special bilateral trade

the

Brexit Threat

AS THE BRITISH PUBLIC VOTES ON WHETHER OR NOT THE UK SHOULD LEAVE THE EU, DEAN VAN NGUYEN EXAMINES HOW BREXIT COULD POTENTIALLY IMPACT IRISH FARMERS.

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POLITICS

What happens next?

Brexit

I

rish farmers are in unchartered territory. The UK, as you might expect, is our most important agri-food export market, accounting for over 40 per cent of Irish agricultural output. As well as geographical closeness, customers there share similar consumer preferences, and have a long-standing trust of Irish produce. Any disruption to the economic relationship with our closest neighbour is not something to take lightly.

That’s why the decision by Britain on June 23rd to exit from the EU – commonly referred to as Brexit – has caused some alarm. While much of the British public debate in the lead-up to the referendum centred on issues like immigration, security, national sovereignty and the economy, Irish farmers were pondering what the possible knock-on effects of a Yes vote would be.

In the aftermath of the result,

FOLLOWING THE LARGELY UNEXPECTED VOTE

BY THE BRITISH PUBLIC TO LEAVE THE EU, EAR TO THE GROUND EXAMINES HOW BREXIT COULD IMPACT IRISH FARMERS. EAR TO THE GROUND 23

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FEATURE

DWYER SAYS:

agreement with the UK. Should its near-60 year membership with the union come to an end, Ireland is likely to be chained to whatever trade agreement will be reached between the UK and the EU. Potential barriers between the two could increase Irish costs, reduce the competitiveness of Irish exports and, ultimately, diminish the potential of the UK as a destination for Irish agri-food exports. As the Irish Farmers’ Association points out, over 50 per cent of Irish beef exports and 60 per cent of pigmeat exports go to the UK. There are over 90,000 farm enterprises involved in beef production across Ireland. As a low income enterprise, the increased costs and loss of competitiveness that would arise from new trade barriers with the UK, the IFA says, would have a very damaging effect on the sector, and negative consequences for the rural economy.

“IN THE LONGER TERM, THE UNCERTAINTIES PRESENTED BY THE CHANGED TRADING RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE UK AND EU POSE A SIGNIFICANT THREAT, AS THE COSTS OF TRADING WITH THE UK WILL RISE.”

A RANGE OF CONCERNS

referendum outcome. This has reduced the competitiveness of Irish exports, with a disproportionate impact on the Irish agri-food sector. In the longer term, the uncertainties presented by the changed trading relationship between the UK and EU pose a significant threat, as the costs of trading with the UK will rise.”

There are other fears too. The consequences of an altered relationship would extend to areas such as animal health, as there is significant cooperation between Northern Ireland and the Republic on this issue. The risks to livestock would increase if, over time, different regulatory regimes were pursued between Ireland and the UK. In addition, the security and cost of energy supply would be a concern.

Ireland imports approximately 90 per cent of its oil and gas from the UK, and Brexit would potentially increase the costs of connecting to the EU internal energy market. According to the IFA, the Irish agriculture sector’s expenditure on energy products is almost €500 million annually, and the organisation has stressed that any increase in energy costs resulting from a UK exit would reduce the competitiveness of Irish agriculture.

“In the event that the UK votes to leave the EU, this would present negative consequences for the Irish agriculture sector, both in the short-term and longer term,” says Rowena Dwyer, IFA Chief Economist. “Already in 2016, we have seen a weakening of Sterling by over 7 per cent against the Euro, arising mainly from the uncertainty of the

The IFA’s fears are shared by many of its members. Louth sheep farmer Matthew McGreehan describes himself as “very concerned” – his worries heightened by thoughts that a British exit from the EU may mean the Northern Irish border that lies close by will become even more pronounced. McGreehan is sure that the historic economic ties between Ireland and Britain will remain. He’s just afraid what their terms will be.

“We’ve been exporting food and live cattle long before we were in the EU – we sent food over [to the UK] in good times and bad times,” he says. “I’ve no doubt that that will continue because people in the UK have to be fed, but I’d be very afraid on what terms and conditions and what trade restrictions could be there.”

McGreehan also fears the local economy would be hit by a strengthening of the North-South border. Currently, tourists can pass back and forth with relative ease, giving the region plenty to offer potential holidaymakers. Should that movement become more difficult, McGreehan believes it would affect the flow of tourists coming in via the North.

“Tourists can come to the Cooley

A GOVERNMENT ISSUE

Rowena Dwyer, IFA Chief Economist

24 EAR TO THE GROUND

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POLITICS

IFA President Joe Healy expressed disappointment at the outcome but emphasised the need for the Irish Government to immediately take decisive steps to allay the concerns in farming and the agri-food sector about the implications. He said: “The outcome of the UK vote has major implications for Irish agriculture and the agri-food sector.

The Government must give a clear signal that the issues of major importance to this sector, our trading relationship with the UK and Northern Ireland and the EU budget, will be central to the EU-UK negotiations. Minimising uncertainty and setting out a clear strategy on the next steps is a priority.”

The Ulster Farmers’ Union, meanwhile, set out to reassure farmers in the North.

“We don’t want farmers to panic,” said president Barclay Bell. “CAP support is guaranteed to 2019. We will immediately enter into discussions on future support arrangements, funded by the UK Treasury, and also on the continuation of trade with Europe.”

Certainly, political action is needed.

As part of the EU trading bloc, there is no current provision for Ireland to negotiate any special bilateral trade agreement with the UK. With its near-50 year membership with the union having come to an end, unless the Government acts, Ireland is likely to be chained to whatever trade agreement will be reached between the UK and the EU. Additionally, potential barriers between the two could increase Irish costs, reduce the competitiveness of Irish exports and, ultimately, diminish the potential of the UK as a destination for Irish agri-food exports. As the IFA points out, over 50 per cent of Irish beef exports and 60 per cent of pigmeat exports go to the UK. There are over 90,000 farm enterprises involved in beef production across Ireland. As a low income enterprise, the increased costs and loss of competitiveness that would arise from new trade barriers with the UK, the IFA says, would have a very damaging effect on the sector, and negative consequences for the rural economy.

A RANGE OF CONCERNS There are other fears too. The consequences of an altered relationship could extend to areas such as animal health, as there is significant cooperation between Northern Ireland and the Republic on this issue. The risks to livestock could increase if, over time, different regulatory regimes are pursued between Ireland and the UK. In addition, the security and cost of energy supply could be a concern.

HEALY SAYS:

“THE GOVERNMENT MUST GIVE A CLEAR SIGNAL THAT THE ISSUES OF MAJOR IMPORTANCE TO THIS SECTOR, OUR TRADING RELATIONSHIP WITH THE UK AND NORTHERN IRELAND AND THE EU BUDGET, WILL BE CENTRAL TO THE EUUK NEGOTIATIONS.” Ireland imports approximately 90 per cent of its oil and gas from the UK, and Brexit could potentially increase the costs of connecting to the EU Internal Energy market. According to the IFA, the Irish agriculture sector’s expenditure on energy products is almost €500 million annually, and the organisation has stressed that any increase in energy costs resulting from an UK exit would reduce the competitiveness of Irish agriculture.

Speaking to us ahead of the referendum, Rowena Dwyer, IFA Chief Economist, said: “In the event that the UK votes to leave the EU, this would present negative consequences for the Irish agriculture sector, both in the shortterm and longer term. Already in 2016, we have seen a weakening of sterling by over 7 per cent against the Euro, arising mainly from the uncertainty of the referendum outcome. This has reduced the competitiveness of Irish exports, with a disproportionate impact on the Irish agri-food sector. In the longer term, the uncertainties presented by the changed trading relationship between the UK and EU pose a significant threat, as the costs of trading with the UK will rise.”

The IFA’s fears are shared by many of its members. Louth sheep farmer Matthew McGreehan described himself as “very concerned” – his worries heightened by thoughts that a British exit from the EU may mean the Northern Irish border that lies close by will become even more pronounced. McGreehan is sure that the historic economic ties between Ireland the Britain will remain.

He’s just afraid what their terms will be.

“We’ve been exporting food and live cattle long before we were in the EU – we sent food over [to the UK] in good times and bad times,” he says. “I’ve no

Rowena Dwyer, IFA Chief Economist

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POLITICS

Mountains, spend the day there, cross the border to the Mourne Mountains freely, they’re all one,” he explains. “If that border was there, the area would be less attractive. Even people coming from Belfast on short breaks to the Cooley Peninsula, it would have a knock-on effect on tourism.”

NORTHERN ISSUES Many farmers up north are just as concerned as their southern counterparts.

As reported by the BBC, the Ulster Farmers’ Union in February asserted that “no compelling argument” had been made that Northern Ireland’s agriculture industry would be better off if the UK left the European Union and that “no alternative support measures have been put forward” by those supporting Brexit.

“In addition, the EU is our biggest export market, and we would need firm assurances about access to that market, should the UK vote to leave,” Ian

Marshall, the union’s president, said.

For farmers in Northern Ireland, the reintroduction of trade barriers could have similarly negative consequences, as tariffs and quota restrictions could undermine their ability to export to Ireland and the EU. Ireland is the main export market for the UK agri-food sector, with almost €3.5 billion of exports annually according to the IFA. British farmers would also face an uncertain future for agricultural supports, as it’s unknown what domestic support payments, and at what level, would replace the current EU CAP payments.

Irish interest is of little concern to the UK voter, of course. At the very centre of the ongoing debate is what the nation believes is best for the British public. McGreehan believes the key could be in getting them to consider what they’ve long taken for granted – how does food end up on their plate?

“They mightn’t think much of all the

rules and regulations, but the implications of leaving [the EU] could be big,” he says.

“People need fresh air, water and food, and sometimes people can take those things for granted – the EU in general and Britain is no different. We have a fresh supply of relatively cheap food compared to other continents. A small percentage of our weekly earnings goes on food compared to other continents as well. If that’s going to continue, the agricultural sector can’t be taken for granted, nor can the implications of a Brexit.”

If you are reading this and Britain has chosen to remain in the EU, all of the above is not of immediate concern.

If the ‘Leave’ campaign, however, has had its way and Britain breaks away from Europe, it’s still a case of ‘watch this space’ as to how Britain and Ireland respond with new agreements in order to preserve a special trading relationship, one which Irish farmers will undoubtedly continue to value in the years ahead.

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POLITICS

doubt that that will continue because people in the UK have to be fed, but I’d be very afraid on what terms and conditions and what trade restrictions could be there.”

McGreehan also fears the local economy could be hit by a strengthening of the North-South border. Currently, tourists can pass back and forth with relative ease, giving the region plenty to offer potential holidaymakers. Should that movement become more difficult, McGreehan believes it would affect the flow of tourists coming in via the North.

“Tourists can come to the Cooley Mountains, spend the day there, cross the border to the Mourne Mountains freely, they’re all one,” he explains. “If that border was there, the area would be less attractive. Even people coming from Belfast on short breaks to the Cooley Peninsula, it would have a knock-on effect on tourism.”

NORTHERN ISSUES Many farmers up north are just as concerned as their southern counterparts.

For them, the reintroduction of trade barriers could have similarly negative consequences, as tariffs and quota restrictions could undermine their ability to export to Ireland and the EU. Ireland is the main export market for the UK agri-food sector, with almost €3.5 billion of exports annually according to the IFA. British farmers could also face an uncertain future for agricultural supports, as it’s unknown what domestic support payments, and at what level, will replace the current EU CAP payments.

Irish interest was of little concern to the UK voter, of course, and at the very centre of the debate was what the nation believed was best for the British public. Either way, now that the ‘Leave’ campaign has had its way and Britain breaks away from Europe, it’s still very much a case of ‘watch this space’ as to

how the UK and Ireland respond with new agreements in order to preserve a special trading relationship, one which Irish farmers will undoubtedly continue to value in the years ahead. Its real impact will also depend on the terms of the ‘divorce’ agreement the UK strikes with its EU partners. In the meantime, Irish farmers will wait with bated breath.

HOW THEY VOTED REMAIN 48.1% LEAVE 51.9% TURNOUT 72.2% EAR TO THE GROUND 25

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SAFETY

Getting it right oN

The

ROAD

THE ROAD SAFETY AUTHORITY RSA RECENTLY LAUNCHED ITS NEW RULES AND REGULATIONS FOR AGRICULTURAL MACHINERY. CHRISTOPHER O’RIORDAN TAKES A LOOK AT WHAT’S INVOLVED. New standards and road rules for agricultural vehicles, the first to be introduced in Ireland in over 50 years, officially came into law on January 1st 2016. The core features of the new rules focus on braking power, lighting and visibility, weight, and trailer speed limits. Increased braking power, for example, is now required for agricultural vehicles that operate at speeds in excess of 40km/h. Lighting and visibility systems must be appropriate, including the use of a flashing amber beacon. Weight exemptions, meanwhile, are provided for certain types of interchangeable towed equipment such as slurry tankers, manure or fertiliser spreaders, and grain chaser bins.

The majority of correctly maintained tractors which have been manufactured within the past 30 years should already meet these revised requirements. So what impact will the new rules have on Irish farmers?

“Without doubt, they’ll make the roads safer places for farmers but also, and probably more importantly, for other road users,” says Derek Casey, machinery corre-

spondent with The Farming Independent.

“A farmer in a tractor with a big trailer is quite safe if he runs into a car – a farmer usually comes out quite lightly, but there will often be a fatality with the other road user unfortunately, because you’re dealing with such momentum in a big machine.”

STEP FORWARD While many will agree that increased safety is a wholly positive step for all parties, others have queried the cost in ensuring their vehicles are up to the new standards. Some have expressed the view that any costs incurred due to these new regulations should be subsidised by the State, though Casey notes that such calls are unlikely to become widespread, nor will such subsidies be likely to materialise. Should some consider sidestepping the regulations for now, penalties also been introduced to discourage those who might consider flouting the new regulations – a direct summons to court, where a fine of €2,500, a prison sentence (or both) can be imposed. However, there appears to be a tendency towards lenien-

cy while these new rules are still in their infancy – though there’s no doubt that after a certain period of time, any such tolerance will disappear. “The penalties are being enforced,” says Casey. “I’ve heard of a few people who have been stopped on the road, but guards tend to give a lot of chances.”

Paul O’Connell, a grain farmer in Co Laois who spoke to Casey earlier this year on the same topic, certainly feels there should be a certain leniency at this early stage. “It all depends how stringently they are going to be enforced, certainly for a couple of years until people do get their heads around it,” he said.

The broad view, however, is that the majority of farmers will accept and comply with the revised regulations. “It’s important to say that most people won’t have to spend very much at all, if anything, because there is a lot of very good machinery in the country,” says Casey. “I think farmers need to see the advantages of it in terms of improving the safety of their fleet, and reducing the potential for accidents on a road.”

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ADVERTISING FEATURE

Best in Class Always seeking to be the best at what it does, Bridgestone is focused on its mission of serving society with superior quality through an enviable range of products that satisfy the needs of the customer and society as a whole.

The largest manufacturer of tyres and rubber products worldwide, Bridgestone leads the way in quality, technologically innovative goods and services and is a trusted brand that goes from strength to strength. The brand’s critically acclaimed VT-Tractor premium agricultural tyre is a fitting testament to this, targeting large operations using today’s advanced, sophisticated and often heavy equipment.

The VT-Tractor enables farmers and contractors to meet the conflicting demands of greater productivity, efficiency and soil protection. The range is capable of operating at lower inflation pressures and with a larger tyre footprint. As such, reducing ground contact pressure and soil compaction.

Preliminary tests conducted in March 2014 by the independent organisation DLG confirm the superiority of the VTTractor in a number of areas including traction and fuel consumption. The VT-Tractor’s superior traction allows farmers to work faster in the field and cover up to 0.9 hectares more than its competitors over a 10-hour period. Coupled with the excellent fuel economy, generating savings of up to 36 litres per 50 hectares vs benchmark competitors, the VT-Tractor guarantees a lower

total cost of ownership.

The most important feature of the VTTractor tyre is arguably its very low and very evenly distributed contact pressure.

Internal testing also revealed that the VT-Tractor provides up to 26 per cent larger lug contact area than the same competitor tyres tested, resulting in very low soil compaction and thus greater crop protection.

SOIL COMPACTION SOLUTION While the issue of soil compaction remains as topical as it does significant, Steve Hewitt, agricultural product manager with Firestone – a division of Bridgestone – underlines the sheer gravity of the subject.

“By 2050, the world’s population will increase by 2.3 billion people, meaning food production will need to increase by 70 per cent,” says Hewitt. “With this in mind, agricultural equipment needs to evolve to operate with increased productivity, minimising the impact on precious top-soil, at reduced operational cost.”

Without putting too fine a point on it, heavy farming equipment can cause serious damage to the soil structure of any field, and that means lower productivity. The equation, according to

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ADVERTISING FEATURE

Steve, is a simple one. “With a growing population, there is a need for more food and with limited arable land available, soil conservation is essential,” he explains. “Factor in the perennial pressure of costs and you appreciate that sustainable farming – featuring the issue of soil compaction – has never been more critical.”

This is where Firestone comes into its own. The brand has never been more committed to the farming world and is continually investing in better technologies, with 85 new products launched last year alone. For example, Firestone’s Performer Row Crop series of tyres are improving farming efficiency in more and more fields. The tyres are designed to provide maximum efficiency in the field and on the road through their high load-carrying capacity, thereby enabling farmers to use large tanks and save time in spraying operations.

Firestone has carried this field efficiency through to the road, designing the new tyres with a high speed index. Combined with the dual angle lug pattern, Performer Row Crop tyres allow farmers to travel at higher speeds, resulting in further savings.

The tyres also demonstrate excellent ride comfort and steering response, even at these higher speeds.

“Market research and customer feedback tell us that ride comfort and reducing soil compaction are increasingly important for farmers today working with larger and faster tractors, heavy loads and a more intensive use of machinery. Our Performer range has been developed to meet these needs.

Our market share in this segment has grown dramatically over the past few years, and Firestone is already one of, if not the single largest brand in the UK,” Hewitt adds.

TOP FOR TRACTION The Firestone Maxi Traction IF has also been a similarly successful tyre for the brand, to supplement the Performer range. Independent traction tests comparing the Firestone Maxi Traction IF with three main competitors, including top-selling tyre brands in Europe, proved the overall superiority of the Firestone tyre in traction and work rate. The Maxi Traction IF was shown to have the lowest

slip rate – resulting in stronger traction.

These tests were carried out last year and also confirmed Maxi Traction’s higher work capacity, showing a larger surface area work rate than the same three competitors. The same testing programme shows that Maxi Traction IF has an above-average

tyre footprint, adding the benefit of lower soil compaction to its top traction performance.

Importantly for farmers, the independent tests found that Maxi Traction’s superior traction and faster work rate is not compromised by its fuel efficiency, which proved in line with average results of the tested tyres in the field and on the road. Farmers can therefore enjoy lower overall fuel consumption with Maxi Traction thanks to its faster work rate. In addition to enabling the tyre to carry the same load as a standard tyre at lower inflation pressure, Firestone IF technology can also be used to carry a 20 per cent higher load at the same inflation pressure and speed as a standard tyre. This gives the farmer, for example, the capability to use heavier implements or reduce the number of transport cycles – increasing production efficiency again.

“Firestone aims to offer farmers measurable improvements in efficiency and these independent tests prove that Maxi Traction IF delivers it. Soil structure determines the ability of soil to hold and conduct water, nutrients, and air, necessary for plant root activity, so it is vital to choose the right tyre to offer the right results, which is what we are all about at Firestone,” Hewitt explains.

To make the VT-TRACTOR and Maxi Traction products even more attractive for Irish farmers, Bridgestone is now offering 0% deals over 24 months on the two products, providing farmers go to an authorised Bridgestone dealer.

“Bridgestone has a great reputation as the world’s number one manufacturer and financing is a service that we have never offered farmers before,” says Hewitt. “It is a way of giving more flexibility and convenience to our customers, allowing them to choose how to manage their money when buying from us – in a very straightforward way.”

“THE BRAND HAS NEVER BEEN MORE COMMITTED TO THE FARMING WORLD AND IS CONTINUALLY INVESTING IN BETTER TECHNOLOGIES TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE TO FARMERS EVERYWHERE.” FOR MORE INFORMATION VISIT WWW.BRIDGESTONE.IE

EAR TO THE GROUND 29

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ENVIRONMENT

fighting the floods ONE OF THE MAJOR CHALLENGES CURRENTLY FACING FARMERS IN IRELAND IS FLOODING, AND THE PROBLEM IS NOT GOING AWAY ANY TIME SOON. WITH STAKEHOLDERS IN AGREEMENT THAT A MORE COORDINATED APPROACH IS NEEDED TO TACKLE THE PROBLEM, KEN WHELAN DELVES DEEPER INTO THE ISSUE. Eleven winter storms crashing in from the Atlantic, millions in emergency aid to farmers affected by the downpours, havoc across farming enterprises, and hundreds of millions in investment required to protect our land, towns and villages from floods in at least 300 locations across Ireland.

It’s climate change – but not as we thought we knew it – and it is imposing a heavy financial and personal toll on farmers and rural dwellers. It’s also proving to be a significant cost to the Exchequer.

Last winter’s storms – from Andrew to Katie – left their marks on the Irish countryside, from innumerable rivers breaking their banks and the huge Shannon basin emptying across the land from Athlone to Limerick on a regular basis for nearly two months, to the damage caused by overflowing turloughs in the west of Ireland.

“It’s lucky people weren’t drowned in their houses,” says Tom Turley, the Irish Farmers Association’s (IFA) flood coordinator. “I don’t want to see the faces of people barricaded by water and at their wits’ end ever again. I don’t want to see that depression and hopelessness. Now is the time for action. I want to see the machinery on our rivers to deal with the flooding and I want it to be the first priority of the new Government.”

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The Frontline In early 2016, Ear to the Ground’s Ella McSweeney spoke with farmers impacted by floods in the Shannon region.

“It’s gone to a stage now that we won’t recede [the lands] to old levels because it’s pointless. They will flood every winter.

But we don’t mind that, we accept the winter floods. But it’s higher floods that’s costing us now.”

Padraig Coughlan

Tom Turley addressing the National Flood Forum/IFA protest in Athlone last February

Turley expresses the view that a “single rivers authority” should be created, and that each of the stakeholders, including the ESB, environmentalists, farmers, urban and rural dwellers, the fishing and tourism industries alongside State agencies, should shelve any vested interests they might have in favour of generating a real solution to the problem.

“We can’t have the ESB controlling the flow of the Shannon so that the working museum of a power station that is Ard na Chrusa can continue to produce what is a minuscule amount of the electricity needed in Ireland,” he points out.

According to Turley, it would also be a step in the right direction if the river overflows were channelled into our redundant cutaway bogs in the midlands, where the silt deposits could be used to create a soil base to grow green biomass material which, in turn, could create alternative energy resources.

“It would keep our turf burning energy stations in business and would produce far more energy at the hydro electricity stations,” he predicts.

For the moment, however, the farming and rural communities across the 300 locations and eleven counties – Cork, Sligo, Galway, Kerry, Westmeath, Meath, Louth, Waterford, Wexford, Clare and Roscommon – will have to make do with stop gap and costly emergency measures.

In the December/January floods over 400 tonnes of concentrate feed had to be provided by the Department of Agriculture to help beleaguered farmers while some 313 farmers had to be compensated for well over €500,000 in waterlogged fodder.

But this was only a fraction of the cost as multiples of these monies had to be paid out by the State under “exceptional measures”, which included livestock losses, damage to farm buildings and arrangements to house livestock on safe dry land.

At the time of writing, livestock was still being housed in neighbouring dry farms and in rural marts like Roscommon, while hundreds of farmers waited for the drying winds to bring some sense of normality back to their land.

At civil service level, the Office of Public Works (OPW) has set about drawing up a blueprint to tackle these extreme weather events at at-risk locations and the Government has set aside €430 million over the next five years – an ambitious figure given that the economy is still in recovery mode – to meet its obligations under the EU’s Flooding Directive.

The OPW, along with consulting engineers, are reviewing what is required to safeguard such locations from our unpredictable weather. These locations

“I DON’T WANT TO SEE THE FACES OF PEOPLE BARRICADED BY WATER AND AT THEIR WITS’ END EVER AGAIN. I DON’T WANT TO SEE THAT DEPRESSION.”

TURLEY SAYS:

“It’s fairly obvious to anyone that’s in the farming business, if we don’t maintain our own drains we’ll be in trouble and the main drain through the country is not being maintained.”

John Dolan “We can’t let this happen or farming along the banks of the Shannon will disappear for everyone, including myself.”

Francis Nally

are called Areas for Further Assessment (AFAs) and the flood management plan will be subject to public consultation over the summer, but is unlikely to be signed off before the end of 2016.

The OPW’s remit also includes rationalising the multiplicity of state agencies involved in the area of flood risk, especially along the Shannon basin, but we are yet to see any significant progress on this.

In the meantime, those farmers who continue to wait patiently for their land to dry off so that they can resume normal operations, alongside the rural town dwellers who are busy restoring their properties from the stink caused by the floods, will be praying that, come November, the same treacherous weather doesn’t return or that sufficient measures will be in place to withstand such conditions.

Otherwise it could be back to deploying the army with water pumps and having sand bags at the ready; erecting demountable defences; trying to fix flood defence breaches; and removing all sorts of sewage pipe debris from sodden farms.

Business as usual some might say.

“Whatever happens, we can’t have a recurrence of last December,” insists Turley. “The time for talking is over.”

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COMMUNITY

Deirdre with locals of Ennistymon

Community

Beat

COMMUNITY POLICING PROVIDES A VALUABLE SERVICE TO THE COMMUNITY AND, FOR LOCALS IN ENNISTYMON, GARDA DEIRDRE SCANLAN ACTS AS A FRIEND, AN ADVISER AND A RATHER TALENTED GUITAR PLAYER. ORLA CONNOLLY REPORTS. Based in the town of Ennistymon, Garda Deirdre Scanlan is responsible for community policing in the rural areas that stretch across north County Clare. With limited resources and a broad environment to cover, the role of a community guard in a rural area can be a challenging experience. Even with her hectic daily schedule, Deirdre is never too busy for her Ennistymon locals. “My priority is to be involved with the community and get to know the people in the area so that they know me and they’ll come to me with any problem they may have,” she explains.

Deirdre insists that no two days are the same on the roads of north Clare,

for her. “They work so hard all their lives and now a lot of them are very vulnerable, and they’re very much fearful about becoming victims of crime. I try my best to visit them on a regular basis,” she says.

Deirdre can often be seen travelling the highways and byways of Ennistymon in a bid to provide these older members of the community with advice on personal safety and crime prevention. Regularly accompanied by her guitar case, she is also known to provide some light entertainment with her formidable talents as a celebrated musician.

Recently, the most pronounced crimes against the elderly in the rural community have been ones that are financially motivated. Whether it’s strangers arriving at their door with labour scams or fraudsters requesting personal financial information over the phone, Deirdre notes that these vulnerable and often isolated people feel intimidated into handing over their hard earned savings. They may also feel that there is nobody to whom they can turn when they fall victim to such crimes. “If you feel at any stage that your money is being taken, you’re paying for things you shouldn’t be paying for, contact your local Gardaí, especially your community guard, and we’ll deal with it as discreetly as we possibly can,” Deirdre asserts.

The core value of community policing centres is providing the public with a friendly link to An Garda Síochána.

Deirdre notes that community policing ensures that locals get to know the person behind the uniform and says she would love to see more of it employed in her area. “It’s definitely the way to get to know the public and get to know your community. It’s just a better environment, because everyone loves to know their Guard.”

and she spends the majority of her time actively meeting and interacting with the community. “We visit all the primary and secondary schools in the area and we give talks,” she says. “Along with giving talks, we’re building up a relationship with the youngsters and getting to know them as they grow up.” When visiting local schools Deirdre’s priority is to highlight internet safety and cyber bullying but, with many students coming from a farming background, she takes the opportunity to stress the importance of farm safety at every opportunity.

Deirdre explains that the wellbeing of the older generation within the community also holds a particular importance

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EDUCATION

Pictured at the UCD Agriculture, Food Science and Human Nutrition Careers Day on Wednesday 24th February 2016 are Ailbhe McGowan, Bethan Carr and Laura Collins, Stage 4 Food and Agribusiness Management students

Knowledge

is

King

THE WORLD OF AGRICULTURE AND AGRIFOOD IS EVERCHANGING  WHICH MEANS THAT EDUCATION IS ESSENTIAL TO REALLY SUCCEED IN THE INDUSTRY. EAR TO THE GROUND LOOKS AT SOME OF THE MANY EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES OUT THERE.

Whether you’ve grown up in a rural setting or not, agriculture can be one of the most rewarding careers you can choose. But the worlds of agri-science and agri-food are fastmoving ones, whether you plan to use it in a business or on a family farm, and education is increasingly becoming a necessity. Indeed, with budgets and quotas spread so thinly, and with new regulations and rules coming in all the time from Europe, making even a centuries-old family farm work these days can be a struggle and requires some serious business strategies and savvy thinking.

Agri-food is one of the biggest areas of economic growth for Ireland, which makes a third-level course in agri-science an attractive one for ambitious students.

There are many different options in terms of courses, and even within the longer degree programmes, there’s the chance to specialise in certain areas. For example, agri-science students study a range of general topics including economics, biology, business and chemistry, with the chance to specialise in other areas including animal and crop production, animal science or agri-food management.

The numbers looking to enrol on undergraduate and vocational agri-science courses have been growing in recent EAR TO THE GROUND 37

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EDUCATION

years. Tony Pettit, Head of Education at Teagasc, which is involved in post second level further (vocational) courses, explains. “Over the past decade there has been a very strong demand. The number of learners enrolling in Teagasc further education and Teagasc/Institute of Technology joint programmes has increased by approximately 150 per cent over the past eight years. We also have very strong demand for Teagasc part-time and distance education Level 5 and 6 programmes for adult farmers. The demand for such courses has quadrupled over the past two to three years. This demand is related in part to the need for an agricultural qualification for farm schemes and taxation incentives for young trained farmers.”

University College Dublin (UCD) is the only university in Ireland with a dedicated School of Agriculture and Food Science, and has enjoyed increased demand for its course over the same eight years. There are more than 1,700 students registered to the school at any one time, across a wide range of undergraduate, graduate taught and research programmes. According to the school, although figures from the Central Applications Office (CAO) in March 2016 indicate that application numbers to agricultural courses nationally have decreased when compared to March 2015, the quality of students registering at UCD has never been higher, with the average CAO points for Agricultural Science in September 2015 being 500 points. The school is also keen to point out that students entering stage one of their programmes come via a wide range of pathways, such as FETAC entry, the Leaving Certificate, mature student entry, access courses and from overseas (international students). Interestingly, the gender mix in the school is fairly even, with 45 per cent of undergraduates at stage one in 2016 being female, and 55 per cent male.

COURSE OPTIONS Level 7 and Level 8 (degree) courses are available in a wide range of locations around the country. In collaboration with the Institutes of Technology, Teagasc provides an opportunity for students to advance from certificate-level courses to honours-level degree and beyond.

Locations include Waterford IT, Dundalk IT and Blanchardstown IT. UCD’s School of Agriculture and Food Science offers a wide range of courses for those interested in a career in the agri-food sector. Agriculture and Forestry is one of 12 subject areas at UCD ranked number one in Ireland, and it is one of 11 subjects at UCD ranked in the top 100 in the world, based on the 2016 QS World Subject Rankings.

The school offers a degree in Agriculture

Science, and students have the option then of specialising in one of the following areas: animal and crop production, animal science, animal science (equine), food and agribusiness management, or engineering technology. The school also offers several other Level 8 degrees, including Dairy Business, Agri-Environmental Sciences, Food Science, Human Nutrition, Forestry and Horticulture, Landscape and Sportsturf Management.

Teagasc operates a number of certificate and advanced certificate courses in various areas of agriculture, including the Professional Farm Management Diploma.

These programmes are suitable for people who want to pursue a career in agriculture and agri-food, and most courses can be treated as a “stepping stone” to more advanced certificates, diplomas and degrees.

Teagasc also runs a number of adult and continuing education courses in a wide range of colleges and training centres around the country, as well as various food training courses in areas such as cheese making, meat production and milk processing. Log on to www.teagasc.ie for a prospectus.

PRACTICAL EXPERIENCE Many of the courses run by UCD and other institutions around the country emphasise the practical side of education, at both home and abroad. The UCD Lyons Research Farm, which is close to the village of Newcastle in Co Kildare, consists of approximately 543 acres, and is used for teaching and research field activities by the UCD School of Agriculture and Food Science and the UCD School of Veterinary Medicine. The farm operates mixed enterprises, supporting teaching and research in the areas of beef, crops, dairy, equine, sheep and pigs. In addition, professional work experience is an important component of all courses, and this year more than 40 undergraduates chose to study abroad for a semester with a partner university.

According to Tony Pettit, many of the students taking on Teagasc courses stay in the area of agriculture after graduating.

“Teagasc graduate surveys of further education Level 6 graduates (conducted 5 years’ post graduation) indicate that approximately 90 per cent plus of graduates maintain an involvement at some level in farming after graduating from their Teagasc course.”

Professor Alexander Evans, UCD Dean of Agriculture, is keen to emphasise the flexibility of a good degree in agri-science.

“Students who graduate with good degrees in agricultural science, and related topics, have a wide range of career options and are very much in demand by many employers

in Ireland. Not only do they service the industry directly but they also work in the diverse industries that support agricultural production, food and nutrition.”

UCD runs an annual Agriculture, Food Science and Human Nutrition Careers Day to help graduates decide on an area of employment and this year, the event was attended by the largest number of exhibitors of all time (42). The First Destinations Report, developed by the UCD Career Development Centre, also highlights that a higher percentage of graduates from the school’s undergraduate programmes go directly into employment following graduation when compared to many comparable programmes within UCD. The future is clearly bright for those who choose agri-science and related courses.

Key contacts: Teagasc: www.teagasc.ie UCD School of Agriculture & Food Science: www.ucd.ie/agfood Central Applications Office: www.cao.ie

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EDUCATION

Students at the UCD Agriculture, Food Science and Human Nutrition Careers Day on Wednesday 24th February 2016

About ...

THREE UCD STUDENTS TALK ABOUT THEIR EXPERIENCE AMIE COONAN IS STUDYING AGRICULTURAL SCIENCE

LEO MCGRANE IS STUDYING AGRIENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

SHAILEEN MCGOVERN IS STUDYING ANIMAL SCIENCE – EQUINE

“Agricultural Science in UCD was definitely the right course for me. I started as an Omnibus entrant and chose to study Animal and Crop Production in my first year. Agricultural Science provides the ideal combination of theory and practical knowledge. We learn about a variety of topics over the course of our four years such as reproduction, nutrition and business. This knowledge was then put to the test during our eight months of work placement in third year. I spent four months on a 750-cow dairy herd in New Zealand and a further four months on sheep, dairy and crop farms here in Ireland. I learned a tremendous amount during my time on placement and really enjoyed the whole experience.”

“I have a passion for the environment, particularly how agriculture can interact with it in various positive and negative ways. This is what attracted me to the Agri-Environmental course at UCD. The course has an excellent mix of subjects that have been very beneficial and have provided me with a broad understanding of Agri-Environmental Science and its associated disciplines. The course involves many field trips, which provided me with valuable practical experience. By far the most interesting and enjoyable aspect of the degree is the 20-week professional work experience that is undertaken in third year. This experience is very broad and has shown me the real world applications of both the agricultural and environmental aspects of the course.”

“I chose this course as I knew the degree would offer me the opportunity to combine my love for science with my love for all things equine. It has given me a strong foundation in the basic sciences and degree specific knowledge, covering everything from animal and crop production right up to equine anatomy, physiology, nutrition, reproduction and genetics. Coming from the west, I only really knew about the leisure and tourism industry at the beginning of my degree, but I used the Professional Work Experience programme to work within the thoroughbred industry, gaining valuable knowledge and contacts. This programme has really opened my eyes and helped me to get to where I am today as a researcher, studying jetlag in the horse.”

EAR TO THE GROUND 39

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17/06/2016 22/03/2016 15:23 14/09/2015 10:20 16:14

INNOVATION

Linda and Clare Dolan, founders of MURE

SOMETHING OUT OF

Nothing

TWO LEITRIM TEENAGERS HAVE MADE A VIABLE BUSINESS OUT OF COW MANURE  AND EVEN REPRESENTED IRELAND IN A GLOBAL SHOWCASE WITH THEIR INNOVATIVE PRODUCT. PENNY GRAY FINDS OUT MORE.

Us Irish sure punch above our weight when it comes to entrepreneurial activity; even our teens are getting in on the act.

Cousins Linda Dolan (17) and Clare Dolan (16) set up their own business, MURE, which sells odourless briquettes made out of dried cow manure through the Foróige Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship programme. But not only have the teenagers created a viable business out of nothing, but they also won the programme’s International Business Plan Competition, and represented Ireland at a global showcase in New York at the end of March.

The idea for the business came to the girls while working on the family farm, as Claire explains: “We were discussing the amount of cow manure that is being wasted and not being used for anything.

We were trying to think of ways to turn this vast amount of cow manure into EAR TO THE GROUND 41

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INNOVATION CLAIRE SAYS:

money when we came up with the idea to dry it out and burn it.”

The idea was tested as part of a year-long study by the girls along with their school and the Sligo Institute of Technology. Linda explains some of the remarkable results: “We compared the calorific values of our MURE briquettes to peat briquettes and it showed that ours has a higher calorific value and has a longer burning time.”

What’s more, the product is odourless when burning – an important factor when you consider what the MURE briquettes are made from! “One of our biggest challenges was that our customers were worried about an odour from cow manure briquettes, but once they are dried and treated correctly there is no odour from them at all,” Linda explains.

The product was considered so innovative that it was put into the International Business Plan competition, and reached the finals alongside four other businesses. The finalists were then judged

by Patrick Rochford from the Department of Enterprise and Innovation, Eadaoin O’Connor from Grant Thornton and

Aoife Campbell from Jazz Pharmaceuticals.

“We had to pitch our business in front of the judges for 15 minutes,” explains Linda. “We had to talk about our project, and what our plans for it were. We then found out that evening that we had won it and were heading to the States!”

The girls’ prize was an all-expensespaid trip to New York to attend a global showcase alongside other entrepreneurs.

“We had a stand for our project and we were there to meet some people to talk about it and to meet all the other entrepreneurs showcasing there,” says Linda. “It was a great event for networking; there were 28 entrepreneurs there in total. We met a lot of new people and got a lot of information on where to get help.”

There was only one snag – the girls were not able to actually show their product in action! “We didn’t have our product with us as we couldn’t get it through customs.

We were able to get it exported but nobody would import it.”

Attending the Gobal Showcase in New York. Photos: Margaret Fox

“WE WERE TRYING TO THINK OF WAYS TO TURN THIS VAST AMOUNT OF COW MANURE INTO MONEY WHEN WE CAME UP WITH THE IDEA TO DRY IT OUT AND BURN IT.”

The girls are now in fifth year in St Clare’s Comprehensive School in Manorhamilton, and the business has to take second place to their schoolwork.

That said, the girls are still working on MURE in the background – Linda says they are currently in the process of patenting the product – and the plan is to look for some sort of mentoring in the near future.

Plus there are plans to take the product nationwide. “We are in consultation with McPartland Fuels, Corrib Oil and also several Applegreen stores asking them to stock our products,” says Linda. A MURE fire log costs €4 and a fire bag, which consists of their briquettes, kindlers and a fire lighter, costs €5. Since MURE was established in October 2014, the business has generated an income of €1,154.

For more on the Foróige Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship Programme, log on to Foroige.ie/nfte.

42 EAR TO THE GROUND

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17/06/2016 12/05/2016 10:22 10:46

NATURE

Large carder bumblebee

“There’s nowhere for pollinators to nest and there’s not enough food – it’s as simple as that,” says Dr Úna Fitzpatrick of the National Biodiversity Data Centre in Waterford IT, who has been studying bees for more than 12 years.

Ireland is home to 97 different bee species, a third of which are threatened with extinction.

Habitat loss and fragmentation are the main reasons for declining bee populations. We’ve also introduced pests and diseases that negatively impact bees’ health, their ability to complete their life cycle and role in pollination. For the past few years Úna has been working on a nationwide programme to boost Irish pollinator populations.

“We’d known for some time that the bees were threatened,” Úna confirms. “There was so much evidence coming out from Ireland, Britain and Europe that we knew why it was happening and I suppose we decided we either keep watching it

Backing

Plan Bee

DR ÚNA FITZPATRICK OF THE NATIONAL BIODIVERSITY DATA CENTRE TALKS TO VALERIE JORDAN ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF PROTECTING OUR BEES AND THE NEW ALL IRELAND POLLINATOR PLAN. EAR TO THE GROUND 45

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S M S

NATURE

Solitary bee

Mountain bumblebee

Shrill carder bumblebee

happen or we do something about it.” Úna worked with Dr Jane Stout, Associate Professor in Botany at Trinity College Dublin, to put together the All-Ireland Pollinator Plan. Their first step was to identify the problem, looking at different case studies from around the world and deciding the best way to address it. They also looked at the various stakeholders and sectors that would need to be pulled together into an integrated project, from farmlands to private and public lands and businesses.

In February 2015 the plan was sent out to public and partner consultation.

Anyone who had involvement in the plan – or potential involvement – was sent the proposal and asked to comment and identify actions that they or their organisation might be willing to take. Úna says she was overwhelmed by the support received and in the end 68 different governmental and non-governmental organisations signed up to support the plan and accept responsibility for action, including the Heritage Council, Bord Bia, the Department of Agriculture and Irish Rail.

“The idea is to make Ireland more pollinator friendly and to change the way we manage the landscape. The plan identifies 81 actions we can take. We know what we’re trying to do so our first step is to get proper guidelines out to the different organisations and groups so that they know the actions that we’re asking them to take and we will support those organisations in taking them.

“Each set of guidelines is geared very much towards the user so it will make sense to them and they’ll see why they should do it. We produced a junior version of the Pollinator Plan that’s aimed at kids and went out to schools, identifying things they can do to make the school more pollinator friendly. We’ve just published a guide for local communities that might come together to take action.

Down the line, there will be one for gardeners, there will be one for farmers, and a technical one for local councils.”

Tracking pollinator populations and monitoring the effects of becoming more pollinator friendly is also vital to the proj-

“IT’S GOING TO BE A WHILE BEFORE WE REALLY SEE A CHANGE IN TERMS OF THE BEE NUMBERS BUT WE’LL BE ABLE TO TRACK THE CHANGES OVER THE NEXT FEW YEARS AS PEOPLE START TO TAKE POSITIVE ACTION.”

ÚNA SAYS:

ect. The first method involved in the plan is a mapping system where participants can map their area and declare what action they’re taking to be more pollinator friendly. That will show the organisers where and how the plan is being used and how the environment is being rebuilt to support pollinators.

The Irish Bumblebee Monitoring Scheme, which has been in place for a number of years, is also important to monitor pollinators in the wild. The scheme is essentially a citizen-science project.

Volunteers are trained to recognise Irish pollinators and agree to do a walk once a month from March to October and report on the bees they see. There are currently about 100 volunteers across the country involved in the scheme and Úna is hopeful the Pollinator Plan will encourage more to get involved to see the positive effect that their changes are having.

Declining bee populations have been fairly well documented in recent years, but the importance of their role as pollinators has been somewhat overlooked.

46 EAR TO THE GROUND

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NATURE

Solitary bee

be more POLLINATOR FRIENDLY DON’T CUT THE GRASS Or leave a section of your lawn uncut and allow dandelions, clover and bird’s-foot trefoil to grow PLANT DIVERSELY Plant a wide range of flowers and lots of different colours

SPRING FLOWERS Early spring is a difficult time for bees so plant bluebell, crocus, snowdrop, rosemary

AUTUMN FLOWERS Bees need pollen before they hibernate.

Lavender, sunflower and heathers bloom in the late summer and autumn months

Úna feels strongly that this is a problem with serious potential consequences.

“There are huge implications that we don’t really fully consider. The first is the economic implication. At the moment it’s estimated bees are worth €53 million to the Irish economy, just in terms of the crops that bees pollinate. I think that’s probably an underestimation and I also think it’s going to increase. In Ireland and globally the number of pollinator-dependent crops is growing all the time.

“Second, for generation upon generation in Ireland we’ve been able to grow our own fruit and vegetables if we wanted or needed to. There’s a wide range of fruit and vegetables that we grow that need pollinators. That ability would be lost to us and to future generations.

“The third implication is that pollinators pollinate crops but they also pollinate wild plants and flowers. They pollinate about 78 per cent of our wild plants. If pollinators keep declining that will have a huge impact on those plants and how our landscape looks. Ireland has a green

image and if pollinators keep declining that’s going to affect that image, with knock-on effects on tourism and marketing our produce abroad.”

Pollinator populations have been waning for years and it will take many more to rebuild their habitat and recover numbers. Úna is aware that changes won’t be seen overnight, but she’s optimistic about a revival of bees in the coming years.

“It’s going to be a while before we really see a change in terms of the bee numbers but we’ll be able to track the changes over the next few years as people start to take positive action.

“There are guidelines on the website for people who want to become more pollinator friendly and there will be more coming over the next couple of months. It’s not costly to get involved and it’s not a big effort.

We can solve the problem; we have a framework, but we all need to pull together and actually do it.” biodiversityireland.ie

PLANT MORE NATIVE TREES Such as hazel, willow, hawthorn, rowan and crab apple

LET HEDGEROWS GROW These are important habitats and a source of food for bees

AVOID PESTICIDES Which affect the health of bees

BIRDBATHS Consider a birdbath or pond. Bees need water to drink and to cool the hive

EAR TO THE GROUND 47

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COVER STORY

The Big Week team: Helen Carroll, Ella McSweeney, John Fagan, Darragh McCullough, Ă ine Lawlor and Roz Purcell

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COVER STORY

ELLA McSWEENEY, ÁINE LAWLOR AND CELEBRITY GUESTS AND REPORTERS JOINED JOHN FAGAN IN A LAMBING SHED ON HIS FARM JUST OUTSIDE CASTLEPOLLARD FOR ONE OF THE BUSIEST WEEKS OF THE YEAR FOR FARMERS AND THEIR ANIMALS. JOHN LOOKS BACK ON HIS BIG WEEK ON THE FARM EXPERIENCE.

a to week remember

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COVER STORY

A lamb runs loose on set

W

ell, what a week I had with Big Week on the Farm. Sometimes I had to pinch myself to really believe that this was all happening. During the show, Ivan Scott broke a world record while shearing a sheep in my shed, and before I knew it, there were celebrities and weather forecasters all mucking in on the farm and lending a hand. It was a truly great experience!

Initially, having the cameras in and around the farm, in some way, was a daunting prospect. What if something went wrong? How would people react?

Would I suddenly be at the centre of a massive media storm of controversy where I would somehow be perceived as cruel or perhaps idiotic? These are normal perceptions that farmers have when they think about the ‘city slickers’. That socalled ‘urban-rural divide’.

However, my overriding attitude to it was that I’ve nothing to hide, so why not?

Farmers work hard. We are brought up to be the caretakers of our family farm, caretakers of the environment and most importantly, caretakers of animals and providers of food. The Big Week on the Farm programme seemed to me to be the perfect opportunity to bridge that urban-rural divide and showcase Irish agriculture for what it is, and what it’s about.

Personally, I don’t believe in the ru-

ral-urban divide, it’s more of rural-urban lack of understanding. People not directly associated with farming are generally not too far away from it; their grandparents, uncles or aunts might be involved in farming. It’s also important to remember that the agriculture industry in Ireland employs directly and indirectly nearly 300,000 people. It’s no sunset industry, as it was once described by an out of touch politician. There is a huge appetite across all age groups to know what goes down on the farm in spring time. That’s why the show connected with people. They are crying out to have aspects of farming explained to them.

Over the course of the week we had 1.5 million people watching and received thousands of tweets and emails. It got the nation’s kids talking about farming.

Teachers were even assigning Big Week on the Farm as their homework for the week.

It was great to be part of that educational side of the show, despite being put on the spot with the ‘ask the farmer’ segment. I must confess that some of the questions were so tricky that on occasion I had to consult Google!

The part of the show that most concerned me was when the lamb died at birth. It was realistic. This is what happens in farming. Before I agreed to do the show, one thing that I made clear was that this should be a positive but realistic show. I think we achieved that and hats

JOHN SAYS:

“IT GOT THE NATION’S KIDS TALKING ABOUT FARMING. TEACHERS WERE EVEN ASSIGNING BIG WEEK ON THE FARM AS THEIR HOMEWORK FOR THE WEEK.”

off to the production team, photographers, presenters and celebrities for the work they put in.

The cameraman, Ross Bartlett, did a super job. His attention to detail and commitment to the project was incredible. In the months running up to the show Ross would suddenly appear out of nowhere to re-position a camera in order to catch a certain bit of wildlife activity that was taking place around the farm. His footage of the swans, badgers, pine martens and foxes was jaw-dropping. He opened both my and the viewers’ eyes to a wealth of biodiversity that we have here in Ireland.

My farm is not unique in this regard. It’s on every farm in Ireland and farmers have to be acknowledged for their work in preserving this wildlife. The Nitrates Directive has achieved so much for improving water quality and this has been achieved in partnership with farmers. Agri-environmental schemes like REPS and GLAS are yielding results. This is a good news story that needs to be told.

Ella McSweeney and Áine Lawlor were fantastic to work with. Ella is exactly the same in reality as she is on TV. She’s unapologetically besotted by nature and animals. She might kill me for saying that but it’s true, and it was like having a female version of David Attenborough around the place. Áine Lawlor, meanwhile, was great fun to be around. Her programme, The Week in Politics, is very different from the format of Big Week on the Farm but she took to it like a duck to water.

My only regret was that I didn’t get to show her around the farm properly, so I am hoping that she will call in again soon.

Although there was a lot going on, the sheep didn’t stop lambing and I was delighted when there was a bit of free time from the show to disappear out to the fields to keep an eye on things. Obviously, I had help in for the week which was great, but nobody knows my farm better than myself.

Since the show came to an end I’ve been really busy. Lambing is over but there are sheep to be shorn and silage and hay to be made. There is nothing like a good dose of reality to get your feet back on the ground. I’ve hardly been beyond the local village but as soon as the grass starts jumping out of the ground, I’ll try to slip away for a little break. I thoroughly enjoyed being a part of the Big Week on the Farm programme, I’d do it all again in the morning. Many thanks for all your kind messages and mails during the series, I really appreciate them. More than it being a really great experience, I believe we managed to tell a good news story about farming in Ireland.

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COVER STORY

Farmer John Fagan

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COVER STORY

On farm with Ella EAR TO THE GROUND’S ELLA MCSWEENEY ON HER BIG WEEK ON THE FARM EXPERIENCE...

ON WHAT THE SHOW BROUGHT TO VIEWERS...

“The culture of farming in Ireland is so close to us. These shows are great for people who are interested in landscape and land and the environment and biodiversity, and all those broader things that encompass agriculture.”

ON JOHN AND CLAIRE...

“They’re really enthusiastic farmers themselves and I get such a strong sense that he is really willing people to get engaged with where their food comes from. We’re really lucky to have found him, in beautiful Westmeath, one of the most gorgeous counties in Ireland with some of the most amazing farms I’ve ever been on. We’ve struck gold and for someone like me who is obsessed about farming and biodiversity and the culture of farming, it’s my idea of heaven.”

ON WHERE HER LOVE FOR FARMING COMES FROM...

The above quotes are taken from an interview Ella gave to TV Now magazine in April 2016.

Images courtesy of Sasko Lazarov/Photocall Ireland

“I remember in third class in primary school going to a farm and it just embedded in my head. It was like a lightbulb going off with me being comfortable. I was envious of anyone I knew who came from a farming background or who had been privileged enough to have been born on a farm. That visit was a seminal moment for me.”

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LAW

Home Intruders:

know your rights WITH THE RECENT SPATE OF THEFT AND CRIME IN RURAL AREAS, AISLING MEEHAN OF AGRICULTURAL SOLICITORS EXAMINES THE LAWS CONCERNING PROTECTION OF PROPERTY AND THE USE OF FORCE AGAINST INTRUDERS. The last 12 months has been a period when rural crime has leaped to the forefront of public awareness amid worry that farmers and other countryside dwellers are more prone than ever to being targeted by criminal gangs with easy access and local knowledge. But what is a person legally entitled to do to protect him/herself, their family and their property in the event of an intruder entering their farm or home with an intention to steal and/or cause harm?

The issue of whether you may legally use lethal force when defending your property has been the subject of much debate in recent months. In 2004, Mayo farmer Padraig Nally was convicted of manslaughter after shooting dead John ‘Frog’ Ward, a trespasser who allegedly terrorised him in his home over a long period of time. However, his conviction was overturned and there was a public outcry afterwards to introduce legislation to clarify a householder’s rights and duties where he faces an intruder.

While the Non-Fatal Offices Against the Person Act 1997 allows for reasonable force to be used when protecting oneself or their families from injury or in the protection of the home from trespass, this was related to non-lethal force only.

The law was not clear on whether it was legally permissible to use lethal force where there was an attack on the home or a life-threatening attack on a person. Another related issue

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LAW

WHAT IS REASONABLE FORCE?

WHAT IS MEANT BY ‘DWELLING’?

was the extent of the home – did it cover the garden or an adjacent farm? Was there an obligation to retreat before a person could resort to lethal force, if the householder could do so safely? While common law provided that there was no obligation to retreat where a person was under attack in the home, could it be argued that by not retreating where it was possible to do so, there would be grounds for a claim of excessive force? What was reasonable force versus excessive force?

The Criminal Law (Defence and the Dwelling) Act 2011 came into effect on January 13th 2012 and clarifies the law concerning defence of the dwelling. Dwelling includes curtilage of the dwelling, i.e. an area immediately surrounding or adjacent to the dwelling which is used in conjunction with the dwelling, so arguably may not extend to the farm. The legislation makes it clear that a person who is in his or her dwelling may use force against another person to protect themselves or others or their property or to prevent the commission of a crime. However, the force used can only be such force as is reasonable in the circumstances. In determining what is reasonable force, the test is whether the householder believes the intruder has entered for the purpose of committing a crime; it is immaterial whether the belief is justified or not, if it is honestly held. In considering whether the person in using the force honestly held the belief, the court or the jury shall have regard to the circumstances of the incident.

While the legislation states that “the use of force shall not exclude the use of force causing death”, legal commentary would suggest that it can rarely, if ever, be reasonable to use deadly force merely for the protection of property.

The legislation provides that a householder is not precluded from using reasonable force by virtue of the fact that the intruder was drunk or insane or acting under duress.

Further it clarifies that the intruder will not be able to subsequently claim damages for any injury caused to him by the use of reasonable force. Furthermore, the Act states positively that a householder is not under any obligation to retreat before using the force concerned.

Consequently, the law may be summarised as allowing the use of reasonable force which can extend to lethal force in protecting oneself or others in a dwelling but this does not extend to using lethal force in protecting one’s property. In relation to force used outside the ‘dwelling’, the common law position can be said to still apply. In the old common law, certain duties were imposed on a claimant of self-defence in order to justify or excuse the use of defensive force, one of these requirements was a duty to retreat. However, since the case of Nally it is questionable whether there is such a duty to retreat as the jury acquitted him in circumstances where Mr Ward did not pose any imminent danger to Nally and he could have retreated safely to his house. Notwithstanding this, the jury acquitted him based on the reasonableness criteria laid out in the Dwyer case. Consequently, it is arguable that once the use of force against another in protecting oneself or another person is reasonable, it can extend to the use of lethal force outside the dwelling.

Aisling Meehan is a solicitor, chartered tax adviser and qualified farmer specialising in agricultural law and taxation. Email aisling@agriculturalsolicitors.ie.

Disclaimer: This article is intended as a general guide only and professional advice should be sought in all cases. This paper was compiled on the basis of information available on April 21st 2016. Whilst every care is taken to ensure the accuracy of information contained in this article, the author and/or Aisling Meehan, Agricultural Solicitors does not accept responsibility for errors or omissions howsoever arising.

EAR TO THE GROUND 55

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No wonder it’s been trusted by farmers for two decades.

A formula for success

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Legal category POM-VPS (UK), LM (Ireland). For further information refer to the datasheet, contact Merial Animal Health Ltd, CM19 5TG, UK, or call the Merial Customer Support Centre on 0800 592 699 (UK), 1850 783 783 (Ireland).

1. McPherson et al. Proceedings of the American Association of Veterinary Parasitologists. 44th Annual Meeting, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA, Abstr. 28, 1999.

2.Verschave et al. BMC Veterinary Research (2014) 10:264.

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17/06/2016 13/04/2016 10:28 16:23

INDUSTRY

Thirst for Growth:

Irish whiskey renaissance the

T

he narrative is a simple one, and an alluring one. In the 19th century Irish whiskey ruled the roost. Hundreds, if not thousands of distilleries dotted the landscape, Dublin was a thriving whiskey hub, and whiskey with an ‘e’ was enjoyed worldwide, lording it over Scotch whisky. Then it all went wrong. The temperance movement, new technology, Irish independence, the economic war with Britain, prohibition in America and neutrality in World War II were all to blame, and by the 1970s only Irish Distillers was left, with Jameson, Paddy, Powers and Bushmills all brought under the one umbrella. Now Irish whiskey may be entering a triumphant third act. New independent distilleries are opening or being planned. By 2013 exports had gone up by 220 per cent in a decade, according to the Irish

ONCE DOMINANT, THEN IN THE DOLDRUMS, IRISH WHISKEY IS BACK FROM THE DEAD  AND IT’S GOOD NEWS FOR SMALLER DISTILLERIES AND BARLEY PRODUCERS. RURAIDH CONLON O’REILLY REPORTS.

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INDUSTRY

Whiskey Association (the fact that there is such an association may be further evidence in itself), and have probably accelerated since then. The established players are in an expansionary mood, with Jameson leading the charge in America.

Statistics are one thing, bricks and mortar another. Jack Teeling welcomes Ear to the Ground to his impressive new distillery in the one-time whiskey hotspot of Dublin’s Liberties. It’s the first to open in Dublin for 125 years. The heat and the sweet-and-sour smell of the production area are immediate and striking, and the café and guided tours are busy enough for such a sleepy midweek afternoon.

“It feels very vibrant and feels like a hotbed for entrepreneurs to go into it,” he says of the industry. “I believe we’re in the middle of a medium to longterm cyclical uptrend. The 1930s to the 1990s were the real dark years for Irish whiskey, where the industry fell off the map. Sixty per cent of global exports were Irish whiskey; it went to two per cent in the ‘40s and ‘50s.”

Teeling is a life-long whiskey insider.

His father, John, set up the Cooley Distillery in the 1980s, a milestone in the current renaissance. Cooley was bought by global giant Beam in 2011, with Teelings landing a supply contract that enabled them to go it alone as they prepared to open their own distillery.

In another key moment, PernodRicard bought Irish Distillers in 1988.

“They saw a trend for a lighter, sweeter style of whiskey, and that’s really why Irish whiskey has grown and continues to grow,” says Teeling. Our climate is not too hot and not too cold, and it produces a softer style of whiskey. It’s made Irish whiskey a “gateway” for people getting into brown spirits, he says. “You don’t tend to drink what your parents drink. But you might drink what your grandparents drink.

So it’s cyclical. It’s Irish whiskey’s turn to shine.”

TURN TO SHINE If that’s the case then what’s the upshot for Irish producers? Barley, both malted and unmalted spring barley, is the key ingredient in Irish whiskey, and the Malting Company of Ireland is one of the main suppliers. “There’s definitely an upturn, and Irish Distillers – being the main one – must be three times the size of what they were five, ten years ago,” says CEO Dick Walsh. New distilleries are coming onstream at a time when craft brewing is all the rage. “It’s all quite interesting,” he says – though the requirements of the smaller producers

Don’t try this at home: HOW TO MAKE IRISH WHISKEY

MILLING:

MASHING:

FERMENTING:

DISTILLATION:

MATURATION:

The barley is ground into powder, producing grist.

Hot water is added to the grist, turning starch into sugar to produce worts.

Yeast is added to the worts and left for two or three days, producing a beer of around eight per cent. Unlike brewing, no hops are added.

The beer is heated to nearly 100°C as it passes through a copper wash still, then an intermediate still, then a finishing still.

The whiskey is stored in oak casks for at least three years.

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INDUSTRY

Don’t try this at home: HOW TO MALT BARLEY

HARVESTING: Barley is harvested by the farmers, dried down to 13 per cent moisture and stored.

STEEPING: It’s taken into the maltings and soaked in water – usually three times – with the moisture content brought up to 45 per cent.

GERMINATION:

Brothers Stephen and Jack Teeling

are quite small. He estimates that Irish Distillers might use 17 or 18,000 tonnes per annum at nearby Midleton.

Newer producers, though, are coming in at 1,000 or 1,500 tonnes. For his part, Jack Teeling estimates that his distillery will produce 350,000l of alcohol this year; they could produce 1m litres if they worked the facilities to the utmost but the demand isn’t there yet. When things are going well, they get about 1,500l of alcohol from three tonnes of barley.

“It’s great to see these new distilleries growing up,” says Walsh, who appeared on the show last year. “As I said on the original interview on Ear to the Ground, long ago there was a maltings and a distillery in every town. I can’t ever see us getting back to that.” With so many new producers coming along at once, perhaps not all will survive. And unlike craft brewing, the product isn’t done until it’s been matured for at least three years.

The Malting Company of Ireland, with a history going back to 1858, is now owned

by Glanbia and Dairygold. “We tell them what varieties we want – usually about three – they contract with the farmer and give them the seed of the appropriate varieties and the fertiliser and the sprays, etc., so we have full traceability from when it is planted all the way through to when they dry it and put it into bins,” he explains.

“The distiller is purely interested in yield: how much alcohol per tonne.

Whereas the brewer wants yield, head retention, beading – the bubbles up through the glass – cling, where the foam

clings to the glass as it goes down: all of those things are part of the product.”

TIGHT MARGINS The tillage sector is “tough”, Walsh says: world prices have dropped and are ever more influential. “There’s no-one making a fortune. We’re not making a fortune either. I found an invoice one day, and we sold malt in the ‘80s for £400 sterling. Now we’re getting €400, and the costs and wages have gone up quite a bit. It’s just like every other business, it’s very tight.” Walsh is sending more bagged malt to the US, though. “They tell us that our sales graph is the fastestgrowing graph of all their suppliers. So that’s good.”

“We couldn’t do without the farmers,” says Teeling. “We have the ability to grow a hell of a lot of barley here. The growth of Irish whiskey can only help create a permanent domestic requirement for it.” It will take a long time to catch up with the bigger players, and with Scotch, but huge investment from the likes of Irish Distillers, Grants, and Jose Cuervo, who bought Bushmills from Diageo in 2014, tells its own story. “Irish whiskey can always survive globalisation,” says Teeling. “It’s not like we’re going to be able to move our factory and put it in China or something like that.”

With a landmark distillery up and running, and already welcoming over 350 tourists on a good day, Teelings is just one player in an industry thirsty for enormous international growth – fuelled by thousands of tonnes of six-row barley growing in Irish fields.

It’s grown for four to five days in humid conditions, growing little rootlets, and the inside of the grain changes. The sidewalls of the grain break down and release the starch, making it available for brewers and distillers.

KILNING: it’s dried back down to about 4 per cent, and flavour can be created by choosing the temperatures. This is unnecessary for distilling malt, which is dried at very low temperatures to preserve the enzymes.

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DEVELOPMENT

Helping

the

Harvest 60 EAR TO THE GROUND

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DEVELOPMENT

EAR TO THE GROUND’S DARRAGH MCCULLOUGH TRAVELLED TO ETHIOPIA TO DISCOVER HOW AN IRISH CHARITY IS HELPING TO INCREASE FOOD PRODUCTION AND SUSTAINABILITY FOR THE MOST VULNERABLE FARMERS.

E

thiopia hit the world headlines again in 2015 for all the wrong reasons, as a drought pushed millions to the brink of starvation in the country’s most arid zones in the east and north. The government there has requested aid totalling close to €500 million from the international community in an effort to stave off the worst of the crisis.

In a country the same size as the whole of Britain and France combined, it stands to reason that these headlines mask a huge variation in conditions that its sprawling 100 million population is facing. But even in the lush highlands and lowlands of the southwest, where a profusion of green greets visitors, abnormal rain patterns have affected yields for farmers.

Irish charity Vita is supporting agricultural advisors to roll out a series of initiatives aimed at increasing the food production and sustainability of the most vulnerable farming families.

Even though it only operates in a small number of localised regions, its programmes have helped thousands of farmers in the last 20 years. Here’s a glance at some of its work.

Poster Boy

Banda Orcho

Banda Orcho is one of the poster boys for Vita’s work. Five years ago, the 32 year-old’s family of seven faced the so-called ‘hungry season’ in September before the main harvest began on the sixacre farm. Banda was subsidising his meagre farm income with work as a driver in the local town of Arba Minch.

The simple switch to improved varieties of potato seed provided

by Vita – which can yield 3-4 times more potatoes – along with the installation of a basic 10-metre deep rope-pump to

access irrigation for his crops has literally transformed Banda’s fortunes.

The hungry season for him is a mere memory now, and Banda has consigned the traditional bamboo hut that used to house his entire family to now accommodating his livestock, while he spent over €1,700 on building a new concrete walled and floored house with four rooms and satellite TV. The traditional fail-safe against famine is the false banana tree, which is drought resistant. It

provides a basic carbohydrate that, if fermented under ground for weeks at a time, can be digestible for humans. However, Banda is now replacing his false banana trees with much more valuable apple trees, and is already dreaming of leasing additional land in higher regions in order to grow disease-free potatoes.

This became a priority when potato yields collapsed this year due to a bacterial wilt that stemmed from a lack of a diseasefree source of potato seed.

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Drought Resistance Sixty-five year-old Lemma Hidoto shows his delight with a new drought resistant mung bean plant. While the rains that came two weeks previously had turbo-charged the growth of crops such as this, it was the crop planted last spring that suffered the worst of the erratic rainfall. Extreme weather such as this has become increasingly prevalent here as climate change becomes a reality for SubSaharan Africa.

The staple of maize simply didn’t get the water it needs to produce a cob in much of this area, leaving vulnerable families dependent on government hand-outs to tide them through the next six months.

“We’re struggling to survive this

year, because we got nothing from our maize crop. I might end up trading my oxen for a thin one to get an extra €40 to tide us through,” explained Hidoto.

Vita are pioneering the use of different types of crops with deep rooting systems and waxy leaves that they hope will be more drought resistant for farmers. They can reach maturity in the Ethiopian heat in just 75 days, but even the adoption of planting seeds in straight channels is progress compared to the broadcasting systems that dominate farming tradition in the region.

“The channels allow better use of irrigation, while the rows allow for easier weeding,” explains Vita’s programme officer Tadele Girma.

Brahman ox

Oxen I didn’t see a single tractor during my week-long stay in the heart of the Ethiopian southwest. Brahman oxen – complete with the breed’s characteristic hump – do the work in the field, while women haul the endless loads of timber and produce along roads. Why? Women find themselves doing the lion’s share of menial tasks because of a lack of equality among the sexes.

Vita officers Lemma and Bahiru

Carrots

Lemma Hidoto

Irrigated carrots are just one example of the climate smart crops that Vita is promoting in the region. Maturing in as little as 75 days, the fast growing crop can effectively reach harvest before a drought takes hold. Vita officers Lemma Wondimu and Bahiru Tiberbu are photographed with two month-old carrots.

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DEVELOPMENT

Butter Wouldn’t Melt While walking through an open-air market, we came across one woman selling butter. Despite the lack of refrigeration, and an ambient temperature in the mid-twenties, the butter remains perfectly solid wrapped in maize leaves in big 2.5kg balls. While the quality is lower and much more variable than what we’d be used to in Ireland, these balls of butter can last for weeks in the heat before they start to ferment. With the average Brahman cow only yielding 1-2 litres a day, dairy products don’t come cheap, with this butter costing almost €7/kg.

Abaya Lake

Abaya Lake

Butter seller

Abaya Lake is swallowing up hundreds of acres of land annually as it gradually silts up from the run-off at surrounding hills. The run-off is accelerated by the deforestation of the area, which is driven by the ballooning demand for both farmland and fuel for cooking by a growing local population. The Ethiopian government has started to seal off areas from any

Farmers Akalilu and Manaya

deforestation which, in turn, has forced farmers down from the hills in search of other options. They have started to irrigate previously dry land along the lake shores with the water from Abaya. However, the salination caused by this practice is expected to poison the soils within a few years. Meanwhile, the lake waters continue to rise and drown out valuable land areas.

Seed Potato Guards Akalilu Zega and Manaya Mamo were the two farmers on duty the day I climbed to over 3,000ft (the same height as Carrantuohill in Co Kerry) to Vita’s new disease free seed potato multiplication site. Akalilu is armed with a sling to ensure no birds enter the half-acre site, while Manaya Mamo shows off the traditional hand hoe that is used for weeding, sowing and tilling land.

The site is totally isolated from any other cropping, surrounded by stock-proof fencing, and an anti-bacterial foot-dip at the entrance in order to minimise disease pressure on the crop of mini-tubers that were produced at the state-run ag research station at Holetta. It is part of a drive by Vita to get potato yields from improved varieties back on track after wilts decimated crop yields in recent years.

It is operated by a local farmer co-op that will get first access to the seed – but only after they each take turns to spend one night a month guarding the crop against any incursion, either from animals or humans.

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DEVELOPMENT

Ethiopia:

Communal Latrine

Fast Facts

POPULATION:

100m AREA:

1.1m km2

Hard as it may be to believe, open defecation is still the norm in many parts of the world, including Africa. The billions in aid poured into new health centres or schools in countries like Ethiopia are largely wasted if the basics of sanitation are not tackled first. Whole families lose entire days at both school and work if a child gets sick with diarrhoea, since the sick child then has to be brought on a stretcher up to 10km on foot to the local health centre, treated and brought home again.

The solution appears deceptively simple – a bamboo hut that acts as a communal latrine, basically a tinned-roofed structure built over a hole in the ground. Inside is a bamboo mat with gaps in the floor. This simple measure stops flies and animals from contaminating water and food supplies, along with affording people some privacy when they need to do their business.

But the real trick is getting locals and those travelling through (remember most business in Ethiopia is still done on foot) to buy into using the facilities. That is where specially trained facilitators come in to get the community to confront the issue and do something about it. The results are startling: the number of sick children requiring treatment has fallen tenfold in the three years since the programme to eliminate open defecation began.

Stoves

GDP:

€555/capita

CHILDREN:

4.8/ household Traditional weaving methods

Weaving Warriors AGRICULTURE:

41% GDP

80% exports

80%

labour force

AVERAGE FARM SIZE IN CHENCHA:

2 acres

Communal latrine made from bamboo

A lot of the best ideas in developing regions are ones that don’t seem that revolutionary at first glance. Aberash Dikaso (pictured below with her grandchildren, Frewin Tofelose, Tseta Asaya, and Tamrat Bekele) bought a stove for 200Br one year ago. “It has reduced fuel consumption by 75 per cent, and smoking too,” she says.

Reduced fuel consumption and smoking is not just good for Aberash’s pocket and health  it reduces the deforestation pressure on Ethiopia’s shrinking woodlands and reduces greenhouse gas emissions. Vita are now manufacturing concrete stoves to replace mud versions because they are more durable, and have more capacity.

Weaving is an important source of income in the highland areas where Vita operates. A new building to house the work was one of the charity’s first investments in the area, which allowed men to massively increase their output.

“Previously, they had to stop working during the day when it got too hot, or when it rained, or when it got dark,” explained Tadele Girma.

For 45 year-old Girma Gerfe, putting in a regular 6-7 hours a day allowed him to double his output of traditional shawls from three to six a week, each of which earns him about €7.50. Bear in mind that this is in an area where many farmers earn less than €7.50 per month, while ‘wealthy’ farmers earn €30 per month. He is photographed weaving the traditional red, yellow and black dungaza blanket that was worn by warriors from this region.

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INDUSTRY

GRASP NETTLE

THE

FIONA FALCONER TELLS EAR TO THE GROUND ABOUT UNCOVERING HER PASSION FOR NATIVE, WILD IRISH INGREDIENTS AND HOW SHE’S BUILT A SUCCESSFUL AND SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS ON NETTLES.

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INDUSTRY

iona and Malcolm Falconer, founders of Wild About food products and Ireland’s only commercial nettle farmers, freely admit they’ve come to this life from an unusual angle. Fiona, a documentary filmmaker by trade, and Malcolm, a product design engineer, spent years in London living a life that, from the outside, looked extremely successful.

“We had a big house in Wandsworth Common, three kids, plenty of money, two nannies – and we never saw each other,” says Fiona. “One day we sat down and said this has to stop. We were lucky enough to check ourselves and realise it wasn’t what we wanted from life.

“We took out a map of Ireland, stuck a pin in it and went and bought a five-acre field in Monamolin, Co Wexford. We set aside an acre for the children and planted everything in it: native wild hedging, raspberries, strawberries, redcurrants, blackcurrants, whitecurrants, honeysuckle. And about four years in we got the mother of all harvests and thought, ‘what are we going to do with all this?’”

They started making jams, chutneys and syrups, selling them at their local farmers market. One morning, looking out the window they wondered what they could do with their abundance of wild-growing

Wild About’s permaculture gardens

nettles and they started experimenting with different uses. Two years ago, they hit upon wild nettle pesto and nettle syrup and, through the Food Academy Initiative – a scheme by Bord Bia, the Enterprise Board and Musgraves – they brought them into the main supermarkets.

Fiona says that they were expecting some reluctance or a bit of a novelty factor at first, but there has been a huge uptake, for which Fiona credits a relatively recent Irish tradition of using nettles.

“Nettles have been a staple food in Ireland for centuries,” she explains. “My granny used to make us take three nettle doses in May to build the constitution.

People used to have nettle soup and lots of people used to throw it in with the cabbage. It’s the same with the rosehip, the elderberry, the elderflower – people had the knowledge of these foods just one step back.

“I’ve done a lot of research and I’m amazed at the uses of nettles. The fact that they’re not part of our staple diet is incredible. It’s been shown to dramatically reduce blood pressure, lower the glycaemic index, lower cholesterol, and clear uric acid from

the kidneys. They’re packed with polyphenols, antioxidants; they’ve got Vitamin A, B1, B2 and the mental agility vitamins. When we digest nettles there’s an enzyme in our digestive tract that turns the nitrogen in the nettles into nitric oxide which increases the oxygen level in the blood and is being trialled as an alternative to Viagra!”

Fiona and Malcolm are also passionate about sustainable farming and seasonal production. They don’t use any chemicals on their land or in the kitchen and they reuse and repurpose whatever they can on the farm. They grow everything themselves and if they don’t have enough of something, they’ll source it locally.

They don’t import.

“Permaculture goes further than organics,” says Fiona. “It’s about heritage, tradition and a strong local economy. For example, we do salad dressings and our pesto requires oil.

We started using olive oil which was imported, but we’ve moved over to a rapeseed oil. We get it from a farmer in Stradbally, Co Laois who doesn’t spray his crops; most of them are sprayed, which is recommended by the Department of Agriculture. It’s all about

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INDUSTRY

FIONA SAYS:

“I’VE DONE A LOT OF RESEARCH AND I’M AMAZED AT THE USES OF NETTLES. THE FACT THAT THEY’RE NOT PART OF OUR STAPLE DIET IS INCREDIBLE.”

Nettle seed harvest

Oscar waters the nettle beds

yield and the only way to change things is if consumers say they don’t want it that way.”

“It costs more but we don’t compete on price. In Ireland, we have the best produce on the planet. We cannot compete with the pile-it-high-and-sell-itfasts. But we can make real good quality food which we can sell to the rest of the world with pride.”

The award-winning products are available by next day delivery in Ireland from wildabout.ie, from artisan outlets and select Supervalu stores around the country.

try it ...

Nettle juice

NETTLE BEER

NETTLE BEER 2 carrier bags of fresh young nettle tips 12 litres of water 1.5kg of sugar 60g cream of tartar juice of 2 oranges and 2 lemons 50g of ginger (infusion bag) yeast, as per instructions for volume

Boil water. Take off heat and add nettles. Put lid on and leave to infuse for at least one hour, but preferably overnight. Strain through muslin. Heat mixture, but only enough to dissolve sugar and cream of tartar, then add juice of orange and lemon and ginger spice bag (optional). Leave to cool to room temperature. Then add yeast. Now cover with tea towel and leave in dark, warm place for 4-5 days. Remove scum from surface of brew bucket, siphon into plastic bottles. Leave to settle in cool place and wait seven days.

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ENVIRONMENT

ABOVE: Passive house, Biburg-Alling, Germany RIGHT: Passive House, Westerstede, Germany.

The term ‘passive house’ originated in Germany (where it is known as Passivhaus), a construction concept that refers to the use of a rigorous standard of energy efficiency measure, resulting in buildings that require little energy for heating or cooling. It doesn’t simply involve the addition of technology such as solar panels or wind turbines – it’s more about using effective insulation and draught-proofing; going back to the basics.

Passive housing’s stock is on the rise in Ireland and across the globe, and it’s no surprise – householders can experience energy savings of up to 90 per cent (compared with typical buildings) and more than 75 per cent when compared with the average new build. Comfort isn’t sacrificed to make way for these measures – a more comfortable temperature throughout the year can actually be achieved.

CHRISTIAN GAULER

FRIEDERIKE WELL

GÜNTER LANG

ARCHÉ TECHNÉ NÉOS

LEFT: Passive House, Roitham, Austria BELOW: Passive House, Freudenstadt, Germany

PASSIVE APPROACH

THE

WE TAKE A LOOK AT THE PASSIVE HOUSING CONCEPT, AND SOME OF THE MAIN PLAYERS IN THE IRISH MARKET.

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ENVIRONMENT

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP: Passive house, Cloughjordan Ecovillage; Quirkes Pharmacy Clonmel, winner of several awards including Best Retail Project at the 2015 Irish Construction Industry Awards; Passivhaus Hilton Gardens Ballinteer. Photos courtesy The PassivHaus Architecture Company

According to the Passive House Association of Ireland (PHAI), passive housing is a no-brainer. “It has been a proven technology for the past 25 years and can be applied to any building whether it is built of timber, logs, blocks, or concrete,” Shane Colclough, PHAI chairperson, told the Irish Examiner.

So who’s involved in the Irish market?

Quite a few organisations, it would

seem, from The PassivHaus Architecture Company based in Bishopstown, Co Cork to Galway’s Scandinavian Homes, which provides both low-energy and passive houses. One of the most important aspects of a passive house is its ventilation unit, with heat recovery – reducing heating demand and allowing for a much more comfortable indoor climate. That’s where companies like Pro

Air step in – the Irish-based manufacturer of heat recovery ventilation units has more than 25 years’ experience within the sector and is one of the country’s leading HRV system providers.

Operating in the same sector, Flynn Heat Recovery Systems is a leading ventilation contractor both in Ireland and the UK. “We have been designing and installing all types of ventilation systems, but specialising in heat recovery ventilation systems for the last ten years. We have seen the market growing steadily over the last three years with clients becoming far more educated on the importance of energy efficiency and improved indoor air quality,” says Maurice Flynn, Sales and Marketing Director. Flynn Heat Recovery Systems also places huge importance on the regular maintenance and servicing of installed systems, especially in low energy, air-tight houses. “It is critical for the health of the occupants and the fabric of the building that correct and regular maintenance is undertaken. It will also extend the life of the motors within the system,” Flynn adds.

And, if you’re seeking more information about building a passive house, Greenbuild Building Information Services offers independent information on a range of building issues, including the best building and heating systems, how you can make your building as energy efficient as possible, and where you can find the right suppliers and products for your project.

In the following pages, we seek the advice and experience of a number of organisations which operate within the passive housing sector in Ireland, and discover more about the range of products available for passive house construction.

spotlight: TRADECRAFT BUILDING PRODUCTS FAKRO Roof windows have been marketed and distributed in Ireland by Tradecraft Building Products Ltd for over 16 years.

Through a combination of technical competence and local knowledge, the team at Tradecraft provides customers with the highest standards of advice and assistance at all times. Their showroom (which is open to the public), technical training centre, warehouse and offices are located in Naas, Co Kildare, where they welcome anyone

with an interest in the FAKRO range to visit.

FAKRO roof windows are designed to provide a focal point for any room, whether you use them individually or in combinations.

Their stylish appearance is matched by the highest standard of manufacturing and finishing, which means you can rest assured they will go on looking good for years to come. Their windows offer a combination of style, sustainability, security and long design life. The FTT window with innovative

structure ensures excellent thermal insulation performance and large energy savings. The FTT U8 Thermo window featuring Uw = 0.58 W/m2K is the most energy-efficient roof window with a single glazing unit available on the market. It significantly exceeds the energy efficiency requirements for roof windows which will become effective from 2021.

The FTT U8 Thermo complies with passive construction requirements, which is confirmed

by Passive House component certificate.

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IT H

U 8 T h e r mNIT SI GU o

THE WARMEST

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www.fakro.com

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17/06/2016 30/05/2016 12:38 09:38

ADVERTISING FEATURE

Exceeding Standards SMARTPLY’s revolutionary panel helps homes exceed passive house airtight standards.

SMARTPLY PROPASSIV is the perfect wood panel system for ultra-low energy buildings. A revolutionary addition to the timber frame industry, its outstanding energy-saving properties have received certification from the Passive House Institute (PHI) performance for airtightness. The PHI plays a crucial role in the development of the Passive House concept – the only internationally recognised, performance-based energy standard in construction. To be recommended by the PHI, products must be tested according to uniform criteria and proven to be of excellent quality regarding energy efficiency.

PUT TO THE TEST As a leading manufacturer of engineered wood panel products, SMARTPLY is renowned for its technical innovation in the development of its pipeline of quality

boards. PROPASSIV is a result of such innovation, following its creation at the revered Fraunhofer Institute for Building Physics in Stuttgart, Germany.

The result of three years’ vigorous development, each SMARTPLY PROPASSIV panel features alternating layers of wood strands, coated with a high quality formaldehyde-free resin system and wax to deliver unrivalled levels of airtightness. A specialist coating is then applied to provide vapour control properties to ensure a premium performance OSB solution for both superinsulated and passive buildings.

As part of the testing process by PHI, SMARTPLY supplied nine samples measuring 315 x 305 x 12.5 mm – each coated at the edges with a sealing compound to offset the small board size.

Measurement of the leakage volume flow took place at pressures between 300 and

1000 Pa in order to obtain sufficiently high flow rates, while positive and negative pressure measurements were carried out.

“OSB is assumed to be airtight, but tests showed a huge variation in performance between manufacturers,” explained David Murray, Innovation Manager at SMARTPLY. “Developed from our OSB3 system, SMARTPLY PROPASSIV has been proven to achieve the highest levels of airtightness required to meet the Passive House Standard.”

SUSTAINABLE, SMOOTH AND SIMPLE TO APPLY Available in a standard 2397mm x 1197mm size, the SMARTPLY PROPASSIV panels’ smooth and durable surface has also been developed to provide superior bonding of airtight tape at panel joints. Where

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ADVERTISING FEATURE air and vapour control layer (AVCL) membranes are notoriously difficult to seal, SMARTPLY PROPASSIV offers excellent seal adherence to prevent air leaks, condensation and consequential structural damage.

As with all SMARTPLY products; PROPASSIV is manufactured from FSC-certified timber to the specification detailed in BS EN 300:2006. Easy to apply, it is suitable for both new build and renovation projects. Its specification for the construction of a private two-storey house ensured the property exceeded Passivhaus levels for airtightness despite taking just over two weeks to build.

HIGH PERFORMER PROPASSIV was used as a Maidenhead home’s airtight layer and provided the integrated vapour barrier which removed the need for an additional AVCL. With SMARTPLY PROPASSIV having created the perfect insulation envelope, tests showed the completed home achieved 0.55 Air Changes per Hour (ACH), comparing favourably with the Passivhaus requirement of 0.6 ACH. SMARTPLY PROPASSIV has also played a role in ensuring the first certified

PassivHaus home built in Cheshire exceeded industry standard airtightness regulations. Constructed by developer Igglu, a total of 100m2 of SMARTPLY PROPASSIV was installed on the ceilings at Red Walls, a stylish £3.5 million energy-efficient residence in Knutsford, built on forward-thinking technology and natural materials.

Selected for its outstanding airtight performance, SMARTPLY PROPASSIV ensured Red Walls achieved an N50 value air tightness level of 0.17 (ACH), comfortably exceeding the Passivhaus standard. Ian Forde-Smith, Director at Igglu, commented: “We have been highly impressed with the performance of SMARTPLY PROPASSIV. Independent attestation of airtightness from the Passive House Institute has shown it was absolutely the right product for us.”

A versatile, strong and cost-effective OSB panel system, SMARTPLY PROPASSIV could play a vital role as part of a highly sustainable and fabric first approach to construction. Its durable, sustainable qualities are likely to prove crucial if the UK is to meet its target of an 80 per cent cut in carbon emissions by 2050 with all new homes built with a zero carbon footprint.

Red Wall PassivHaus Cheshire

MEDITE SMARTPLY

Maidenhead PassivHaus

MEDITE SMARTPLY is a Coillte company, an innovative, FSC® certified Irish forestry and forest products manufacturer.

Based in Waterford, SMARTPLY produces a versatile range of OSB2, OSB3 and OSB4 building products.

SMARTPLY Oriented Strand Board (OSB) is the smart, cost effective and environmentally friendly OSB for use in structural and non-structural applications. With unrivalled quality and environmental certification, SMARTPLY sheets are among the most environmentally efficient building materials available on the market.

SMARTPLY is made from locally sourced, sustainable, FSC® certified, fast-growing timber: the forest thinnings of new-growth pine and spruce, including the tops, which are not used to make any other woodbased product, are used.

SMARTPLY boards are fully certified, structurally approved, CE compliant, legal and sustainable alternatives to tropical plywood.

“SMARTPLY PROPASSIV HAS ALSO PLAYED A ROLE IN ENSURING THE FIRST CERTIFIED PASSIVHAUS HOME BUILT IN CHESHIRE EXCEEDED INDUSTRY STANDARD AIRTIGHTNESS REGULATIONS.” FOR MORE INFORMATION VISIT WWW.MDFOSB.COM

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ADVERTISING FEATURE

Rethinking Your Heating Daikin Ireland offers a range of innovative and efficient heating solutions.

In the future, heat pumps will play an increasingly important role in the Irish heating market. A heat pump is particularly ideal for a passive house project. Due to passive house design there is very little requirement for a significant heat source. A low temperature heat pump running underfloor can give the background heat when required at an extremely low cost.

Daikin Ireland is the Irish sales office of Daikin Europe, the world’s leading supplier of heating and cooling solutions for residential, industrial and commercial applications. Daikin is the only manufacturer in Europe with more than 50 years of experience in the field of heat pumps.

With over 200,000 Daikin Altherma heat pumps installed, Daikin is already the market leader in air to water heat pumps. Daikin is also the only manufacturer that develops and produces all of the important components of its heat pumps in house. The company has developed many innovative solutions such as their Hybrid Heat pump, which is a combination of a gas boiler and heat pump combined. In the Irish climate it

will work approximately 70 per cent on the heat pump. It has a unique brain that monitors and selects the most efficient source (gas or heat pump) to heat your home depending on the climatic conditions.

Daikin’s Solar Integrated Heat pump, meanwhile, has the option of combining either solar, wood burning stove or gas boiler. This compact unit combines highly efficient heat pump technology with an innovative thermal store in the smallest footprint. Electronic management of both heat pump and thermal store maximises energy efficiency at the same time as heating and domestic hot water (DHW) convenience. The Solar Integrated Heat pump is ‘Smart Grid-Ready’, which means that it has already reduced its energy costs to meet anticipated future requirements. DHW heating employs the instantaneous water heating principle and is characterised by the highest standards of hygiene.

CREATING YOUR PASSIVE HOUSE Among Daikin’s innovative range of products is the Altherma heat pump, which can heat your home up to five times

more efficiently than a traditional heating system based on fossil fuels or electricity.

By making use of the heat in the outside air, the system uses much less energy, while you enjoy a stable and pleasant level of comfort in your home. Maintenance requirements are also minimal, keeping running costs low. Thanks to advanced compressor technology, the energy savings are even greater. Depending on the model and conditions, a Daikin Altherma heat pump delivers about 5kWh of usable heat for every kWh of electricity it consumes.

This means approximately four-fifths of the heat is free!

PASSIVE EXAMPLE: MOUNT MERRION (MONITORED) n Certified passive house, 256 m2 new home n Family of 4 + home office n Daikin Altherma 11kW heat pump + two solar thermal panels n Average temperature over 22°C, €170 for heating & DHW for a year (2013)

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PHONE (0) 1 642 3430, EMAIL HEATING@DAIKIN.IE OR VISIT WWW.DAIKIN.IE. 76 EAR TO THE GROUND

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ADVERTISING FEATURE

Solid Foundations Aeroground insulated foundation systems provide a high quality solution for your passive house.

Drawing on over 50 years’ experience of providing homeowners in Ireland with innovative EPS insulation solutions, Kingspan Aerobord® are once again providing industry leading energy conservation systems. Insulated raft foundations are gaining in popularity in Ireland, and are particularly suited to low energy or passive house standard projects. Kingspan Aerobord manufactures and supplies the Aeroground insulated foundation system throughout Ireland.

Our designs regularly deliver U-values as low as 0.1W/m2.K. Insulated raft foundations are suitable for use with timber or steel frame, insulated concrete form or block construction methods. EPS solutions offer high compressive strength combined with extremely low water absorption and

excellent insulating values, and the load bearing walls and floor slab of your building sit on top of the insulating layer, practically eliminating heat loss to the ground.

The system consists of a high density polystyrene shuttering system into which the concrete which forms the ring beam for the walls of the house is poured. Three 100mm layers of Aerofloor sheet insulation are also supplied to meet the thermal requirements of the floor. The system ensures that the concrete ring beam of the house is separated from the ground to ensure that any cold bridging at the floor to wall junction is kept to a minimum. Internal walls designed to be supported from internal supports are also

made from a high density grade of EPS. The shuttering components are designed to support the weight of the house long term, so that no settlement will affect the structure over the lifetime of the building. Each system is specifically designed to suit the structural load requirement of each house.

Aeroground offers a number of benefits, including exceeding building regulations, excellent compressive strength, reduced quantity of foundation concrete required, is compatible with under-floor heating and Radon protection systems, is easy to work with and unaffected by water, and is manufactured in Ireland.

For more information or to request a brochure, phone +353 (0) 42 979 5000 or visit www.kingspaninsulation.ie.

Ground breaking performance with Kingspan Insulated Foundation System Ad not signed off

• Passive House Performance • U-values as low as 0.1W/m2.K • Practically eliminates thermal bridge to ground

Control your homes Energy Performance with Kingspan

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PEOPLE

On Foreign Soil IRISH PEOPLE HAVE A HISTORY OF MIGRATING TO ALL CORNERS OF THE GLOBE, AND OUR FARMERS ARE NO DIFFERENT. CONOR FORREST TRACKED DOWN EXPATS WORKING AND FARMING ON FOREIGN LAND, FROM MISSOURI TO NEW ZEALAND, TO DISCOVER THEIR REASONS FOR LEAVING, AND HOW THEIR LIVES DIFFER SINCE THE MOVE.

Rodney Elliott DAIRY FARMER, SOUTH DAKOTA

The US has long attracted Irish people from myriad backgrounds, moving to the New World in search of a better life. South Dakota, for example, is home to dairy farmer Rodney Elliott, originally from Fermanagh. Restricted in his ambitions at home due to a combination of land prices, quotas and department regulations, Rodney set his sights further afield and, alongside his wife Dorothy, and their three children, made the move to the Midwestern state.

Construction began on Drumgoon Dairy (Drumgoon Dairy on Facebook if you’re interested in taking a peek) in 2006, and the sheer scale of their transatlantic enterprise is breathtaking, certainly by Irish standards.

Starting out with 1,400 cows, the Elliotts now milk 4,500 dairy cows 24/7, 365 days a year,

producing an astonishing 145,000 litres of milk each day. Add to that figure 3,500 replacement stock, as well as 500 acres of Alfalfa and 500 acres of maize for silage, and you have a sizable operation, with 50 employees to ensure that everything runs smoothly.

“Due to a sparsely populated area, and a farmer-friendly State government, it is possible to build a dairy operation of this size,” Rodney tells me. “There are no other large animal enterprises within a 15 mile radius of our farm, allowing us in excess of 10,000 acres of cropland for the disposal of our manure.” It’s not all plain sailing though – winters can be very cold, with temperatures plunging to -25C on bad days, while summers can be long, hot and dry. Staff issues can also present challenges, as most are

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Rodney and Dorothy Elliot

RODNEY SAYS:

Hispanic with very little English or experience in the dairy sector – high turnover rates are nothing unusual.

On the whole, however, life is good for the Elliotts. “Not only has the dairy expanded successfully, but our family has taken the transition exceptionally well. Our three kids have all excelled in school and college, with both our sons acting as strong contributing members to the team,” says Rodney. “On reflection, I have enjoyed every moment of this experience, I feel extremely lucky to work every day at a job I love. The transition from selling my herd in Ireland to buying my first cow in the USA and seeing all the hard work and planning as we milked our first cows is a memory I will forever cherish.”

“ON REFLECTION, I HAVE ENJOYED EVERY MOMENT OF THIS EXPERIENCE, I FEEL EXTREMELY LUCKY TO WORK EVERY DAY AT A JOB I LOVE.”

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Noel O’Connor TILLAGE FARM MANAGER, RUSSIA Although the US is a likely destination of Irish emigrants, Russia, however, doesn’t immediately spring to mind. And yet that’s where you’ll find Noel O’Connor, managing an 18,000 hectare tillage farm around 700km southeast of Moscow, one of several owned by a Swedish corporation.

Though it may be a huge farm by Irish standards, it’s not a particularly large farm in Russia – their biggest farms can run to half a million hectares.

“Back home, a very big farmer might have three combines. At a very minimum we’re running ten.

Last year we ran 26 combines,” he said.

Russian agriculture has experienced huge changes since the 1990s and the breakup of the Soviet Union. Collective State farms – which originally emerged following the October Revolution in 1917 – were broken up, sold or simply abandoned. The black earth soils of the region are among some of the most fertile in the world, however, nurturing crops such as sugar beet, sunflowers and winter wheat. The growing season is quite short and runs between May and September. The cropping season tends to be quite hectic, working around the clock to take in the harvest before the arrival of the first snows.

Despite a lack of investment there is plenty of potential here – the Russian ban on food imports from Europe has provided a much-needed spark to the sector, while Russia boasts more arable land per head than any other country in the world. “The local administration, sometimes they get in your way but for the majority, from the instructions coming from Moscow, it’s all to help local farmers,” Noel explained. “We actually think the sanctions are going to benefit us quite a lot – there’s a big push on now to grow more Russian produce.”

For Noel, farming life in Russia represents not simply a challenge (his Russian is not the best) but a clear opportunity. “Every day is something new, it’s exciting. There is nowhere else I’d get this opportunity to manage such a large farm.

This has always been a dream of mine, and I’m actually doing it now, so for me it’s fantastic.”

NOEL SAYS:

“THIS HAS ALWAYS BEEN A DREAM OF MINE, AND I’M ACTUALLY DOING IT NOW, SO FOR ME IT’S FANTASTIC.”

Gary Nolan

Gary Nolan DAIRY FARM OWNERS AND SHAREMILKERS, MISSOURI Located in the American heartland, Missouri is home to at least 108,000 farms. Among these is a dairy enterprise run by Gary Nolan, a Westmeath man and graduate of the Ag Science programme at UCD. Irish people who emigrate to the US tend to congregate in locations such as New York or Boston. So how did Gary wind up in this rural state?

“By accident!” he replies with a laugh. A friend of his, whom he met during several years spent in New Zealand, had bought a number of Missourian farms. An invitation for Gary to spend a month on holidays in Missouri turned into the offer of a 24-month contract. Initially working as an adjudicatory scholar with Missouri University, training upand-coming farmers on grass-based systems, Gary decided to forge his own path within the American dairy sector, spotting opportunity in a state that is extensively farmed, yet produces low yields. In partnership with a couple from Cork – Niall and Lisa Murphy – the Nolans initially purchased a herd, and then bought their first farm last September.

In total, they farm 1,800 cows across three locations, with a return on equity of 32 per cent. Gary describes his wife Siobhan as the kingpin in the operation – with a history in international tax, she has set a standard for cash flowing dairy businesses in Missouri.

“There was no grand masterplan at the start,

we fumbled our way through but it has worked out well for us so far,” he says.

Having achieved so much through the help of mentors over the years, Gary is keen to give something back to the next generation. That’s why he invites three thirdyear UCD Ag students to Missouri for three months each year, giving them the chance to experience a high intensity calving operation and good grassland management. It’s also good for the local workers in broadening their horizons – Gary explains that much of Middle America doesn’t travel; some have never seen the ocean. “We’re going to send one of our farm managers back to Ireland for 12 months in November, and another one 12 months after that,” he adds.

With a young family, the Nolans intend on moving back to a beef farm in Westmeath to raise their kids (though they will continue to farm in Missouri, with a plan to purchase a further 640 acres this year). Gary notes changing times within Irish farming, which he wants his family to be a part of. “Young people, I think, have an appetite to farm productively – it’s actually their day job working on the farm,” he explains. “I think young people now want to be farmers – it’s the lifestyle. Good family farming is very important to rural Ireland and important to the people that do it.”

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David Fogarty DAIRY FARM SECOND IN CHARGE, NEW ZEALAND Around 12,000km away in New Zealand, David Fogarty is plying his trade in the country’s burgeoning dairy sector, an interest sparked by his early years at home on the family farm in Galmoy, Co Kilkenny. Having studied Animal & Crop Production in UCD, he zeroed in on the land of the All-Blacks as the best place to hone his skills in grassland management, with other factors such as good weather, a great lifestyle and a chance to see more of the world making it an easier decision. “I’ve got to know plenty of real, good people since getting here by attending farm walks, going down to the local pub, playing Gaelic football in Rakaia and

linking up with Irish students from UCD, WIT and the Teagasc colleges,” he tells me. “I’ve learnt a lot about dairy farming, I’ve developed more as a person and I’ve met people that will hopefully be friends of mine for many years to come.”

Having arrived in July 2015 (flying out on his own, without knowing a single soul in the country), David has been working for Birchdale Dairies Ltd., a newly converted dairy farm in the Canterbury region with 375 hectares in one block of land. The dairy milking platform consists of around 190 hectares of the farm, with the remainder used to support the operation, including rearing

replacement heifers, growing silage for winter fodder and buffer grazing in early spring and autumn. About 800 cows are milked each day, and David tells me that the main aim of the farm is to use grazed grass to produce high levels of milk solids per hectare, with either little or no bought in supplements or concentrates.

So, will he return home to farm in Ireland at some point? David isn’t quite sure for now, and has already secured a job for next season on a farm 15 minutes from where he’s working now, in order to expand his grass management skillset. “I tend to spend a lot of time thinking of my

future career, but I still haven’t made a final solid choice. Dairy advisory/ consultancy, farm management or dairy farming in my own right are all options that appeal to me along with some further study to advance on my degree from UCD,” he explains. “I have no farm at home in Ireland to go home to and gaining access to land can be difficult as a new entrant, but I’d be very hopeful that if I did decide to go farming, I’d find a suitable block of land to farm somewhere in the country, or at least someone out there that would offer me some sort of reasonable opportunity in order to make a start in the industry.”

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Declan and Emily Gardiner LIMOUSIN, FRANCE The Gardiner family, like many other Irish families, had travelled a number of times to France on holidays during the noughties, falling in love with the beautiful countryside and the far superior weather – so much so that they began to think about making a permanent move. It made a lot of sense – alongside sunnier climes, land prices in France averaged around €3,000 per hectare, with the equivalent price in Ireland ranging from €50,000-60,000 in the middle of the Celtic Tiger. It was a no-brainer, and the Gardiners sold up their house and nine acres in Ireland and bought a cattle/tillage farm in France, moving to the agricultural Limousin region in October 2006 with their three children, then aged 12, 11 and 8.

Life, unsurprisingly, has been quite different. The new education system required a little getting used to – children attend école maternelle (nursery school) between

the ages of two and six, and then move into primary school until they turn 11. Next up is three years of Collège (followed by exams very similar to the Junior Certificate), and then three years at the Lycée, after which they complete their Baccalauréat (otherwise known as the BAC, France’s Leaving Certificate equivalent). Laura, the youngest Gardiner, is doing the BAC and aspires to be a chef, attending a boarding school in Limoges during the week.

Emily also lauds the French healthcare system, known for its efficiency and lack of delays. “Farmers pay into the MSA (the social insurance system for agriculture),” she tells me.

“The cost of visiting the GP is €23 and 70 per cent of this is reimbursed, as is any medication prescribed by the doctor. Dental treatment, hospital treatment, health treatment in general, are all partially reimbursed also.”

The farm, too, has gone from

strength to strength. When they originally arrived it was exclusively Charolais cattle and was almost self-sufficient, with barley and maize grown on-site. Their herd has expanded to include local Limousins, they’ve established a dairy goat enterprise milking 180 Saanen dairy goats, and they’ve expanded their tillage borders from 20ha to 90ha. Not a bad result after almost ten years.

The grass, as the saying goes, is always greener, so could the Gardiners return to Ireland one day? “We are in France ten years now and have settled into the lifestyle and overcome the major hurdles,” says Emily. “The first couple of years were the most challenging, getting used to the language, the systems and the culture.

At this stage we have no plans to return, but circumstances can change, so we don’t have any definite plans for the long-term future.”

EMILY SAYS:

“THE FIRST COUPLE OF YEARS WERE THE MOST CHALLENGING, GETTING USED TO THE LANGUAGE, THE SYSTEMS AND THE CULTURE.”

Declan and Emily Gardiner’s farm in Limousin, France

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Racehorse Ownership

From those mornings on the training gallops, to the thrill and excitement of the raceday. Racehorse ownership is like nothing else ‌experience it for yourself!

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17/06/2016 13/06/2016 10:34 15:52

ADVERTISING FEATURE

Think Fire Safety Fire safety should be to the forefront of your mind – in the home and on the farm.

From coffee machines to electric blankets, the modern home has many gadgets and appliances to help us with our busy lifestyles. While these make life easier and give us more free time it is important to be aware that they can cause fires in our homes if they are not used properly.

All homes should have at least two working smoke alarms which should be checked regularly. Make sure to check that the vulnerable people in your life or elderly/infirm neighbours have working smoke alarms and check that their electrical appliances are in good working order.

Electrical equipment should always be installed and used as per the manufacturer’s instructions, and checked regularly for frayed wires and other signs of deterioration.

It is advisable to avoid using appliances such as tumbledryers and dishwashers during the night when people are asleep due to the risk of overheating and fire.

Recent cases in Ireland have proven the high risk of fire from electrical products, particularly chargers for phones, tablets, laptops, and the latest fad – hoverboards.

Only chargers supplied and approved for use with a specific item should be used.

Gadgets should not be left to charge overnight. This may be inconvenient, but it poses a potential risk of fire. A number of fires have been caused by items being left to charge overnight or placed on soft furnishings, causing damage to homes and in some cases an unfortunate loss of life.

Always unplug the charger when it is not being used.

Some tips for fire safety include: n Make sure you have at least two working smoke alarms in your home, and test them regularly.

n Never remove or borrow batteries from smoke alarms. Replace them as soon as you hear the warning beep. If your alarm is ten years old, replace the whole unit. n Keep your oven, stove and chimneys clean. n Extinguish candles and empty ashtrays at night or before leaving your house.

Run ashtray contents under the tap before emptying the contents. n Close doors, especially last thing at night, as this will slow down the spread of fire and smoke. n Fire extinguishers and fire blankets are widely available to purchase and may help contain a small fire but remember, the most important message is to: GET OUT, STAY OUT AND CALL THE FIRE BRIGADE. Every year, fire services attend fires on

farms, most commonly hay barn fires. It is in every farmer’s interest to maintain firefighting equipment in good order, prepare a fire routine and action plan, and ensure that everyone knows of access to nearby water supplies. Electrical wiring should be checked regularly, and avoid using electric fences and machinery in or near hay barns.

If a fire breaks out: n Call 112 or 999 without delay. n Speak calmly and clearly. Only hang up when the operator tells you. n Don’t fight the fire unless safe to do so. n Send someone to the farm entrance to direct the fire brigade to the fire. n Prepare to evacuate livestock should the fire spread. n Prepare to use farm machinery to assist the fire brigade under their supervision.

ALL HOMES SHOULD HAVE AT LEAST TWO WORKING SMOKE ALARMS WHICH SHOULD BE CHECKED REGULARLY. MAKE SURE TO CHECK THAT THE VULNERABLE PEOPLE IN YOUR LIFE OR ELDERLY/INFIRM NEIGHBOURS HAVE WORKING SMOKE ALARMS AND CHECK THAT THEIR ELECTRICAL APPLIANCES ARE IN GOOD WORKING ORDER. FOR MORE INFORMATION, VISIT FIRESAFETYWEEK.IE.

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Are You Alarmed? Remember...

It can take as little as 3 minutes to die from smoke inhalation.

Ensure that you: • have working smoke alarms and check the batteries regularly.

• have an escape route planned.

• avoid smoking when tired, in bed or on medication.

• do not overload sockets and do unplug electrical appliances at night.

• never leave candles alone.

If fire breaks out:

• Diall 999 or 112 • Get out and stay out! •

An Stuiúrthóireacht Náisiúnta um Bainistíocht Dóiteáin agus Éigeandála National Directorate for Fire and Emergency Magangemnet

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17/06/2016 18/05/2016 10:35 14:45

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EDUCATION

FUN ON THE

Farm A GROUNDBREAKING CRÈCHE IN CO DUBLIN, LITTLE MOOMOOS IS INSTILLING A LOVE FOR THE FARMING LIFE IN PRESCHOOL CHILDREN.

Many parents cite a decent outside space in which their children can play on sunny days as an important consideration when choosing a childcare facility. But what if you could choose a crèche where most of the teaching and the activities took place outside – and even better, on a working farm? This is precisely what Little MooMoos Playschool at Skephubble Farm in St Margaret’s, Co Dublin, offers the parents of the children who attend.

“There was no local playschool for my own children, so we decided to open one ourselves,” explains Catherine Dwyer, who founded the playschool back in 1999. “We opened with three children and by Friday we had 13 children, so we knew there was a need for it in the area.

I was fortunate enough to be trained already in early years education and therefore able to run it the way I wanted my children to be educated in their preschool years.

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EDUCATION

“We now have three classes – we have the Ducklings who are two and a half; we have the Bunnies who are three and the pre-schoolers who are four. We have one class of each in the mornings and another in the afternoons, and our preschoolers qualify for the ECCE programme.”

The ethos of Little Moo-Moos is simple – it’s about learning in the natural environment of a farm. The owners have even recently rehoused the playschool in the centre of the farmyard, adjacent to the cowsheds, so the children can be fully immersed in the farm throughout the day. “We believe that children learn best in the natural environment, rather than sitting at a table with a pen and paper,” says Catherine. “Our Montessori teaching is very practical-based. For instance, they would learn measuring and pouring by feeding the calves each day.

We foster a lamb every year after Easter,

and then we give it back when we finish for the summer. We would have children here who are fostered and we would do a project around it about how you don’t have to live with your mammy or daddy, but you can go and live with other people who care for you and nurture you for a time. It’s about helping kids understand about the world in a practical sense.”

As you would expect, the concept of learning with animals is great for all children, especially those with special needs. “Children are very gentle, they love animals and they thrive in the natural environment,” Catherine explains. “It soothes them. Recently we started a class for children with autism and that’s working very well because of the natural environment and the animals; this year we’ve affiliated with the Department of Education and we now have six children in that class.”

Little Moo-Moos is an outdoor

playschool too, which has a big payoff for parents. “Weather permitting, we do all our learning outside. Even painting and things like Play-Doh we’d do outside. We have two big sandpits, we’d do measuring and pouring in those. A big advantage is that the children tend to have very hardy immune systems due to being outside – we have a high attendance rate and never come down with a big tummy bug or anything.”

Of course, the proof of success for every childcare facility is in the children who attend it. “Our biggest issue is going home time,” Catherine laughs. “We have to start reminding the children that it’s soon time to go home about half an hour before their parents arrive!”

Little Moo-Moos Skephubble Farm is located in St Margaret’s, Co Dublin. For more information phone (01) 804 1695 or visit www.littlemoomoos.ie.

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CULTURE

RIGHT: In the early years the Palatines had a big influence on the commercial development of the town of Rathkeale due to their involvement in the linen industry set up by the landlord Thomas Southwell, who was aware of the Palatine people’s skills in this area.

Shops in the town were owned by various Palatine families including the Corneilles, Bovenizers and Teskeys. BELOW: This horn was used by the burgomaster and others to call the people together, especially when travelling clergy would arrive unannounced.

BELOW LEFT: Jacob Switzer was the last of the Switzers to live in the Christopher Switzer home at Courtmatrix in direct succession from 1709. BELOW RIGHT: Portrait of Elijah Bovenizer, great grandfather of Austin Bovenizer.

BELOW: One of several agreement documents signed by the partners of the colony of Killeheen. There was a commonage area run by the community for which meetings were held and minutes kept. Rules were set out and agreed at these meetings.

a place call home to

The Irish Palatine Story

THEY BROUGHT WITH THEM INNOVATIVE FARMING TECHNIQUES AND PLAYED A MAJOR ROLE IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF METHODISM, YET VERY LITTLE IS KNOWN ABOUT THE PALATINES IN IRELAND. JOSEPH O’CONNOR SET OUT TO DISCOVER MORE. EAR TO THE GROUND 91

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hink of foreign peoples, past and present, who arrived on Irish shores as refugees and you might think of Jews escaping the pogroms of Eastern Europe in the early 1900s. You may also consider the Huguenots who came here from France in the 17th and 18th centuries, having suffered at the hands of a brutal monarchy. Perhaps the Vietnamese boat people who arrived in 1979 come to mind, or even the few Syrian refugee families who recently escaped to Ireland from their war-torn country in the Middle East. But, for the most part, people won’t recall the thousands of Palatines who arrived here from Germany in the 1700s and who, despite being something of a forgotten people, left quite a legacy.

The Palatines were a group of German Protestants whose homeland lay along the banks of the River Rhine in southwest Germany, where they were famed for their skills as farmers and wine producers. During the 17th century, the region where they lived – known as the Palatinate – was repeatedly ravaged by attacks from France. Following a terribly harsh winter and responding to notices

by New World landowners showing the benefits of emigrating to America, a substantial exodus of Palatine families took place in 1709. Some of these emigrants found their way directly to the

New World, but over 13,000 were routed through London.

At the time, landlords of Irish estates were eager to increase the Protestant tenant population, a goal supported

by Queen Anne of England and so, in September 1709, almost 3,000 Palatines were relocated to rural Ireland. However, over the following three years, more than two-thirds of these settlers left and returned to England and Germany. Of the ones that stayed, most Palatine families settled in Co Limerick, notably around Rathkeale and Adare, with smaller numbers in Kerry, Clare and other counties.

One organisation that aims to preserve the rich heritage of Irish Palatine culture is the Irish Palatine Association based in Rathkeale. Founded in 1989, inspired by a note left in a suggestion box at Shannon Development proposing the establishment of a Palatine heritage centre, the organisation works to encourage and develop a sense of identity among Palatine families and their descendants, particularly in Ireland, England, Australia, New Zealand, the USA and Canada, by rekindling a relationship with their ancestral homeland in Germany.

“The plans were announced and having picked up on them, it kind of got my interest going,” recalls Austin Bovenizer, current chairman of the association. At that point, Austin had been putting off plans of his own to explore his German heritage, something that had been nagging at him for some time, bolstered by

know it ... EARLY OBSERVATIONS Gerald Griffin, Limerick Novelist Griffin depicted the Palatines as improving and industrious tenants, acutely conscious of their own identity. Disciplined, acquisitive and cautious.

De Latocnaye, Visitor De Latocnaye was a French émigré on a walking tour of Ireland in 1791. He commented on the homes of the Limerick Palatines, describing them as being so clean that “they looked like palaces”.

Samual Hall, Journalist Hall, while travelling through Ireland in the 1840s, noted a calmness and reserve about the men. He said the women looked sombre and unexpressive; slow in bidding welcome, and eager to continue with their chores. This was not for the want of courtesy but was rather symptomatic of their cold, reserved manner which made them ill-at-ease in the presence of strangers.

the questions he regularly received about the origins of his surname.

“With a name like mine, Bovenizer, once you introduced yourself you were always asked the question, ‘Where did that come from?’” he explains. “Especially if I was abroad when I was younger, if I said I was from Ireland it became very confusing for people. As a family, we’ve always been aware of our German heritage to a certain degree. We knew we came from Germany because my father would always mention that the name had originated there. We’d sometimes have visitors to our house, mainly from abroad and especially from Canada, who were doing genealogy. My father would chat with them and, as a child, I would listen in.”

When it came to agriculture, Irish farmers could learn a lot from the Palatines. Austin tells me that apart from Dutch farmers, the Palatines were the only ones at the time using crop rotation methods. They had also mechanised their farming, and while the Irish farmers dug potatoes from the ground with their shovels, the Palatines ploughed them out, conveniently collecting them off the top of the soil. Palatine farmers are also credited with introducing the wheel plough in Ireland.

Another distinctive feature of their farming life was the early stage at which Palatines passed on farming skills to their children. It’s well documented that a boy of 12 could handle a whole team of horses. Palatines were also known for keeping their farmyards in impeccable shape.

They maintained their equipment over the winter months, regularly cleaning, painting or oiling the machinery. Indeed, Austin says it’s very much reminiscent of the present day Palatinate. “In the Black Forest area I remember staying in a hotel in a village that you could equate with a place like Adare. It was two or three days before I realised that there was a

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The Palatines generally maintained an orchard adjacent to their homes. The Irish climate did not lend itself to the growing of grapes, but was quite suitable for apple trees. Cider presses were built so that the Palatines could continue a tradition that they had developed considerable expertise in prior to migrating: the making of cider. They also kept geese. At home in the Palatinate the people had long noted the usefulness of goose droppings in fertilising the trees. Thus their much esteemed cider became known as cac a ghé cider by the local Irish, translating as ‘goose dung’ cider.

The Field Meeting, attended by the Methodist community in the Limerick area who are mostly Palatines, has been held at noon on the first Tuesday of each June since 1819 on the Dunraven Estate, Adare beside a stone which marks the site at which John Wesley preached to the people of Adare “in or about the year 1756”. These days, the event consists of a morning service and a short picnic at the site which is now part of the Adare Manor Golf Club course. The club happily suspends play to facilitate the event.

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pig farm across the road. I heard the pigs grunting but other than that I wouldn’t have known it!”

Back in the 1700s, the majority of people in the Palatinate working on the land were involved in wine production.

Between 80 and 90 per cent of them packed in the profession when they came here, given that Ireland’s weather conditions were far from favourable for such a tradition. Some went into cider making, but they all remained attached to the land – a trait very much associated with the Palatines – and continued to make a living from agriculture. They started out with small holdings but as years passed, they moved on to larger estates and most ended up with 80 to 100-acre farms.

Of the landlords who successfully managed to induce their allotment of Palatine immigrants to remain in rural Ireland, the most successful was Sir

was the Burgomeister and schoolmaster of Ballingrane, Philip Guier. Guier became a local Methodist preacher among his fellow Palatines and remained so until his death in 1778. A century later Guier was still remembered as the man ‘who drove the devil out of Ballingrane’. Methodist societies were formed at Ballingrane, Courtmatrix, Killeheen, Pallaskenry, Kilfinane and, somewhat later, Adare.

John Wesley, the Church of England cleric and Christian theologian, who is largely credited as founding the Methodist movement, paid his first visit to the Palatines during the course of his sixth Irish tour in 1756. He described those he met as “a plain, artless, serious” people and noted that in their communities there was “no cursing or swearing, no Sabbath-breaking, no drunkenness, no alehouse”, and that “their diligence turns all their land into a garden”.

IT WAS METHODISM THAT REALLY KEPT THE PALATINES TOGETHER AS A GROUP SOCIALISING FOR MANY YEARS.”

AUSTIN SAYS:

Thomas Southwell of Castle Matrix near Rathkeale. He championed the Palatines to secure government support for the settlement venture and took care of many of their initial needs at considerable personal expense. In 1711, Southwell had retained only ten families on his lands but by 1714 that figure increased to 130, and the region around his demesne has retained the largest concentration of Irish Palatine residents to this day in Killeheen, Ballingrane, and Courtmatrix.

Religion also plays a significant role in the Irish Palatine narrative. Early in 1749 the first Methodist preachers began to visit Limerick. Their sermons were heard by a number of Palatines who had come from the Rathkeale area to attend the local courts. These sermons struck a chord with the Palatines who saw similarities between them and the preachings they were accustomed to back in Germany. Among those with whom the teachings resonated

When they originally came to Ireland, as part of their relocation, the Palatines agreed to become members of the Anglican church but, for the most part, it never really became embedded in their everyday lives. On the other hand, according to Austin, Methodism was very much a charismatic movement at the time, rather than a separate religion, and it complemented the Palatine way of life.

“It was Methodism that really kept [the Palatines] together as a group socialising for many years,” he says. “Whereas some of those that became Catholic lost their knowledge of where they came from.”

The Irish Palatines would later play a significant role in developing Methodism abroad, a church which today numbers around 80 million globally.

The second half of the 18th century saw more Palatines leave Ireland mainly due to a steep rise in rents. Most emigrated to America, their original desti-

The Palatinate region of Germany is renowned for its parades and wine festivals. Each year over 300 such festivals take place in the towns and villages throughout the region.

Illustrator and graphic artist Austin Bovenizer is the eighth generation ancestor of Johann Adam Bovenizer who settled in Ireland in 1709 as part of a group from the German Palatinate. Some of Austin’s work has been inspired by his many visits to the Palatinate region as chairman of the Irish Palatine Association. See bovenizer.ie for more details.

Palatine Parade, limited edition print by Austin Bovenizer

nation, while some moved on to other English-speaking parts of the world such as South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, and even India. Austin tells me of one family, the Mullers, where three brothers separated across three continents; one leaving for North America, one for Australia and the other for India. In America, many Palatines later fought on the English side in the War of Independence, and having lost everything they had gained in areas such as New York, they continued their search for a homeland and moved north to Canada, with many settling in Ontario.

Given this vast movement of one people over the course of a century and more, today descendants of the original Palatines are scattered right across the globe. Austin and the Irish Palatine Association work to forge links between these communities and to develop a strong global network of people of Palatine heritage. They’ve discovered some in high places too. Laureen Teskey, wife of former Prime Minister of Canada, Steven Harper, is an Irish Palatine and in 2013, she welcomed Austin and association delegates to her and her husband’s official residence.

Today, it is estimated that around 500 people living in Ireland can claim Palatine origin. Family names such as Ruttle, Miller, Young, Long, Wolf, Glazier and Switzer maintain a strong presence in Irish society. There’s even a small village in Co Carlow which goes by the name of Palatine, its name derived from the colony of emigrant families that once settled there. The Palatines in Ireland have certainly left their mark.

Photographs published with kind permission from the Irish Palatine Association.

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INDUSTRY

High Hopes Hops FOR

LATE LAST YEAR, EAR TO THE GROUND’S ELLA MCSWEENEY VISITED WICKLOW WOLF BREWING COMPANY, A CRAFT BEER BREWER AND IRELAND’S FIRST COMMERCIAL HOP PLANTATION. IN SPRING, WE CHECKED BACK IN WITH HORTICULTURIST SIMON LYNCH TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT HOP GROWING.

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Simon Lynch and Quincey Fennelley co-founded Wicklow Wolf Brewing Co. in 2011, buoyed by the market for premium products and a growing interest in craft beers. They also felt it would be a unique selling point to have some provenance around their ingredients and to keep their product as local as possible.

Simon has a background in horticulture and owned a piece of land between Enniskerry and Roundwood in Wicklow, so they decided to grow their own hops.

Why are they so called? Wicklow, because that’s where they’re based; wolf, because tradition has it that the last one in Ireland was killed on the Wicklow-Wexford border in 1768, and because the hops they plant – humulus lupulus – take their name from the wolf too.

Wicklow Wolf is now the only commercial hop plantation in the country. There was a hop-growing co-op of four farmers around Bennettsbridge, Co Kilkenny from the ’60s to the ’80s, but it ceased to be viable. Today, most of the hops used in Irish beers are imported from the UK, the US and Germany.

There’s also a worldwide shortage of hops. In Ireland, Simon believes, we’re right on the threshold for hop growing.

“We’ve done two years of harvests now. 2014 was a very, very good year – particularly as it was the first year.

Last year we did quite well; we got a decent crop from them, and they’ll take about three years to fully mature.

They’re herbaceous perennials so they grow every year.

“We’re right on the threshold for hop growing here. They say the temperature needed is 32 degrees [Fahrenheit] and we’re 33 degrees. Day length is very important and we have the good long days to ripen the cones, which is the part of the plant used to flavour and preserve the beer.

“They’re also a very good plant.

They’re doing more and more research on their uses in alternative medicine – they’re researching it for cancer. It’s also brilliant for anyone who can’t sleep at night. Hop tea will make you sleep – a couple of hop cones, boiling water and honey, as it’s very, very bitter.”

Simon is planting 750 rhizomes in pots when we speak. They’ll go into the ground in April and harvest is generally around September. This year he’ll be putting in 1.5 to 2km of cabling to support the hop bines, which can achieve about 20 feet in a growing season. He offers some advice for aspiring hop-growers: “Hop bines need a trellis to climb, they’re self-clinging and they always grow clockwise. They need to be fed

Simon Lynch, Wicklow Wolf Brewery with Ella McSweeney

well as they’re a very hungry plant. In a growing season you’d probably put about three or four applications of feed on your hop bines.

“They are susceptible to mildew, both powdery and downy mildew. Where I grow them it’s very, very fresh and breezy so I haven’t had to spray them with anything. They’re susceptible to aphids and spider mites too, but again I haven’t had any. They also need protection from the wind and good sunlight to produce the cones.”

Wicklow Wolf only produces hops for its own use, and while Simon admits there is a prohibitive capital cost to setting up a hop farm, he feels it is a worthwhile option for many craft brewers, particularly those with some land.

“When you’re producing a premium product there’s a little bit less focus on the price you pay and a little bit more on the quality you might get from it. I think for microbreweries it’s an ideal symbiosis. The cost to setting up is significant but there is a demand.”

Wicklow Wolf’s 13 beers are handcrafted in 1,500l batches and the brewers are constantly experimenting with new brews and ingredients. They’re

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Simon Lynch

SIMON SAYS:

“WE’RE RIGHT ON THE THRESHOLD FOR HOP GROWING HERE. THEY SAY THE TEMPERATURE NEEDED IS 32 DEGREES FAHRENHEIT AND WE’RE 33 DEGREES.” stocked in more than 400 outlets around the country, have started to export to Northern Ireland and are now looking at the UK and other European markets.

They’re also growing capacity and looking to build a bigger facility for increased production. And as for the craft beer market in Ireland, Simon says it is alive and well.

“The craft beer market exists because consumers are demanding change. People want choice. We’ve spent a lot of time in the States and they’re about ten or 15 years ahead of us – that’s where the revolution began. Brewers in the US are

looking at the old brewing laws and playing around with them and putting in ingredients that haven’t been done before. It’s very exciting. Consumers in Ireland have had the same choice for years but now they’re looking for something else: they want something a little more discerning.

“We feel we’re developing a community of likeminded people who want to drink premium products rather than settle for the old norm. In the 1700s and 1800s there were a lot more breweries in Ireland than there are now, so it’s about reintroducing breweries in Ireland.”

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ADVERTISING FEATURE

Understanding Underground The Geological Survey of Ireland is undertaking an ambitious project – Tellus – to map the entire country from the air and on the ground. Tellus Project Manager, Mairéad Glennon, explains the work and the benefits for the rural environment.

Soil sampling in cropland, Co. Donegal, August 2011

Tellus is a national mapping project run by the Geological Survey of Ireland (GSI), combining airborne geophysical and ground-based geochemical surveys to provide world-class geological information for the island of Ireland on a cross-border basis. Since 2007, over 25,000 km2 of the island of Ireland has been surveyed

by Tellus to support mineral exploration, environmental management, agriculture and research activity.

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During 2016, GSI’s attention will focus on the west of Ireland with a major airborne geophysical survey and groundbased geochemical sampling survey. The airborne geophysics survey involves an aircraft flying at a low level of 60m above ground level, measuring magnetic field, radiometrics and electrical conductivity.

The geochemical survey will entail the collection of soil, stream sediment and stream water samples at a density of one per 4 km2 with analysis for over 50 elements and compounds.

What do the results mean for the agricultural sector? “Farmers know that trace element deficiencies or excesses in soil can affect crop productivity and livestock health. Tellus is producing high-resolution maps which show the soil concentrations of elements such as copper, zinc, molybdenum and selenium, as well as pH regionally, helping agricultural consultants to advise farmers on the chemical status of their land. This feeds into farm-level decision-making on land application or animal treatment with certain elements where mineral deficiencies or excesses may be present,” says Glennon.

Tellus data, maps and reports are available online, free of charge, at www.tellus.ie.

The data is also informing

environmental management and the assessment of natural resources regionally.

Tellus uniquely collects information on rocks, water and soil together, allowing a holistic picture of the state of the environment to be achieved. “This approach is particularly significant when it comes to the management of competing demands on our environment – the need to increase agricultural productivity while maintaining water quality for example,” Glennon points out. The Geological Survey of Ireland supports research programmes which aim to make the most of the Tellus data by funding academic researchers and private industry to explore and apply the data to real-world problems.

The Tellus data complements a range of geological maps produced by the Geological Survey of Ireland, including bedrock, groundwater resources and protection, aggregates, minerals and subsoil.

FOR MORE INFORMATION ON TELLUS, INCLUDING THE LATEST SURVEYING PLANS AND DATA RELEASES, VISIT WWW.TELLUS.IE OR FREEPHONE 1800 303 516 100 EAR TO THE GROUND

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TECHNOLOGY

Farming Innovation

Get on the right side Recent changes have been made to New Zealand’s health and safety laws, with the aim of reducing work-related injuries and deaths by 25 per cent by 2020. As a result, a farmer in Canterbury has developed an app to help keep farm workers safe. OnSide allows farmers to develop a health and safety plan using a pre-populated list of risks overlaid on a satellite map of their farm. Visitors to the farm will be prompted to sign in via their smartphone once they cross a virtual boundary. “They will have access to the risks and will be requested to review and acknowledge these risks before signing in. Risks can be updated by the farmer in real time and visitors will need to sign out when they leave. All information will be stored in the cloud avoiding the need for mountains of paperwork,” the company states.

The annual BT Young Scientist competition attracts the best and brightest of Ireland’s youthful brainboxes, with thought-provoking and innovative projects on everything from home automation systems to a predictive tool for oesophageal cancer. This year’s winning project, developed by two Balbriggan students, was entitled ‘An Investigation into the Effects of Enzymes used in Animal Feed Additives on the Lifespan of Caenorhabditis Elegans’. “These students have asked a novel question – could there be any effects of enzymes added to animal feed on worms of importance for soil fertility? The girls provide new evidence that there may be an unexpected detrimental change in behaviour and lifespan of these essential worms,” said judge Professor Grace McCormack. “The work is important for the environment and the food industry and will undoubtedly lead to further research in this important area.”

Looks like meat, tastes like meat The global food industry could soon have some competition on its hands. Memphis Meats, a start-up based in California, is using animal cells to grow meat in a laboratory environment. The company is aiming to have their products on the market within five years. “This is absolutely the future of meat,” said Memphis Meats CEO Uma Valeti.

“We plan to do to animal agriculture what the car did to the horse and buggy. Cultured meat will completely replace the status quo and make raising animals to eat them simply unthinkable.”

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TECHNOLOGY

MAGNETIC INVESTMENT

STOCKING UP ON SECURITY

FITBIT FOR COWS?

Irish agtech start-up MagGrow is gaining a foothold on the global stage – the NovaUCD-based company has recently secured one of 12 places in the 2016 Thrive Accelerator programme in California – companies on the programme are given access to mentors, entrepreneurs, angel investors, legal experts, venture capitalists and investment bankers.

Their brainchild is a magnetic sprayer system which can reduce drift by more than 80 per cent, and deliver better coverage through the use of fine droplets.

Irish farmers concerned by the recent spate of farm thefts were given a demonstration of the latest high tech security measures on a farm in Co Monaghan in early April. Organised by the Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA), the technology on display included smart tags for farm entrances, which can sent an alert if gates are opened, GPS technology for livestock, and motion-activated cameras.

Fitbits (and the numerous similar products available on the market) are a great invention, tracking your daily activity so that you can optimise your fitness regime. A similar invention is currently being trialled with dairy farmers in Pakistan.

Cowlar, developed by e4 technologies, is a waterproof, sturdy collar that can be fitted around an animal’s neck – it uses motionsensing technology to track the cow’s temperature and behaviour, sending the data back to a solar-powered base located within 4km.

Capable Farmhand It’s official – the new Krone Comprima is the fastest roundbaler in the world, with the ability to create 149 straw bales in just an hour thanks to a five-row camless pickup, which runs 30 per cent faster than any of the competition. The F155 model is quite the innovative machine – when the baling process begins, the chamber diameter is three feet, which gives the bales a very tight core.

The chamber can increase in size, with bales tightening up to 5ft if required. A tighter bale means less plastic, handling and waste, which also means a more cost-efficient job. “Farmers are saying the tighter bales result in better silage quality and last better; some report that three (4ft) Comprima bales last as long as four made with a roller baler,” says David Borland, Sales Director with Farmhand, a leading farm machinery distributor here in Ireland. Quick operation is bolstered by large crop intake, an effective bale feed, quiet belt systems and an extra wide and strong belt, which allows for a longer life cycle on heavy Irish silage.

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ADVERTISING FEATURE

Witness The Power of Solar Founded on a desire to bring renewable energy to Ireland in a manner which encourages conservation and agriculture, Solas Éireann has been going from strength to strength. Director Guy Beesley explains.

Q: Can you tell us more about Solas Éireann and what it offers in the solar sector?

A: Solas Éireann was founded on the desire to bring renewable energy to Ireland in a manner which encourages both conservation and agriculture.

Established in 2014, the company looks to combine a mature and trusted technology (photo voltaics) with a predictable, quantifiable energy source (the sun), resulting in a reliable and proven alternative to fossil fuel. Solas Éireann is a market leader in Ireland and will be here to stay. We pride ourselves on being Irish and on taking developments from feasibility all the way through construction to operation. We take a long term view of the Irish solar market and want to create a sustainable growth market that benefits both farmers and commercial businesses.

Q: Why should landowners partner with Solas Éireann?

A: The Solas Éireann team have successfully developed over 400MW of renewable energy projects across Europe and, with the announcement of the recent joint venture with Golden Square

Energy, we now have over 35 industry specialists in addition to our expanding Dublin-based team. Solas Éireann offers flexible land lease options keeping the choice firmly in the hands of our clients.

For example, our solar farm rental options include: fixed fee per acre (index linked), a percentage of the gross revenue generated by the solar farm, or the ability to capitalise a portion of the rent for an upfront premium. We cover landowner legal costs during the negotiations and ensure our clients are fully protected at all stages of the development.

Q: Do solar installations have an effect on the immediate environment?

A: Solar farms across Europe have been shown to provide a net biodiversity gain. Solas Éireann will plant wildflower meadows between the panels to boost pollinator (bees) numbers, as well as installing bird and bat boxes for further habitat creation. All of our solar farm designs enable sheep to be grazed on site, providing ongoing agricultural use. Solar farms are temporary installations and land is returned to its previous state after 25 years. There are no moving parts and solar farms are silent – preserving the local amenity.

Q: Do these installations offer a benefit to the wider community?

A: Solas Éireann will always seek to install a rooftop PV system on the local school or community building. We aim to further peoples’ understanding of solar technology and find the best way to do this is by providing an installation free of charge which delivers both free electricity and an ongoing income, which the community owns and takes pride in. A typical 5MW solar farm generates enough electricity to power 1,250 homes and offsets 1.8 tonnes of C02 annually.

CUSTOMER INSIGHT “ Solas Éireann are professional, trustworthy and know what they’re doing. Best of all they’re based just down the road and leave the choice of rental options to me.”

– Brendan Malone

FOR MORE INFORMATION, EMAIL INFOSOLASEIREANN.IE OR VISIT WWW.SOLASEIREANN.IE EAR TO THE GROUND 107

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HEALTH

Attitude

Adjustment WITH PROSTATE CANCER LEADING TO AN INCREASED NUMBER OF DEATHS AMONG IRISH MEN EACH YEAR, THE RELUCTANCE OF SOME WITHIN THE FARMING COMMUNITY TO CARRY OUT ROUTINE HEALTH CHECKS IS A SILENT KILLER THAT NEEDS TO BE ADDRESSED, WRITES ORLA CONNOLLY. Each year over 3,000 men in Ireland are diagnosed with prostate cancer, amounting to a staggering one in eight of the male population who develop the disease during their lifetime. Those working in the farming sector have gained something of a reputation for a reluctance to seek out medical checks. While in recent years we have witnessed an important emphasis being placed on farm safety, farmers throughout the country continue to neglect their own personal health.

Laois native Roland Bradley, who has had a 40-year career selling farm machinery and who appeared on the show in early 2016, is among those who hopes to see a shift in this attitude. In 2013, after a routine health visit with his GP, Roland – a father, husband and proud president of the Leinster Cricket Union – was dealt the blow of being told he had developed prostate cancer. After a long process of managing the disease and an eventual operation to remove the cancer, he is back to work and hoping to raise awareness among those in the farming community. While the experience was a harrowing one, Roland credits his regular check-ups for detecting the cancer early and saving his life. “It’s always important that if you have a problem, you get diagnosed on time,” he advises. “That you’re in charge rather than it’s in charge of you.”

Along with the heavy workload and pressures that come as part and parcel with farming life, Roland attributes the

Roland Bradley

hesitation among farmers in seeking medical guidance to masculinity and perceived normative health behaviours.

“I’d say it’s the culture,” he says. “They wait until trouble comes to them, until something happens.” However, he believes gender plays a more significant role than occupation. “I wouldn’t say it’s solely a farming thing, I’d say it tends to be a male thing of which farmers are just part of that segment. The female of the species is far better at [getting their health checked].”

It is hoped that perceptions are changing, but fear of the unknown, especially when serious illness is suspected, can make a routine health check seem like an extremely daunting task. Acknowledging that a health issue exists is half the battle, according to Roland. “If you have a problem and you get checked, you’re in control,” he says.

“So you can decide perhaps how and when you want to be treated.”

Last year, in recognition of the need for more awareness among farmers, the Movember Foundation partnered with The Farmers Journal and the Irish Cooperative Organisation Society (ICOS) to provide free full health checks at six of the biggest livestock marts around the country. With staff checking upward of 50 farmers per day, the response was encouraging. Now, more needs to be done to make health screenings the norm among Irish farmers.

Conditions like prostate cancer are entirely treatable once detected early. For Roland, the peace of mind that comes with a clean bill of health from his doctor makes the visit worth the effort. “Once you’re told there’s nothing wrong with you, which is the experience of a high percentage of people, you go off whistling for the year.”

Get Checked: SYMPTOMS MEN SHOULDN’T IGNORE If you feel that one or more of n A slow flow of urine the following symptoms apply n Trouble starting or stopping to you then please visit your GP the flow for a health check. n Passing urine more often, especially at night

n Pain when passing urine n Blood in the urine or semen n Feeling of not emptying your bladder fully

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ADVERTISING FEATURE

Get a Taste of Cavan This Summer!

Cavan Town once again plays host to the largest food event in the northwest this summer with the return of the Taste of Cavan festival.

Staged over two days on August 12th and 13th at the impressive Cavan Equestrian Centre arena, this year’s festival boasts over 120 exhibitors displaying delicious local food and drink, along with a stellar line-up of world-class chefs. Already scheduled to appear this year are Neven Maguire, Richard Corrigan, Rachel Allen, Enda McEvoy of the Michelin-starred Loam, and rising star Gearoid Lynch of The Olde Post Inn. Last year’s event attracted over 38,000 visitors and this year, Taste of Cavan promises to be even bigger and better.

Chef Neven Maguire at Taste of Cavan

Taste of Cavan is more than just a food festival, and there are plenty of fun family activities on hand to keep the future foodies occupied while their parents sample the very best of Cavan produce.

Live entertainment, teddy bear workshops, funfair amusements, and storytelling are just some of the activities that make the Taste of Cavan as much a treat for the little ones as it is for grown-ups!

For more information on Taste of Cavan visit Facebook.com/tasteofcavan, follow Taste of Cavan on Twitter or visit www.tasteofcavan.ie. Go on, let Cavan surprise you!

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www.seeddirect.ie GRASS SEEDS

ORDER ONLINE Form a Grass Seed Mixture suitable to your own needs Remember every field is not the same.

Where soils vary, different grasses thrive.

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31/05/2016 10:40

DAIRY HYGIENE RANGE TO SUPPORT CHLORINE & CHLORATE REDUCTION IN MILK. Milk product market trends are now moving towards marketing & utilisation of dairy products into the infant, health & sports nutrition category.

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BIOCEL LTD – LOCAL CORK COMPANY SUPPORTS QUALITY MILK PRODUCTION IN 2016 Produced in Ireland for Irish Farmers by: Biocel Ltd, Rockgrove, Glounthaune, Cork.

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COMMERCIAL NEWS

commercial NEWS Best in Show

Mark McConnell and Gortluchra Bluebell, Supreme Irish Moiled champion, presented with the J White Animal Services cup by judge Victor Campbell.

The Frank Jordan Memorial cup is presented by Fr Felix Byrne for the Champion Cross Bred Ewe. Pictured left to right are: Majella Jordan, Philip Jordan, Fr Felix Byrne, Noleen Jones, Adam Jordan, Brian Jordan. Photos by Sean Rowe

The 2016 Bannow & Rathangan Show will be held on July 14th 2016 at Killag, Duncormick in Co Wexford.

Always a great success due to the hundreds of volunteer workers, the show is a great family day out, with plenty to see and do. As always, there will be a great livestock section featuring a wide variety of cattle, sheep and horse breeds. The home industry section will feature all of the usual classes, with lots of events in the Courtyard from 12.30 to 4pm, including a puppet show, fashion show and much more. This year they are running a competition for secondary schools across Co Wexford, with a cook-off competition – Creativity with Irish Ingredients – judged by chef Adrian. The show will also feature horse and pony classes, in-hand, riding, showjumping, dressage, inter-hunt steeplechase, driving classes, donkeys, poultry and dog shows. The highlight event is the Galway Irish Crystal/Belleek China 3 Year Old Horse All-Ireland Championship Final at 1.30pm, featuring finalists who have qualified at shows across the country during the year. The Pettitt’s Novice Showjumping Championship and the Jim Bolger National Grand Prix also draw the crowds, with a prize fund of €2,500 and €5,000 respectively. Schedules are available at www.bannowrathanganshow.com and from Anne White on 087 6121008 and 053 914887 and Elizabeth Freeman on 087 7560871 and 053 9136588.

Selecting the Right Seed

McGuinness Seeds, an established seed company which has been supplying grass seed to the agricultural industry in the northeast since 1959, is offering the first ever ‘create your own mix’ online service, available for purchase via www. seeddirect.ie. Farmers can now purchase grass and clover seed as ready made mixtures, form their own mixtures, or purchase straight varieties of grass or clover seed.

This is made simple by using the Department of Agriculture’s recommended list, provided on the website for handy reference, allowing farmers to select the proper seed to suit their soil type and farming system. McGuinness Seeds provides over ten generalised seed mixtures, and all of their seeds are certified by the Department of Agriculture, ensuring top quality seeds.

A Piece of Mine

If you’re in search of an authentic experience during the summer holidays, you need look no further than the Arigna Mining Experience in the heart of the Arigna Valley, Co Roscommon. Visitors have the opportunity to experience the life of a coal miner in what was Ireland’s last working coal mine, which closed in 1990 following 400 years of operation. A unique underground tour allows visitors to discover a life which was both exhausting and dangerous, with working conditions which were very hazardous and cramped. The tour guides are all ex-miners who can provide an interesting experience of the mine. After your tour, relax with a cup of coffee in the centre’s coffee shop, and take in the breathtaking views over Lough Allen and the Arigna Valley.

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ADVERTISING FEATURE

The Ultimate in Efficiency If you’re searching for affordable passive-level windows and doors, Ultimate Window & Door Solutions should be your first port of call.

A family owned and run business with 30 years’ experience in the industry, Ultimate Window & Door Solutions offers the highest quality, energy efficient windows and doors.

With over 40 different products on display at their newly extended showrooms in Ballymount, they have something to suit everyone’s project and budget, from a number of highly experienced manufacturers within the industry.

Their range includes Internorm – the largest window manufacturer in Europe, which specialises in passive, low energy

products; Lacuna folding doors, the best timber folding doors in Europe, which are built to last; double glazed and thermally efficient PVC windows, and a wide selection of composite doors from their Palladio and Apeer ranges, which lead the market in both quality and security.

The company has also recently introduced the EKO OKNA range, a Polish low energy

window system which offers high quality products and passive certification at an affordable cost.

Ultimate Window & Door Solutions also offers a bespoke timber window and door service, designing and manufacturing any type of timber windows and doors, ranging from traditional sliding sash windows to contemporary composite front doors.

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COMPETITION

A NEW RANGE OF FARM SAFETY WEAR DESIGNED TO REDUCE INJURIES

PORTWEST FARM SAFETY COMPETITION Research shows that 54 per cent of all fatal workplace accidents in Ireland occur on the farm.

With over one in ten farms here reporting an accident each year, Irish company Portwest has developed products specifically designed for the safety and comfort of farmers. Portwest is a family run company based in Westport, Co Mayo, which employs over 2,000 staff worldwide, with offices in Ireland, UK, Poland, Germany, Dubai, China, Bangladesh and the US. The company’s products were recently shortlisted in the Agribusiness Innovation and Agribusiness Health and Safety categories in the Agribusiness Awards 2015.

TO BE IN WITH A CHANCE TO WIN A PAIR OF PORTWEST XRANGE COVERALLS AND PU WELLINGTON FOOTWEAR, SIMPLY EMAIL ETTGCOMPETITIONS ASHVILLEMEDIAGROUP.COM WITH YOUR NAME, CONTACT DETAILS AND ANSWER TO THE FOLLOWING QUESTION:

WHAT PERCENTAGE OF FATAL WORKPLACE ACCIDENTS IN IRELAND TAKE PLACE ON THE FARM? A 10%

B 54%

For more information on Portwest’s range of products go to www.portwest.ie

Closing Date: July 31st 2016. Competition not open to employees of Ashville Media Group or Portwest. No cash or gift card will be awarded in lieu of prize. Winner will be selected at random. Competition entrants must be resident on the island of Ireland. One entry per person. Usual terms and conditions apply.

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COMMUNITY

Shoulder to

Shoulder

THOUGH IT MIGHTN’T BE WIDESPREAD KNOWLEDGE, MEN’S SHEDS HAVE BEEN AROUND IN IRELAND SINCE 2011. SO WHAT EXACTLY IS A MEN’S SHED, AND WHAT DO THEY DO IN THERE? CONOR FORREST FOUND OUT MORE. As a rule (or perhaps as a stereotype), men tend to be more reserved when it comes to talking about their feelings and experiences, particularly in relation to their mental health. But what if there was a safe space in which men could share such feelings with their peers, or simply unwind and forget about their troubles for a few hours each day?

That’s the idea behind men’s sheds, a concept which originated in Australia in 1998, and which aims to promote social interaction and improved quality of life for the men who pass through its doors.

Since its inception, men’s sheds have spread beyond the borders of Oceania

into South Asia and Europe. The movement was brought to Ireland in 2011 by John Evoy, who founded the Men’s Sheds Association here having recognised the need for such a movement in a country with extraordinarily high rates of male suicide.

“The easiest way to describe a men’s shed is that it’s a group of men coming together in communities across Ireland – a space for men to just go and be themselves,” explains Barry Sheridan, CEO, Irish Men’s Sheds Association (IMSA).

Sheridan was brought in to spearhead a revitalisation and strengthening of the association, which provides supports

and guidance for more than 300 sheds across the country. “We’re trying to fight isolation, build a sense of wellbeing and mental health. It doesn’t matter who you are and where you’re from. It’s open for all men.”

The organisation’s motto spells out its motivation – ‘Men don’t talk face to face, but they will talk shoulder to shoulder’, and it aims to create environments where that can easily happen. Despite the great work these sheds do in allowing men to unload their burdens Sheridan is keen to stress, however, that men’s sheds aren’t focused solely on mental health. Those who join in do so for a variety of reasons – they may find themselves at a loose end having lost their job or recently retired, or they have a desire to become more involved in their community or learn new skills.

“The diversity is huge – I was just with a shed and they were doing a wood turning class that night, they did a computer class the previous morning, and they do a community radio programme every week,” says Sheridan. The diversity on offer at men’s sheds throughout the country is really quite astounding – different sheds are engaged in activities from beekeeping and boat building to classes on art and local history. “It’s really amazing, the level of enterprise and initiative that these guys show when they come together as a group,” Sheridan adds.

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COMMUNITY

try it ...

IRISH MEN’S SHEDS ASSOCIATION FOUNDED: January 2011 TOTAL SHEDS: 305 AREA OF OPERATION: 32 counties MAIN AIM: To promote and support men’s sheds across Ireland

Many sheds are involved in projects that range from providing benches to be used in community spaces to participation in the Tidy Towns scheme. In Carlow town, for example, the local men’s shed has been building buddy benches in partnership with Buddy Bench Ireland, a school-based programme promoting positive mental health. This community participation has a two-fold benefit – local communities benefit from voluntary assistance, while the sheds themselves are getting increased support from State agencies, local partnership and development companies, and businesses within their community. “That has a huge impact at local level. When the guys need support – if they’re doing a fundraiser – they get a lot of buy-in from local businesses or members of the public,” says Sheridan.

Open since January 2012, the Athy Men’s Shed offers the men of Athy, Co Kildare the opportunity to enjoy a cup of tea, share their problems with other members, or partake in a range of activities from bike repair to boat building. “I was looking for something to join, and I heard about the men’s shed. I went the first time and, since then, I’ve stuck with it,” explains Imed Hendi, who joined the shed after being made redundant. “We do woodworking, wood-turning, we fix bikes. Lately we are building boats and we are making benches.”

Pierce McLoughlin, meanwhile, credits his involvement with the shed in a drastic improvement in his mental health and outlook. “There was one day myself and two other lads were talking [about] depression. We sat down and I relayed

“THE MOST IMPORTANT THING IN THE SHED IS THE KETTLE, AND THE KETTLE IS ALWAYS ON. THERE’S ALWAYS SOMEONE TO TALK TO, THERE’S ALWAYS SOMEONE THERE TO WELCOME YOU IN.”

BARRY SAYS:

what was going on with me, and the other lad relayed [what was going on with him]. And when the third fellow said it, it was like a light was switched on...I’m not the only one. That in itself is a great help.”

Sheridan seeks to dispel the notion that all members are good with their hands – you don’t have to be skilled in a particular trade such as carpentry to join. There aren’t any set projects or topics – the IMSA simply strives to encourage men to come together and

then leaves them to their own devices to develop their own projects, share and learn new skills, meet new people and reconnect with their communities. The social aspect – talking, sharing, building relationships – is what matters. “The most important thing in the shed is the kettle, and the kettle is always on,” he explains. “There’s always someone to talk to, there’s always someone there to welcome you in. [Come], have a look around, and see if it’s something you’d like to get involved in.”

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CERAMICS

TOP LEFT: Owen Quinlan, Animate Object Series. TOP CENTRE: Janet DeBoos, Leaving Home. TOP RIGHT: Janet De Boos, interior with grevillias BELOW: A piece from Lucy inspired by Clogherhead

Potter about the

FARM

MEET FARMER, POTTER AND ENTREPRENEUR LUCY O’GORMAN, WHO SURPRISINGLY FINDS THE TIME TO CHAT TO VALERIE JORDAN ABOUT HER ARTISTIC VENTURE, WILLOW FARM CERAMICS.

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CERAMICS

Pottery inspired by artefacts discovered in Knowth BELOW: Lucy O’Gorman, Willow Farm Ceramics

In 2009 Lucy O’Gorman, a teacher for 13 years, took over her family farm one and a half miles outside Slane Village, Co Meath. At the time, her father was ill and her mother had become unable to cope. Initially, she took a career break to help look after her father and run the farm while also researching how to manage the farm in a more sustainable way. At that stage she had four children under the age of three and a half – a surprise package of twins came just a year after the birth of her second.

“Then I decided not to take any more years of career break and just take a chance and jump ship: best move ever,” Lucy enthuses.

Lucy had always been interested in biofuels as one of her majors at university was geography: the advantages of the crop seemed ideal to her. Today, she has 13 hectares of willow, hence the name Willow Farm.

She also grows organic vegetables and has a polytunnel. Up until last year she reared pure bred Aberdeen Angus but found handling them too difficult.

“In the end they became expensive and dangerous pets,” she admits.

Leaving teaching also allowed Lucy to pursue another passion: pottery.

“For years I had always tricked about with craft, taking odd classes here and there. When I left teaching I decided it was now or never,” she says. “I started training with the potter Geoffrey Healy, in Wicklow. After spending one and a half years with him in the evening, I started in the National College of Art and Design in Thomas Street and did three years there by night.”

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CERAMICS

from functional tableware ceramics to more sculptural pieces. Willow Farm Ceramics is part of a collective which Lucy set up with four others in Slane, called Slane Craft Collective, and she also sells at Honest to Goodness market each month in Glasnevin, Dublin.

Lucy says her work is greatly inspired by her surrounding landscape and the rich heritage of the Boyne Valley. “Its constant influence can be seen in most of my work. My most popular piece is an oil burner in the form of the Hill of Slane, my local village’s most notable feature. I also do similar pieces of St Laurence Gate, Drogheda and other well known sites. Knowth, Dowth and Newgrange, as well as Loughcrew in Oldcastle, have been the inspiration for a lot of my more sculptural pieces.

“However, I am drawn to fun mugs and I love to make funny sheep, pigs and cows. When the children are in the studio with me, the mugs become more animated.”

Lucy also attends courses run by Ceramics Ireland in Thomastown, Kilkenny and when we speak she’s about to travel to Budapest to do a two-week intensive course, also with Ceramics Ireland. She can’t wait to head off, but just how does she balance her farm work, family and her pottery business?

Lucy explains that she gets up most mornings at 5.30am and goes straight to her studio, cup of tea in hand. After the bus collects the children for school she returns to the studio until it’s time to collect them, and once they’re in bed she spends some more time on her pottery, prepping for the day ahead.

“On Wednesdays though I work all day in Slane Craft Collective. And every Friday is ‘Fabulous Friday’; we always do something brilliant on that day – we go to the sea or some event that tends to be free in the area.

“And I also have the most understanding and patient husband in the world.”

However, for the past three weeks, Lucy’s schedule has been a bit less rigorous and a bit “all over the place” because of harvesting. Like most farmers, her schedule is subject to seasonal changes.

Lucy has great plans for the future of Willow Farm: “I wish to grow the pottery business and I would love to build a craft centre on the farm, transforming the now vacated buildings. The buildings and dreams I have are incredible. My plans are so mad, I’m afraid to say them!”

LEFT: Susan Beiner, Synthetic Reality RIGHT: Owen Quinlan, Environment to Object.

try it ... CERAMICS IRELAND Ceramics Ireland is a membership organisation that promotes and educates around the ceramics sector in Ireland. In September 2016 the organisation celebrates its biannual three-day International Festival at Thomastown, Kilkenny. Tina Byrne of Ceramics Ireland says: “We have six demonstrating – two Irish and four international ceramicists. So far we have Jim Behan from Carlow, a traditional potter; Owen Quinlan, based in Galway, he’s a new maker of very conceptual work, so it’s an interesting contrast. We’ve Randi O’Brien from America, who does large-scale sculptural animal forms, and Susan Beiner who does large-scale, very detailed instillation work. We also have Janet DeBoos from Australia who works with porcelain in a very fluid and fine way. Over the weekend they do demos and slide shows and festival-goers can chat with them, so it’s a nice opportunity to meet other makers and make connections.” In June of this year, Ceramics Ireland will also be exhibiting a large collection of ceramic works from potters around the country. There is an open call for submissions and the organisers have promised to show at least one piece by every entrant.

The exhibition will be held at Farmleigh, Phoenix Park. Next year, Ceramics Ireland will celebrate its 40th anniversary with the Touchstone exhibition, beginning at Farmleigh in the Phoenix Park before travelling to two other venues in the country. Tina says: “We’ll do an open call to anyone working in ceramics in the country and Irish makers working abroad. It will have a much broader reach and we’re looking for the best of the best.” On the subject of the ceramics sector here, Tina says: “The state of ceramics in Ireland has changed a lot over the last number of years. There’s definitely a new sense of optimism there but it’s still hard. Buyers are beginning to look more at the homegrown than the mass-produced, but there’s a lot of competition out there. However, there are some very strong supporters around the country and there are new makers emerging and endeavouring to create businesses for themselves, which is heartwarming to see.”

For more information, see www.ceramicsireland.org.

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PHOTO: BRIAN FLANAGAN

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TRAD

The band Lynched performing live

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TRADITIONAL IRISH MUSIC HAS BEEN ENJOYING SOMETHING OF A RENAISSANCE IN RECENT YEARS. IAN MALENEY CHECKED IN WITH SOME OF THOSE AT THE FOREFRONT OF A NEW WAVE OF MUSIC UPDATED FOR THE 21ST CENTURY.

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“There’s folklore from every part of human society, whether rural or urban, and it’s just the same with songs and the song tradition.”

Ian Lynch is sitting in a repurposed chocolate factory in Dublin’s north inner city, discussing the rural/urban divide in traditional Irish music. Few are better placed to talk on the subject. As well as earning a master’s degree in Irish traditional music, Lynch is an uilleann piper and singer in Lynched, alongside his brother Daragh, concertina player Radie Peat and fiddler Cormac Mac Diarmada. Their mix of old traditional songs, new compositions and a DIY attitude has found fans across the world, earned them a spot on Jools Holland’s BBC show, and has seen them lauded as a new wave of traditional music in Ireland that blends age-old folk music with modern sensibilities. Not bad going for a bunch of punks from Dublin.

“Dublin has a very long-standing song tradition, going back a good few hundred years,” continues Lynch. “As far as I’m concerned, that’s our tradition, that’s where we’re coming from.”

“I’d be a lot more comfortable singing songs about people trading on Thomas Street than about a farmer in the west of Ireland,” adds his brother.

“It would make a lot more sense to me.”

Seán Mac Erlaine, a clarinet and saxophone player from Dublin, shares a similar experience. Separated from traditional music both by location and by choice of instrument, it was only after he was already somewhat established as a musician, with a focus on freely improvised jazz and experimental electronics, that he began to find his own way into the tradition.

“There’s all this mythic folklore thing that I just wasn’t part of,” he says. “I grew up in the suburbs of Dublin in the ’80s. I only came to it through contact with people, other musicians, who happened to be playing Irish music.”

The band Lynched performing live

Landless, who perform traditional ballads in a powerful, unaccompanied four-part harmony style

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One of those musicians was Caomhín Ó Raghallaigh, a young, Dublin-born fiddle player steeped in traditional music who has played alongside some of the finest traditional musicians in the country for the past 15 years, perhaps most notably in The Gloaming.

These days, both Mac Erlaine and Ó Raghallaigh play in This Is How We Fly, an experimental four-piece who blend Irish, Swedish and American music to create a genuinely unique sound, at once traditional and utterly contemporary.

Mac Erlaine’s interest in jazz, classical composition and music from farflung parts of the world preceded his engagement with his native traditions, and so when he finally did catch the bug, he approached it in a very personal, almost analytical way.

“I was fairly methodical in what I was listening to, listening for, and seeing how I could translate some of those things to my own instrument,” he says. “It was trying to get at something of what the essence of the music is, rather than ever trying to play tunes. There was a sense of being like, I’m really going to delve into this and see what is it about this that really attracts me to it and what can I use from it. After a while, it all becomes one because there’s no real difference between Tony Conrad and Tony MacMahon.”

Lynched also see no reason to make great distinction between their backgrounds in noisy punk bands and their current musical output. Even if the end results aren’t immediately similar, there’s an underlying approach

to protest, community and storytelling which joins the two.

“There’s similarities between the communities and how they function, and also the motivations behind making the music,” says Peat. “The communities are similar – the music probably not.”

“Ideologically speaking, I think folk songs were the first protest songs,” adds Lynch. “They were the first punk songs that were around. I still think they are and that’s what would have drawn me to them in the first place.”

This is a particularly important aspect for Landless. Comprised of Ruth Clinton, Sinéad Lynch, Lily Power and Meabh Meir, they perform traditional ballads in a powerful, unaccompanied four-part harmony style. As a group of four young, politically engaged women, they are often looking out for songs that speak to their experiences, songs that can tell true stories about real people’s lives.

“Folk songs uniquely capture lived experience of a time and place and animate that more compellingly than an ‘official history’,” says Clinton. “I’m always on the look out for songs that do

that for women’s experience; that don’t define women solely in relation to men.”

Connecting in some way to this ‘lived experience’ is something both Landless and Lynched share in an instinctive way, with each group attempting to highlight how important and pertinent many older songs still are in the 21st century. Feeling that connection can lend a weight to today’s issues and foster a sense of multigenerational struggle.

“A lot of the songs are as relevant today as they ever were and that gives the message in them this mad strength if you’re singing them,” says Peat. “You think about how many individual people must have taken that song to heart, learnt it and sang it throughout their lives for it to survive that long. Songs that are hundreds of years old. That’s a very powerful thing because there are hundreds, if not thousands, of people involved [in] preserving this one song.

That gives it a lot of gravity.”

“I find that fascinating, that mutation process,” adds Lynch. “They’re almost like living creatures, like family trees.

You can see songs and then they break off, they have American versions, Scottish versions and Irish versions, slightly different melodies or different words, you can see how it evolved.”

“And different aspects magnified or diminished based on what was important to people at that time, in that place,” replies Peat. “That’s just fascinating. It’s like watching a bloodline.”

For all its power, the daunting edifice of traditional music can be very intimidating for younger performers to engage with. For those without a ‘natural’ introduction, it can be hard to know where to start when first digging into the music. For an increasing amount of young people in Irish cities, singing nights have become that way in. One of the most established of these is The Night Before Larry Got Stretched, a regular gathering of younger singers in the Cobblestone pub in Dublin of which Landless are founding members.

The Larry nights are a perfect mix of

“YOU THINK ABOUT HOW MANY INDIVIDUAL PEOPLE MUST HAVE TAKEN THAT SONG TO HEART, LEARNT IT AND SANG IT THROUGHOUT THEIR LIVES FOR IT TO SURVIVE THAT LONG. SONGS THAT ARE HUNDREDS OF YEARS OLD. THAT’S A VERY POWERFUL THING.”

RADIE SAYS:

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accessibility and depth, making it far easier for novice performers to get involved and feel like they’re a part of something.

“I spent the first four years being too scared to sing when there were ‘proper’ singers around,” says Lynch. “The first Larry session was organised with the idea that there were so many of us ‘young’ singers that we needed a space to come together, and we’re all friends so the sense of intimidation was removed. Over the years we have seen the session grow and it’s been magical. We have seen people young and not so young come back having learnt a song. I would imagine the reason for that is because the young people are visible, we encourage people to come and sing without being afraid.”

For Mac Erlaine and Lynched, the groundswell of these events seems to be spilling over into bigger, more ‘official’ venues. Lynched say that many punks are making the journey into folk and bringing traditional musics with them,

while Mac Erlaine suggests that audiences of all kinds are growing more receptive to these contemporary mutations of older traditions. In these spaces between then and now, between this and that, it seems both musicians and listeners are finding their own way forward.

“It seems like audiences are getting more and more open-minded,” says Mac Erlaine. “Different audiences are going to these gigs that, I’m guessing, they might not have 30 years ago. Different audiences in different places are maybe more sophisticated about just taking it for what it is and responding to the energy of the musicians as opposed to deciding that it’s right or wrong. Which is what you want. Now promoters and the media are picking up this idea that it’s not so important to have genre nametags anymore. You can have festivals with opera singers playing beside bodhrán players. Hopefully you can just put something together that people will connect to.”

“OVER THE YEARS WE HAVE SEEN THE SESSION GROW AND IT’S BEEN MAGICAL. WE HAVE SEEN PEOPLE YOUNG AND NOT SO YOUNG COME BACK HAVING LEARNT A SONG. I WOULD IMAGINE THE REASON FOR THAT IS BECAUSE THE YOUNG PEOPLE ARE VISIBLE.”

IAN SAYS:

Clarinet and saxophone player Seán Mac Erlaine

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The surrounds at Anam Cara

THE ART OF

Retreat

ARTIST RETREATS SHARE THE COMMON GOAL OF GIVING ARTISTS TIME AND SPACE TO FOCUS ON THEIR WORK. IAN MALENEY CHECKS OUT THREE SUCH PLACES IN IRELAND THAT OFFER AN IDYLLIC ENVIRONMENT TO HELP CREATIVES REALISE THEIR AMBITIONS.

William Wordsworth once said that poetry is emotion recollected in tranquillity. For many artists going about their daily lives with families and jobs, tranquillity is a commodity in short supply. If the grind of everyday life is stifling the creative juices, an artist might seek out one of the many retreats dotted around the country, usually in beautiful, isolated places, far from the noisy business of modern life. Whether it’s a big house with a score of fellow practitioners or a solitary stay in a small cottage, an artistic retreat might be just the place to get the imagination flowing freely.

The Tyrone Guthrie Centre at Annaghmakerrig in Co Monaghan is perhaps the most well-known such retreat in the country. It is, as its director Robert McDonald says, the only major residential, State-funded artistic retreat on the island, and its facilities are second EAR TO THE GROUND 125

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Images of Anam Cara artist retreat and surrounding area

to none. The heart of the retreat is a large old house, bequeathed to the State

by Sir William Tyrone Guthrie, a leading figure in British theatre throughout the 20th century, after his death in 1970.

Operating as a retreat since 1981, the house itself caters for up to a dozen artists at a time, and is surrounded by five self-catering cottages, seven artists’ studios and a dance studio, as well as 400 acres of woodlands, fields and waterways.

McDonald says it is an ideal place to “drill down into the work you’re doing”.

“We give them a very precious gift, which is time,” he says. “Everything conspires to interfere with the work, be it family, be it work, whatever.

Everything seems to conspire to keep you out of the studio, away from the page, away from whatever you’re working on.

Sometimes they have to be ruthlessly selfish to pinch a bit of time to keep the work going. They might only have a week or ten days, but they know that those ten days are precious because they’re entirely free to focus on their current project. Annaghmakerrig does time and we do it very well. The food is good too, I’m told.”

Along with the time to work, the Tyrone Guthrie Centre also offers a uniquely social experience, with the house’s communal evening dinners often turning into vigorous discussions between the resident artists. Sometimes they turn into more than mere conversation, becoming working partnerships, or even something more intimate.

“I know there’s at least three marriages out of the house,” says McDonald.

“Possibly a few break-ups as well, but we won’t talk about those! There’s definitely a few partnerships that have endured over the years and a lot of people would have met fellow artists here. They can get great advice. It’s not an easy world to survive in and sometimes it’s just great to have a conversation with someone who might be in the business 30 years and still finds it hard.”

At the other end of the country, Anam Cara also offers a blend of interaction and isolation. Located on the tip of the Beara Peniunsala in west Cork, Anam Cara consists of a house with five working rooms and five acres of beautiful countryside, filled with what its founder, Sue Booth-Forbes, calls “nooks and crannies” for working. Booth-Forbes arrived here in 1998 from Boston and immediately fell in love with the house and the region.

“It’s sort of like the last frontier,” she says. “It has that sort of unspoiled beauty even today. People would love to have tourists come, and they do come, but they’re mostly walkers and bikers, so the

place has been able to maintain its really haunting, raw beauty.”

Until she arrived in Ireland, BoothForbes spent her life working as a writer and editor in the US and the UK. Even before her career began, she watched her mother supporting her father, a poet at Brigham Young University in Utah, where Booth-Forbes grew up. Her life has largely been dedicated to helping artists realise their ambitions and the walls of the Anam Cara house are lined with books published by writers who have stayed there.

“I like to call myself a literary midwife,” she says. “For writers at least, I can support their work in whatever way they’re looking for. It seems to be working. People seem to have a real work-changing, if not life-changing, time when they’re on retreat. People, knowing it or without knowing it, spend time away on their own, with no responsibility and only their work to do, to make a change  a change in their work, or a change in the way they approach their work, or maybe a change in themselves.”

Where places like Annaghmakerrig and Anam Cara offer paid retreats in environments with other artists, the Heinrich Böll Cottage on Achill Island invites artists to come by themselves, and, thanks to support from the Arts Council and Mayo County Council, doesn’t charge them for the time spent there. Each artist stays for up to two weeks, working in the cottage once owned by the Nobel Prize-winning German author.

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Tyrone Guthrie Centre

ROBERT SAYS:

“IT’S NOT AN EASY WORLD TO SURVIVE IN AND SOMETIMES IT’S JUST GREAT TO HAVE A CONVERSATION WITH SOMEONE WHO MIGHT BE IN THE BUSINESS 30 YEARS AND STILL FINDS IT HARD.”

Heinrich Böll Cottage exterior

Heinrich Böll Cottage interior

JOHN MICHAEL NIKOLAI

“There are other places along the coast but this is the only one that I’m aware of where you’re on your own,” says John McHugh, a local sculptor and head of the Achill Heinrich Böll Association, which oversees the retreat. “That does make it different. That does also make it not suitable for some people. We used to have longer stays of up to a month, but the demand for the cottage got so much that we felt it was fairer to have two-week stays. Some people think it’s too short, but also it turns out that a lot of people respond positively to it. It’s an intense time and they can get quite a bit done.

On the other hand, some people feel like it’s a long time if you’re on your own.”

Though Böll’s name remains wellknown in his native Germany, his work is not widely read here, even though his book, An Irish Journal, has been inspiring Germans to visit the country for decades.

McHugh says that the cottage, and the

Heinrich Böll Weekend they hold on the island every summer, is a way of securing his legacy on Achill Island in a proactive, forward-looking way.

“We try to look to the future and build on the tradition that’s here on the island,” he says. “The residency at the cottage does that, in that it builds on the tradition of artists and writers coming to the island to work, to use the island as a base for work. We try to keep his name alive on the island through contemporary artists, rather than a museum-type situation where you’re looking back all the time.”

Though they all differ in their particular offering, all the retreats share the common goal of giving the artists time and space to focus on their work.

It’s an age-old requirement, a constant desire of the creative life, and these retreats are special escapes from daily routines. That said, while the need for time and space is pretty much eternal, not everything stays the same forever and some artists’ needs are changing quite rapidly.

“Years ago, the first thing people asked when they got to Annaghmakerrig was, ‘What time is dinner at?’,” says McDonald with a smirk. “Now they ask, ‘What’s the WiFi password?’”

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WILDLIFE

Cull the wild of

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WITH THE SPREAD OF BOVINE TB COSTING IRISH FARMERS THEIR LIVESTOCK AND THEIR LIVELIHOOD, A QUESTION MUST BE ASKED – IS THE CULL OF BADGERS THE ONLY SOLUTION TO SAVING IRISH CATTLE? ORLA CONNOLLY REPORTS.

Bovine TB is a highly infectious disease usually found in cattle, caused by the spread of the bacterium mycobacterium bovis. The infection typically spreads from animal to animal through contact with contaminated faeces or close proximity to infected wildlife. While it has been discerned that there is a reservoir of TB in a variety of Irish wildlife, it is believed that the badger population is chiefly responsible for the infection of livestock due to their farmland habitats and behaviour.

In an effort to limit the spread of bTB farmers must adhere to strict guidelines that include an annual test of herds for the presence of infection. Once bTB is discovered on a farm, new stock cannot be bought and remaining stock cannot be sold until they’ve cleared two rounds of testing – which routinely takes several months to complete. The discovery of bTB during these tests carries substantial cost for a farmer and while the Government ensures they are remunerated, this compensation scarcely accounts for the distress caused by destroying otherwise healthy animals, or the financial burden of not being able to conduct regular business.

“We’ve always emphasised that TB is a big problem for farmers,” explains Pádraic Fogarty from the Irish Wildlife Trust, which advocates for the conservation of Ireland’s wildlife and habitats. “We’ve never tried to minimise the problems it causes for them, but we feel they’re not being served well by the IFA or the government who seem to think that the only solution to the problem is culling badgers, where in fact it’s more complex than that.”

A DRASTIC STEP? As a result of the financial cost and distress caused to farmers, the Government has taken steps to reduce bTB through

regular culling of the badger population.

With the reduction of the population as a whole, the belief is that infection rates among badgers and, in turn, cattle will decrease also. IFA Animal Health Chairman Bert Stewart explains: “It’s all licensed, it’s very strictly done by the Department of Agriculture. The badgers are all captured under license from the National Parks and Wildlife Service and it has significantly played a role in reducing the level of TB.” During the culling process there’s no way to distinguish between healthy and infected badger wildlife. Many wildlife activists are not only dismayed by the volume of animals snared during a culling, but disturbed by the time of year a cull is carried out. “Culling goes on during the breeding season so the impact on badgers is greater than just that headline number,” says Fogarty. “If you wanted to exterminate an animal...that’s how you would go about it.”

Wildlife conservationists argue that, aside from being inhumane, badger culling has proved to be ineffective in the fight to exterminate bTB. Since Ireland has introduced a culling strategy, results have revealed a significant drop in infection rates, though extermination of this disease has yet to be achieved.

Yet according to Stewart, the noticeable results from this controversial wildlife control strategy can’t be overlooked when compared to regions which don’t practice culling. “In the year 2000 there [were] about 40,000 animals removed from farms as reactors. Last year that figure was down to just over 15,000,” he says. “So an effective wildlife programme is part of the eradication, and it’s been very successful since it has been put in place in 2000. In other countries, such

as Northern Ireland, there is no wildlife programme in place and there’s no progress being made at all in reducing TB.”

CONFLICTING VIEWS Some believe that the answer to lower infection rates lies in alternative methods such as resistance breeding and vaccination of both cattle and badgers. Cattle vaccination poses an obstacle in that, once vaccinated, it’s impossible to distinguish the difference between an infected or vaccinated cow using current testing methods. The vaccination of badgers appears to be a more viable solution as this will allow immunity to bTB to spread throughout the cub population.

However, the difficulty lies in trapping the wildlife in order to complete the initial vaccination, and research into a solution has yielded few results to date.

“We hear that the trials are going well but we don’t have any hard data to go by – we’re just being fed information by the Department of Agriculture. We can only go on that,” says Fogarty.

“It’s something that we meet the Department on regularly,” Stewart adds.

“It’s a five-year programme, it’s in the early stages. The results that we’re seeing are encouraging, but it will take time to see if this is the way forward. Nobody wants to cull healthy badgers but we certainly need diseased badgers taken out and, if a vaccine is workable, we’ll welcome that, but we need to see more trials done to see what the actual results are.”

While both wildlife conservationists and farmers actively work to limit the spread of bTB, the need for culling remains a divided issue that, for the immediate future, will lie unresolved across the Irish farming landscape.

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and

Country Philip King is one of those rare people who manages to do a dozen things at once, while remaining utterly single-minded. His career as a broadcaster, musician, producer, curator and all-round cultural advocate has seen him maintain and develop a deep focus on questions of Irish identity and experience. Now in his early 60s, King began his career in the late 1970s as the singer in Scullion, an innovative band who blended Irish traditional music with contemporary rock, jazz and electronic sounds.

By the end of the 1980s, he was producing award-winning documentaries for television, including the acclaimed Bringing It All Back Home series for BBC Northern Ireland, about the impact of the Irish diaspora on American music and culture over the course of the 20th century, as well as earning a Grammy nomination for his documentary about legendary Canadian music producer, Daniel Lanois. These days he’s most often found in the wilds of west Kerry, presenting the South Wind Blows radio show on RTE Radio One, and producing the long-running music series Other Voices in Dingle.

PHOTOS: RICH GILLIGAN

IN A WIDERANGING CAREER THAT HAS SPANNED ALMOST FOUR DECADES, PHILIP KING IS SOMETHING OF AN ANOMALY IN THE ARTS WORLD. THE BROADCASTER SPOKE WITH IAN MALENEY ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF IDENTITY AND CREATING CONNECTIONS BETWEEN OURSELVES AND THE PLACES WE COME FROM.

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“THE GENERATION THAT’S CURRENTLY OUT THERE IS POORER THAN THE GENERATION BEFORE THEM, AND THAT’S THE FIRST TIME THAT’S HAPPENED IN THE HISTORY OF THE STATE. THAT’S SOMETHING WE HAVE TO ADDRESS IN A VERY PRACTICAL SENSE.” PHILIP SAYS:

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Now 14 years on the go, the Other Voices weekend has become one of the most important dates on the Irish cultural calendar. It all began when King and Glen Hansard, then of The Frames, got together and began to talk about the possibility of getting some people to play in the intimate surroundings of St. James’ Church.

“It feels like a hundred years ago  we had dial-up telephones,” says King with a laugh. “We just called up a bunch of people and said, ‘do you want to come to Dingle?’ And they did. What it’ll become, where it’ll go, I don’t know, but there’s something about the atmosphere in the place.”

Both South Wind Blows and Other Voices are broadcast from west Kerry, and King’s attachment to the area runs deep. Though born in Cork city, he’s spent much of his life working from the edge of the Atlantic and the particular feeling of that place comes through in just about everything he does.

“I was very attracted to west Kerry as a young boy and I went there and the language fell into my ear easily,” he says.

“It has stayed there, rattling around in my head all my life. The richness of the language, the rhythm and the cadence of language on peoples’ lips, the music attendant to that, the deep, rich intellectual information and the amazing sonic geography in the place  it is very, very important.”

Last year’s edition of Other Voices saw the event expand to include a conference, titled ‘Ireland’s Edge: Creativity, The Diaspora and Realising Potential’, to discuss the pressing issues of emigration, identity and connectedness in a modern world, topics that King has been dissecting since Bringing It All Back Home. By bringing together voices from the political, business and creative spheres, it made clear many of the festival’s formerly implicit ideas about the importance of the arts in defining communities, and helping them to imagine change and progress.

TOP: Hozier at Other Voices ABOVE: Jessie Ware on stage at Other Voices

“It was to begin a conversation not only about what it means to be Irish, but how we connect to a dispersed Irish tribe worldwide,” says King of the conference.

“How we interrogate some questions about what it’s like in rural Ireland, where the best and the brightest consistently leave. Where you’re not connected, but disconnected. Some of those questions began to pop up in my mind and we thought it might be an interesting idea to create a forum or a context for having a discussion about that. It’s very interesting to sit down with people from various disciplines and find a room like that, where people can stand up and say what they have to say in a very open forum.”

King’s connection to American culture, forged by a childhood love of the blues, has been strengthened every week on South Wind Blows, where traditional Irish music runs into contemporary American sounds without missing a beat.

His life-long love of popular culture, the faith in what he calls ‘transmission’, has led him to stay far more connected to the travails of youth than many of his peers.

Through playing their music on the radio and working with them at Other Voices, King remains fascinated by the power and potential of young artists and audiences, a group he sees facing particular challenges today.

“For this generation of people who come to Other Voices, who are providing a soundtrack for a millennial generation, it’s that generation who have not been served well by the State, who have not been served well by the downturn,” he says. “The generation that’s currently out there is poorer than the generation before them, and that’s the first time that’s happened in the history of the State.

That’s something we have to address in a very practical sense. The contribution they can make is remarkable. The same natural resources of imagination that say whether you’re going to be designing the next Intel chip or writing the next electronic dance music hit, it’s about going from the abstract to the tangible and having the tools to make that happen.”

For King, this is the thread that connects all his work over the last 25 years: bringing people together, going from the

“I THINK HAVING A CULTURAL CONNECTION AND A SENSE OF PLACE WILL REALLY BE ESSENTIAL. I DON’T MEAN THAT IN A VAGUE SORT OF WAY EITHER, I MEAN IT IN A VERY PRACTICAL WAY.”

PHILIP SAYS:

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ARTS

abstract to the tangible. He repeatedly describes the experience of meeting in the real world and forging cross-cultural connections as “visceral”, and he believes it’s only through this endless process of reaching out, “being open and vulnerable”, that the creativity and imagination of Ireland, particularly rural Ireland, will be able to flourish. This is the challenge he is still setting himself: how do we create connections, between ourselves and the places we come from?

“We’ve increased tourism and that’s very, very welcome but we have to hold on also to the things that are important,” he says, concerned for the future of the west. “I think having a cultural connection and a sense of place will really be essential. I don’t mean that in a vague sort of way either, I mean it in a very practical way. The things that mark us out, that make us different, are the ways we are ourselves, our character, our language, the way we speak to each other. It’s not just a marketing thing; go to the west of Ireland and, hey, be free! No. There’s something much, much more vital than that at play in terms of a country and an identity. It’s not just the economy, it’s the citizen. It’s every individual.”

TOP: BBC Radio 1’s Huw Stephens and Other Voices producer Philip King ABOVE: Philip King with Florence and the Machine

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CHARITY

crisis ethiopia IN

THE EAST AFRICAN NATION OF ETHIOPIA IS SUFFERING ITS WORST DROUGHT IN 50 YEARS AND AS PART OF A CONCERTED EFFORT TO ADDRESS THE ISSUE, CONCERN IS HELPING TO BUILD THE CAPACITY OF FRONTLINE HEALTH STAFF AND SUPPORTING IMPROVEMENTS IN WATER, SANITATION AND HYGIENE.

A

s Irish farmers enjoyed near-perfect weather conditions for grasscutting in late May and early June, their anxious counterparts in droughtstricken Ethiopia are wondering whether sufficient rains will come to ensure a successful harvest this year.

Due to consecutive poor rainy seasons, the African nation is suffering its worst drought in 50 years with over 10.2 million people in need of food assistance.

It is exacerbated by the El Niño phenomenon, which is a warming of the central to eastern tropical Pacific that occurs, on average, every two to seven years and impacts weather systems around the globe resulting in countries like Ireland receiving more rain while others like Ethiopia suffering drought.

Rains have fallen this month but only in some regions; while some areas continue to rely on water trucking due to acute water shortages, other communities are experiencing floods due to torrential rains.

Already 200,000 people have had to abandon their homes and farms due to floods and landslides and up to 500,000 people are expected to seek refuge from

flooding in the coming months. Thanks to donations from the Irish public, Concern is already responding to this emergency with tents and essential household kits.

This combination of drought and flooding has the potential to ruin harvests, devastate livestock and seriously put at risk the development progress the government of Ethiopia, the Ethiopian people and the international community has worked hard to achieve over the last 40 years.

Concern Worldwide is working with the government to provide targeted distributions of food to mothers and children most at risk of acute malnutrition, as well as supporting communities to provide care at home for severely malnourished children.

Providing seed to agricultural households is also essential and it needs to be done fast. As a result of poor harvests in the last season, people were forced to eat their seed to survive or they have had to buy food and now have no funds left to buy more.

The cost of providing seed is significantly less than the cost of providing food or treating malnutrition, and Concern has provided good quality seed to over 30,000 agriculture-dependent households.

Among those, who the Irish aid agency is helping, is Tsesay Adse, a 68-year-old grandfather and farmer from Tselemti in the Tigray area of the country.

Sheltering under a tree from the scorching midday heat, Tsesay, like many farmers in the area, waits patiently for the rains to come so he can plant his crop.

“Previously, we haven’t seen a drought as bad as this,” he says. “I remember in the time of Haile Selassie there was a grasshopper infestation that devastated the crop, but the government supported us to get rid of it and it hasn’t returned. This is a terrible drought.”

Concern is helping to build the capacity of frontline government health staff, and in other areas of the country is supporting improvements in water, sanitation and hygiene. Water is precious during the drought, and to utilise its benefits, Concern developed an irrigation scheme in Duguna Fango in the Wolayita zone, which changed the lives of local farmers trying to support their families in the barren landscape.

The development of the irrigation scheme and water reservoir in 2013 provides enough water to irrigate the land of 150 households in the area.

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CHARITY

ABOVE: Tsesay Adse, a farmer from Tselemti BELOW: Concern CEO Dominic MacSorley on a recent visit to Ethiopia

Construction is now under way for further irrigation expansion, and when fully functional, more than 200 households will be covered.

Not a single crop could be produced on this land just three years ago, but once the water was pumped in from a nearby river, the area became an oasis for cereals and vegetables. Farmers here are earning up to three times the average wage from growing and selling cash crops, such as onion and pepper.

The scheme is managed by the irrigation users committee, all of whom are local farmers. Silas Abota is one such committee member and he explains what life was like before the scheme, and how things have changed. “This area was facing a severe rain shortage every year. Farmers were not able to produce enough food and most of the residents were migrating to try and survive. This project started in 2010, and in 2013 we started using the irrigation water. Now we are cultivating three times a year, producing enough food for consumption, and selling the surplus.”

The irrigation scheme is operated on a strict schedule and farmers are given designated times for irrigation so that the water does not run out. However, without sufficient rain, water shortage is becoming an extremely pressing issue in Duguna

Fango. The increasingly erratic rainfall patterns associated with severe drought means that this irrigation scheme is particularly susceptible to water shortage.

Although the community of Dunguna Fango are hopeful, it cannot be ignored that rains are becoming few, and far between. “Water levels were really affected during the dry period,” says Silas. “The rain has come since, so there has been an improvement. But the fear of no rain falling is always on our minds.”

“This is the world’s third biggest emergency appeal,” says Concern CEO Dominic MacSorley. “If we wait to see the images that haunted us 30 years ago before we intervene, we will have failed the people of Ethiopia. This is a country which has worked hard to develop its economy and strengthen how it copes with chronic climate challenges. The government is leading and driving this response - but the scale of this crisis is beyond the abilities of any one nation.”

On a recent visit to Ethiopia, MacSorley called on the major donors and especially the nations of Europe to move quickly to back the emergency response efforts of the Ethiopian government. “Here is a country that has generously provided shelter to over 750,000 refugees from other countries – more than any other country in Africa. Now they need our help. We have an extraordinary opportunity here to apply the hard earned lesson that prevention is always better than cure – ethically, morally and financially. This is a chance to change the course of history.”

fyi ...

DONATIONS

€20 CAN PROVIDE FOUR MONTHS’ WORTH OF SUPPLEMENTARY FOOD FOR A CHILD. €47 CAN PROVIDE TWO MONTHS OF EMERGENCY FOOD TO A SEVERELY MALNOURISHED CHILD. DONATIONS CAN BE MADE BY LOGGING ON TO CONCERN.NET OR CALL 1850 410 510.

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BOOKS

Shelf life HOW TO BE A PERFECT FARM WIFE

BY LORNA SIXSMITH Write on Track, €12.95 The latest tongue-in-cheek ineffort from Lorna Sixsmith acts as a comprehensive ‘how to’ manual for marriage in the farming community. The title may be a tad misleading as Sixsmith insists this book is actually a cheat sheet for creating the illusion of perfection.

Playing on the traditional idea of the perfect farm wife, Sixsmith delivers punchy dialogue alongside priceless nuggets of information that’s sure to resonate with the humour of readers of her blog, Irish Farmerette. In sections like ‘farm speak’ she expertly deals with translating ‘farmer language’ to English, while covering hairier issues like mother-in-laws in more detailed chapters.

SPORT

THE POCKET BOOK OF THE GAA PUBLISHED IN ASSOCIATION WITH THE GAA MUSEUM Gill Books, €4.99 This illustrated chronicle of the history of the GAA offers comprehensive coverage of the most significant moments of the sporting institution. It includes colourful biographies of players that shaped the games alongside events that captivated a nation.

Ireland’s Wild Atlantic Way is up there with some of the most stunning sceneries in the world, and the rejuvenation of this rugged landscape has now unearthed a tradition of artisan food production using locally sourced raw ingredients. These influences are perfectly seamed together in Jody Eddy and Sadneep Patwal’s take on the culinary awakening.

Not only have they sourced timehonoured recipes inspired by the local produce discovered along the trail, but they have artfully complemented them with rich individual stories to add extra flavour. Some notable highlights include Martin Calvey and his Achill lamb that feature as the centrepiece for a hearty sweet potato, white bean and lamb stew.

For the foodie with a temptation for adventure, Eddy’s collection of mouth-watering dishes and Patwal’s stimulating rustic imagery will have them hiking the trails for a taste of the Wild Atlantic Way.

RECIPES AND STORIES FROM IRELAND’S WILD ATLANTIC WAY BY JODY EDDY WITH PHOTOGRAPHY FROM SANDEEP PATWAL Gill Books, €9.99

BUSINESS

QUINNTESSENTIAL FEARGAL

BY FEARGAL QUINN O’Brien Press, €24.99 A glimpse at one of Ireland’s best known entrepreneurs, Quinntessential Feargal provides personal snapshots from Feargal Quinn’s life in the public eye. He discusses the birth of his business empire Superquinn and his final decision to sell the company.

CHILDREN

LEPRECHAUN STORIES

BY TONY POTTER Gill Books, €4.99 For children that delight in the mischievous antics of these legendary Irish tricksters, Leprechaun Stories will enthral and charm with 20 traditional Irish tales of magic and mystery.

Each story shares a whimsical insight into the adventures of these fabled beings to satisfy the imagination of children.

FICTION

THE DILLON PLACE MYSTERY

BY GEORGE MORRISON Gill Books, €5.00 The game is afoot...and Sherlock Holmes, on the shores of Ireland, is tasked with exposing conspiracies that threaten the very foundations of the empire. Penned by critically acclaimed film-maker George Morrison, this new chapter sees the world’s greatest consulting detective at his finest.

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FOOD

Tea House

MATCHA TEA IS AT THE HEART OF THE JAPANESE TEACEREMONY, CENTRAL TO THEIR CULTURAL AND SPIRITUAL WELLBEING AND CAN BE TRACED BACK OVER A MILLENNIA. ITS GROWING POPULARITY IN WESTERN SOCIETY IS FIRMLY FIXED ON ITS HEALTH PROPERTIES. BUT WHAT WOULD MRS DOYLE, THE PATRON SAINT OF IRISH TEA DRINKERS, MAKE OF IT?

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FOOD

G

reen tea comes from the Camellia Sinensis, a plant native to Southern China, which is now widely propagated in the tea-gardens of Japan. The Japanese Zen monk, Eisai, who introduced Zen philosophy to Japan a millennia ago, is also thought to have brought the first green tea seeds from his time studying in China and planted them in the garden of the temple of Kyoto. He subsequently wrote a treatise know as ‘Kissa yojok’ (Drinking tea for health).

Linking tea drinking to longevity, Eisai’s treatise was the catalyst that precipitated both tea growing and the tea ceremony in Japan.

Picked when the leaves are young and green, the tea undergoes very little processing. Unlike other green teas where the leaves are infused with hot water then strained before drinking, matcha tea is made from the powdered form of the leaf, mixed with hot water and ingested in its entirety.

Its name is a hybrid of the Japanese words for powder ‘ma’ and tea ‘cha’. It is considered exceptionally pure and rich in nutrients and antioxidants. Its method of preparation delivers 137 times the level of antioxidants of regular green tea. It’s these properties that play a pivotal role in slowing aging and preventing chronic diseases. In fact, tea was eaten in leaf form as herbal medicine long before tea was first brewed.

In Japan, matcha has been central to the age-old tea ceremony that honours the beauty of simplicity. It is performed to stimulate a simultaneously meditative yet mentally alert state of consciousness. Tea ceremonies are widespread in Japanese culture and range from a relatively informal act of hospitality in the home to a more formal ritual in a tea-house, where every movement is exquisitely orchestrated to honour the guest and remind us of the unique nature of every human encounter.

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FOOD

MATCHA MACARONS Makes 30 2 large egg whites 50g caster sugar 60g ground almonds 150g icing sugar 1tsp matcha tea powder FILLING 50g unsalted butter 70g icing sugar sifted 2 tsp cocoa powder or a few drops of green food colouring

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Sieve the icing sugar, almond flour, matcha powder together into a bowl, discard any that is too coarse to pass through the sieve.

Stir to combine evenly.

Whisk the egg whites with pinch of salt until quite stiff. Add caster sugar a spoon at a time and keep whisking. Then add the icing sugar, matcha and ground almond mix. Fold in until completely combined. Put the mixture into a piping bag with a half-inch nozzle and pipe the mixture onto parchment lined baking sheets.

When you have finished piping,

bang the tray on a worktop to eliminate any air bubbles. Leave to rest for 30 minutes. Pre-heat the oven to 170°C then place the macarons on the middle shelf for approximately 20 minutes, or until crisp to the touch. Remove from the oven and cool on a wire rack. To make the filling whisk together the butter, icing sugar and cocoa or food colouring.

Beat well to combine. When the macarons have completely cooled, pipe with filling using a piping bag with a quarter-inch nozzle and sandwich together.

21/06/2016 08:57

pic

FOOD

MATCHA TRUFFLES

MATCHA SWISS ROLL

250g good quality dark chocolate, broken or chips 50ml double cream 1tsp matcha powder, plus extra

3 large eggs 125g caster sugar 125g plain flour 1tbs warm water 2tsp matcha powder

TO DECORATE Cocoa powder Icing sugar Matcha powder Gently whisk the matcha powder into the cream until dissolved. Place the matcha-cream in a bowl over a saucepan of simmering water and add in 200g of the chocolate, a little at a time, stirring until melted.

Allow the chocolate mix to cool then refrigerate for four hours or overnight. Remove from the fridge and scoop out with a teaspoon and roll into small bite-sized logs. Place on a baking sheet and return to the fridge for an hour or two. Take three saucers and place 1tbs icing sugar in one, 1tbs cocoa powder in another and 1tsp matcha powder mixed with 1tsp icing sugar in the third. Remove the truffles from the fridge, and working quickly to avoid melting them, roll a third of them in the icing sugar, a third in the cocoa powder and a third in the matchasugar. Serve a selection of truffles to each guest.

250ml whipping cream 100g dark chocolate 50g walnuts, crushed or ground

Grease a Swiss roll tin and line with baking parchment. In the bowl of a mixer combine the eggs and caster sugar and beat for ten minutes until tripled in volume. Gently fold in the flour a little at a time until incorporated without knocking the air out of the batter. Mix the warm water and matcha together and add to the batter, mixing until uniform. Pour the batter into the tin and bake in a pre-heated oven 1800C for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and leave to cool for five minutes before gently turning out onto a sheet of greaseproof paper. Remove the baking parchment and allow the sponge to cool completely.

Whip the cream and spread over the cooled sponge leaving about 2cm of the edge of the sponge clear all around. Using the greaseproof paper gently roll the sponge over itself to form a Swiss roll. Wrap tightly in the greaseproof paper and chill for 30 minutes. Melt the chocolate. Just before serving remove the Swiss roll from the fridge, pour over the melted chocolate and sprinkle with the walnuts.

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FOOD

MATCHA ICEďšşCREAM 500ml cream 200 ml milk 4 egg yolks 150g caster sugar 1 generous tbs matcha tea powder

Put the matcha powder in a bowl, add a splash of milk and mix until completely smooth, then whisk in the remaining milk and the cream. Heat the mixture in a large saucepan until scalding but not boiling, remove from the heat. Beat the sugar and egg yolks together in a bowl, add a little of the matcha mixture to the egg mix and combine before slowly pouring in the remainder of the matcha mixture, whisking continually. Pour the mix back into the saucepan and place over a medium heat, until it thickens like a custard, about four minutes.

Remove from heat and cool to room temperature, pour into an ice-cream machine and churn according to the instructions until ready for the freezer.

Alternately, you can pour the cooled mix into a deep, freezer-safe bowl and place in the freezer (the bowl needs to be roomy enough for you to whisk the mix). Remove from the freezer every 45 minutes and whisk thoroughly to ensure the ice-crystals are broken up.

Repeat this process 5-6 times until the ice-cream is set.

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FASHION

ABOVE: Royal blue satin box clutch, €1,924, Manolo Blahnik at Harvey Nichols. LEFT: Black clarbelle layered duchess satin gown, €745, Alice + Olivia

Diamanté stretch bracelet, €11, M&Co

Celia steals the limelight Stylist Celia Holman Lee recently celebrated her 65th birthday.

Pictured here at the 2016 VIP Style Awards, Celia took home the award for best look on the night. Her perfectly accessorised black satin gown oozes glamour. Celia’s elegant and timeless style is the reason she consistently comes out on top of Ireland’s best dressed lists.

A SATIN GOWN CAN MAKE A WOMAN FEEL AND LOOK A MILLION DOLLARS. IT’S NO WONDER TWO OF THE MOST STYLISH IRISH WOMEN CHOSE TO WEAR THESE STUNNING SATIN GOWNS TO A RECENT RED CARPET EVENT.

Steal their Royal blue courts, €105, Dune

style EAR TO THE GROUND 145

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Aisling Meehan BA & ACC, AITI, FETAC (AGRI)

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FASHION

Silver diamond flower drop earrings, €11.99, New Look

Green silk satin wrap gown, €3,139, Lanvin at Harvey Nichols

Forest green draped satin gown, €3,690, Victoria Beckham

Fair Beauty, Aoibhinn Garrihy Former Fair City star Aoibhinn Garrihy looked stunning at this year’s VIP Style Awards, and although she didn’t take home an award, we have selected her as our best dressed on the night. Aoibhinn’s simple yet elegant look perfectly displays her natural beauty.

Red sleeveless satin gown, €3,595, Alexander McQueen at Brown Thomas

Silver scalloped sincher leather waist belt, €259, Zana Bayne at Net-a-Porter

Three colour high heel shoes, €39.95, Zara

ABOVE: Mughal multi-stone gold-plated ring, €97, Isharya at Harvey Nichols

Silver embellished glittered mesh sandals, €635, Stuart Weitzman

BE FABULOUS, BE GLAMOROUS, BE THE BELLE OF THE BALL.

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FASHION Coin vintage necklace, €142, Folli Follie

Champion Style SAVE YOURSELF THE HASSLE OF ‘PLOUGHING’ THROUGH THE SHOPS AND INVEST IN ONE OF THESE THREE LOOKS FOR THIS YEAR’S NATIONAL PLOUGHING CHAMPIONSHIP.

White sleeveless fringed cotton cardigan, €490, Vince at Brown Thomas

Green County Down brim tribly, €156, Christys’ London

Casual Comfort Black Felicity flat top sunglasses, €16, Accessorize

White Oxford shirt, €89, Jaeger

Stand-out Stripes Stylish staples

Navy jacket, €115, Seafolly at Seasalt Cornwall

Faux suede trench coat, €375, Karen Millen at Brown Thomas

White wrist watch, €125, Alessi Luna at Brown Thomas

Floral bloom fedora, €58, Barbour

Berry body curve jeggings, €25.95, Zara

Stripe to stripe jersey dress, €72, White Stuff

Split suede backpack, €59.95, Zara

White sleeveless broderie bib shirt, €50, Phase Eight

Pale pink leather twist together backpack, €365, Folli Follie

Dark blue wash Lori skinny jeans, €45, River Island

The wellies Original tall adjustable calf wellington boots, €110, Hunter Original at the Wellyshop.com

The wellies

Cream tote, €403, Coccinelle at Arnotts

The wellies Rose stripe printed wellies, €52, Joules

Floral print wellies, €135, Aigle

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MOTORING

Renegade CONOR FORREST TOOK THE LATEST 4X4 JEEP RENEGADE FOR A SPIN AND DISCOVERED A WELL-BUILT VEHICLE THAT HAS OFF-ROADING IN ITS DNA.

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MOTORING

T

he new Jeep Renegade represents a number of firsts for the US carmaker.

It’s their first entry into the miniature SUV market for one thing, while it’s also the first Jeep to be exclusively built in Europe and then sold in the US and other markets, instead of vice versa.

To look at, the Renegade is very much a blend of European and North American influences. It’s got the iconic Jeep grille and headlights, for example, and various nods to its heritage around the cabin, though it’s not quite as square as the iconic Wrangler. Style-wise, I still find it hard to say whether I like it or not. The front grille is fantastic – pure Jeep (and chrome) – while the rear, including the lights, is certainly interesting. When you look at it from the side, however, it does seem a little squat, like the offspring of the aforementioned Wrangler and a Skoda Yeti. It’s more adorable than macho.

STEP INSIDE Don’t be fooled by the cute and compact exterior, however. It’s surprisingly roomy inside and the quality is impressive,

lending the Renegade a more upmarket feel. There’s a decent sized glovebox and plenty of cubby holes including (and I love this one) a small cargo hold accessed by pulling up the front passenger seat cushion. Boot space isn’t fantastic to begin with – 351L – though it does increase to a more respectable 1,297L once you fold the three rear seats, and is at least quite wide and accessible.

In the central console you’ll find an impressive 7-inch touchscreen media centre. Unlike some examples, this one is actually quite easy to use – pairing a phone via Bluetooth wasn’t the usual teeth-grinding annoyance. Next door, the instrument cluster features a second screen which displays information including current speed, fuel economy and directional information from the sat nav.

Alongside the media centre in this particular model (2.0L, Limited trim) is driver lane assist, cruise control, a speed limiter, reversing sensors, a decent sound system, heated front seats and steering wheel, and headlights that allow you to see around corners. Optional extras on our test model included an alpine white paint job (€600) and the function pack, which includes folding mirrors and keyless entry (€550). It was a little

The Stats JEEP RENEGADE 2.0L 4X4 LIMITED PRICE: RRP €35,250; €36,000 as tested ENGINE: 2.0L MultiJet II BHP: 140hp 0-100KM/H: 9.5 seconds CO2: 134g/km (annual tax of €280) EAR TO THE GROUND 151

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MOTORING

disappointing, however, to discover that the seats must be adjusted by hand (it’s a hard life), while the hand brake is electronic – there’s a lot to be said for the manual version. A reversing camera (€200 optional extra) would come in handy too – despite the sensors bleeping urgently, there was still usually two to three feet of room to spare. If parking isn’t your forte, you can always opt for the complete parking pack – €950 will provide you with the rear camera, blind spot detection and parallel/perpendicular park assist.

PEDAL TO THE METAL On the road it takes a bit of coaxing from the clutch to get going, but once it does you’ll be motoring along nicely in no time, and gear changes are completely smooth into second and above. Relatively comfortable on the tarmac (though somewhat bouncy), with less than sharp feedback via the steering wheel, road noise is fairly limited – despite an almost vertical windscreen and large wing mirrors. This version takes 9.5 seconds to get from 0-100km, helped along by a 2.0L 140hp engine from Fiat. There’s plenty of choice, however – ranging from a 1.6L 110hp petrol (FWD) to the 2.0L 170hp 4WD automatic. Though claimed fuel economy figures are 5L (56mpg) combined, I found it to be 8 on the nose (35mpg) without too much heavy handed driving.

The Renegade is a mixed bag during day to day life in the city. Parking is difficult without the electronic aids, and visibility when reversing is impacted by the pillars, while the boxy front can make it a little hard to judge spaces. And, if you’re tall enough, you may find your view of traffic lights and signs can be restricted on approach by the rearview mirror, which is mounted lower on the windscreen than you might expect.

OFF THE TRACK What is clear is that the Renegade has got off-roading in its DNA. There are several nice touches hidden in plain sight around the cabin, including a mud splash on the rev counter instead of the usual red line, and a tiny printed WWII Jeep Willys ascending the windscreen surround. But it’s not all stickers and tailored rev counters – the Renegade can actually go off road. Tasked with traversing a hilly and muddy environment it performed admirably, even without the likes of hill descent control, though the lower ride height means you’ll need to be extra careful.

Having also had the chance to test it out in the surprise snow in March, it’s

more than capable of holding its own in slippery conditions. You won’t be tackling any competitive trails, but rural laneways and mucky fieldwork won’t be a challenge.

If you want the peak of off-road experience, however, you’ll have to fork out €40,900 for the flagship Trailhawk edition. That comes with mud and snow tyres, a fuel tank shield, hill descent control, skid plates for the transmission and front suspension, alongside allweather floor mats, heated front seats and steering wheel and leather upholstery.

For ordinary driving, however, the model you’ll really want is the 1.6L – I test drove the 120hp Longtitude model and, despite being a lower trim level, it wasn’t much of a step down. For one thing, it’s a lot smoother to drive – less jumpy in first gear. Secondly, it’s smaller and narrower than the 4x4 version – a lot handier to manoeuvre around the city

streets. It’s also a little easier on the eye – more proportional. There are some drawbacks. The (smaller) media centre, for example, wouldn’t recognise my phone – ten minutes of frustration and spinning wheels followed by an apology.

Perhaps I just need a better phone. The boot was larger than its 4x4 cousin, but that’s because it came with a DIY patch kit rather than a spare tyre. There’s a simple fix – opt for the Limited trim.

DECISIONS, DECISIONS So, as a compact 4x4 proposition, it it worth it? It’s a little more expensive choice, starting from €31,600 (the Skoda Yeti, for example, starts at €27,990). If you’re buying it for road use only, the 1.6L FWD Renegade (€27,600) is well worth a look. But, if you think you’ll need some rough and off-road experience, the well-built Renegade 4x4 holds its own against the competition.

152 EAR TO THE GROUND

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START YOUR OWN ADVENTURE JEEP® RENEGADE FROM €22,950

OFFICIAL FUEL CONSUMPTION FIGURES FOR JEEP RENEGADE RANGE L/100KM (MPG) : EXTRA URBAN 5.9 (47.9) – 4.0 (70.6), URBAN 8.7 (32.5) – 5.1 (55.4), COMBINED 6.9 (40.9) – 4.4 (64.2), CO2 EMISSIONS: 160 – 115 G/KM. Fuel consumption and CO2 figures are obtained for comparative purposes in accordance with EC directives/regulations and may not be representative of real-life driving conditions. Factors such as driving style, weather

and road conditions may also have a significant effect on fuel consumption. Vehicle shown is Jeep Renegade 2.0 MultiJet 140hp Longitude 4WD at €31,950 including Special Pastel Paint at additional cost. Price quoted refers to Jeep Renegade 1.6 E-Torq Sport.

Information is correct at time of going to press. Terms & Conditions apply. Jeep® is a registered trademark of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles US LLC.

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17/06/2016 18/03/2016 11:18 12:17

BouMatic Gascoigne Melotte

Quality Milking Equipment to suit your budget Servicing Irish farmers since 1935

■ Direct to line Machines ■ Automatic Cluster Removers ■ Milk Yield Indicators ■ Milk Meter Recording Systems ■ Variable Speed Vacuum Pumps ■ Electronic Pulsation

No job too big or too small

Sole Agents for Milk-Rite Liners in Ireland, call today to try them out.

Copies of all the big liner brands for a fraction of the cost.

Milk Liners – Gascoigne and Milk-Rite ranges.

Available nationwide through Co-ops and dealers.

BouMatic Gascoigne Melotte Barrowhouse Athy, Co Kildare To find your local dealer contact: Richard Kingston on 059 8625728/ 059 8625729 Donal Kingston 085 7189844 Francis Duffy on 086 8544900 Website: www.boumaticgascoignemelotte.ie

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17/06/2016 09/05/2016 11:19 17:09

MOTORING

THE

FORD’S FACELIFTED RANGER HAS BROUGHT A NUMBER OF IMPROVEMENTS TO EUROPE’S BESTSELLING PICKUP, WRITES CONOR FORREST.

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T

he Ford Ranger has been gaining a reputation as a tough and trustworthy nut since the launch of the third generation in 2011, one that should be bolstered by the latest mid-life facelift. Both the engine and the transmission have been improved on, with the addition of Auto Stop Start and a new electric power assisted steering system, making for a much more efficient vehicle – with CO2 emissions of 171g/km and claimed fuel economy of 6.5L/100km (43.5mpg), though still not best in class.

Inside the cabin, styling has been modernised, and there’s plenty of space.

The Double Cab features two large underseat storage areas in the rear, there’s three centre consoles depending on the cab type with a variety of storage bins, while the glovebox has 11.9 litres of space, capable of stowing a laptop, a small umbrella and plenty more.

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MOTORING

The Stats FORD RANGER XLT DOUBLECAB MANUAL PRICE: RRP €36,025 ENGINE: 2.2L TDCi BHP: 158bhp 0100KM/H: 11.8 seconds TOP SPEED: 175km/h FUEL ECONOMY CLAIMED: 6.5L/100km (43.5mpg) CO2: 171g/km FEATURE SNAPSHOT: 4.2-inch TFT screen, cruise control, bedliner (with protective side wall and 12V power socket, manual air conditioning with pollen filter.

As expected, it’s a capable off-road vehicle, with options for regular driving conditions, poor road surfaces and a lower range for difficult terrain. The 2.2L Double Cab can carry a payload of up to 1,098kg, tow a maximum of 3,500kg and wade through water up to 800mm deep. Safety is key, and the new Ranger offers an impressive array of features such as forward alert (helps prevent or mitigate rear end collisions), emergency brake assistance, hill launch assist, and hill descent control. If you’re in tough terrain and in danger of rolling over, Roll-over Mitigation continually monitors the vehicle and triggers Electronic Stability Control if needed, while advanced traction controls prevent excessive wheelspin and provide the best possible grip and stability. Checking in on the cattle will be an easy task, no matter where they are. An optional off-road pack adds engine, transfer case and fuel tank protection, as well as an electronic

locking rear differential to boost traction.

Designed to work in tandem with the Ranger’s selectable 4WD system, Ford has introduced a range of upgraded engines which, it says, are focused on performance, efficiency, power and refinement. Paired to a 6-speed manual or automatic transmission, the 2.2L TDCi Duratorq diesel block produces either 130 or 150bhp; the 3.2L comes with 200bhp and 470Nm at your fingertips.

Available in Regular or Double Cab formats, the new Ranger comes in four trim levels – XL, XLT, Limited and Wildtrak – the latter a more industrial off-roader that only comes with the more powerful 3.2L engine.

Fighting to hold onto its top spot in Europe against the likes of the Nissan Navara, Toyota Hilux and Volkswagen’s Amorak, the new Ranger – thanks to improved styling, better steering, and a strong engine block – appears more than capable of winning this round.

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A Clean Environment Means a Healthy Young Herd Our LDI Housing Hygiene range is the complete package.

It aims to disinfect and protect at every stage; from dirt removal and housing disinfectant to feeding equipment and vehicle cleaner.

Environmental hygiene is crucial to prevent the spread of animal disease.

Thorough cleaning and disinfection of the housing, passageways, loading chutes and all fixed equipment, can break the cycle of re-infection for the succeeding animal population. A clean environment contributes to an improved welfare of animals, resulting in increased productivity.

See your local Ecolab distributor for more details agriculture.uk@ecolab.com | en-uk.ecolab.com Michael Collins: (087) 688 1530 | Paddy Wickham: (087) 933 4127

Discover our new free Android and iPhone CattleApp! ü Easy to use app can improve your dairy farm’s profit management ü Calculate milk and profit loss according to level of lameness and mastitis

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25/04/2016 16:50

OWN THIS BALER FOR €6000/YEAR + VAT!*

FASTEST BALER IN THE WORLD** SEMI VARIABLE CHAMBER MAKES BALES 4–5FT *Based on retail purchase price of €30K+ VAT. Min. deposit 25%. 0% Finance. 1+4 payments **World record holder - 149 in 1 hour

Everybody Knows Krone Make the Best Bales

Contact Stephen: +353 86 165 3925 Tel: +353 1 812 9700 www.farmhand.ie

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20/06/2016 12:39

YOUR ŠKODA DEALER HAS MIRACULOUS OFFERS JUST FOR YOU

Barry Sheridan, ŠKODA Sales Specialist.

In addition to Interest FREE Finance we also have…

FREE SmartLink* which enables you to access the Apps and Navigation on your Smartphone through our Colour Touch Screen Sound Systems.

UPGRADE PACKAGES. We also have some exceptional interest free upgrade packages such as: Fabia Tech pack for less than €6 per month.

Yeti Full leather package from just €17 per month.

Octavia Sportline package with Bi-Xenon Lights and a whole host of extra kit from only €42 per month.

For more details on these great packs visit www.skoda.ie

Typical Finance Example: Octavia 1.2TSI 86bhp Active on the road price excluding metallic paint €19,595. Deposit / Part Exchange €6,056.64. 36 monthly payments of €179 (including service plan of €13.99 per month). Optional final Payment €7,598. Total cost of credit €0. Total hire purchase price €19,595. Minimum deposit is 10%. Subject to lending criteria. This offer is made under a hire purchase agreement. ŠKODA Finance is a trading style of Volkswagen Bank GmbH Branch Ireland, authorised by the Federal Financial Supervisory Authority in Germany and regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland for conduct of business rules. 0% APR is offered on Fabia, Rapid, Yeti and Octavia models ordered between the 23rd May and the 31st July 2016 & registered before 31st August 2016. *Excludes Citigo models & Active trim lines across all models. Smartlink may already be standard equipment on selected models or may not be offered on certain stock models. Please check with your authorised ŠKODA dealer in advance of placing your order.

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19/05/2016 16:44 17/06/2016 23/05/2016 11:21 16:49

ADVERTISING FEATURE

Škoda: Top of the Range Towing The ŠKODA towing system offers advanced features including trailer bulb monitoring, parking sensor deactivation and an anti-theft device.

Towing and trailers are not one of the most glamorous subjects when it comes to motoring, and for this reason have not been topical over the last number of years. ŠKODA, however, consider themselves to be one of the most practical and functional car brands on the market and take the subject very seriously. ŠKODA have highlighted that 22 per cent (1,375) of their retail customers fitted genuine ŠKODA towing systems (tow bar and electrical harness kit) to their vehicles last year.

According to ŠKODA, they are seeing an increasing number of customers requesting towing systems for leisure purposes such as boating, caravanning and equine activity as well as business and agricultural functions. ŠKODA towing systems start from €499 and include safety and functional benefits such as Electronic Trailer Stability Assist, which works through the vehicle’s ABS and ESP systems to maintain vehicle control when the trailer begins to wallow and destabilise the trailer and the vehicle itself.

Engines have to work harder when towing a trailer, therefore the vehicle cooling strategy is altered to account for heavier loads on the engine. The system also offers simple, yet clever features like trailer bulb monitoring, parking sensor deactivation, advanced park assist features and even an

anti-theft device that triggers the vehicle’s alarm if an unauthorised attempt is made to disconnect the trailer from the vehicle.

Speaking about ŠKODA’s towing and trailer offering, Raymond Leddy, Head of Marketing at ŠKODA Ireland, said: “ŠKODA offers an excellent range of vehicles suitable for towing. The most suitable are our 4x4 variants of the Octavia, Yeti and Superb that offer up to 25 per cent increased towing capacity compared to standard 4x2 versions.”

Leddy added: “Legislation around trailer standards and towing licenses and testing has changed since October 2012, with many people uncertain of the regulation.

In the main, a standard category B

licence does not entitle the holder with a standard large 4x4 commercial or SUV to tow a horsebox or livestock trailer because the combined maximum weight exceeds 3,500kg. In this case a test is required to acquire a BE licence. A ŠKODA Superb Combi 4x4, on the other hand, can legally tow a standard 900kg horsebox and two 500kg horses on a standard B licence.” ŠKODA are set to increase their towing and 4x4 range even further when they launch the new Kodiaq in early 2017. A hint of what this new car’s design will look like was seen at this year’s Geneva Motorshow when ŠKODA unveiled their Vision-S concept vehicle.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION ON ŠKODA, VISIT: WWW.SKODA.IE. EAR TO THE GROUND 159

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DOWN ON THE FARM

Down on the Farm

DESPITE BEATING SOME SERIOUS COMPETITION TO BECOME IRELAND’S RUGBY CAPTAIN EARLIER THIS YEAR, ARMAGH MAN RORY BEST HASN’T FORGOTTEN HIS ROOTS. EAR TO THE GROUND CAUGHT UP WITH THE ULSTER HOOKER ON THE 1,200ACRE FAMILY FARM IN GILFORT. I grew up on a farm. When I was younger, we had beef cattle – pedigree simmentals and Charolais. We had a lot of grassland with a bit of barley. As the years went by, the family farm focused more on the grassland, mainly the rotation of wheat oats, oilseed rape and beans. I have my own Aberdeen Angus herd now. I started buying them in 2009. I have around 130 animals; 60-odd cows, their calves at foot and the remaining heifers. With farming so much is weather and market dependent. The big thing I’ve always taken from it is that regardless of what is thrown at you, all you can do is keep trying to produce. And no matter what, it’s important to maintain your standards. I certainty try to take that into rugby: when things get tough you don’t just fold. It is tough and at times for people with farms, the easiest thing might

be to just sell the whole lot, take a little bit of a cash injection, and go do something else. But ultimately very few farmers do that and that’s because they love what they do first of all, but there’s also a resilience about them. That’s something I’ve taken into rugby. We get injuries, there’s a fluctuation in performance and we have stuff thrown at us that nobody wants, but you have it and you have to deal with it. There’s a constant squeeze on price. The challenges are always going to come from market pressures and it will be difficult for smaller farmers to remain sustainable. It’s going to become more of a quantity game. The margins are going to be so tight you’re going to have to be able to scale to be profitable. Obviously I’m biased, but the quality of the food we produce on this island is far beyond oth-

ers. I’ve toured Argentina and everybody praises the steak there, but for me they definitely weren’t any better than what we produce. It’s important to keep those standards and try to push the product that we have. We need to make sure that people are aware that they are very fortunate to be living on this island with the quality of food that we produce. It’s about being outside. I get cabin fever when I come in the door, I feel that I should be doing something. There’s nothing better for me than being outside and working with my hands and with animals and everything involved with farming. It’s a very tough life and it’s a easy for me to say it’s great to be outside because I’m only really doing it part-time along with rugby, but the outdoors is definitely an aspect of farming that I’ve always loved.

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Great Minds Don’t Think Alike.

Volvo XC60 – Make it yours from €39,495*

Who builds the best cars? The Germans? The Americans?

The Italians? The Koreans? Or is it the Swedes?

Truth is, it’s none of those. It’s all of them. Together. Ever since the ‘50s, we’ve brought people to Sweden from all over the world to develop and build our cars. Not just because we’re a caring and human company, but because we know it makes us better.

Diversity sparks creativity. It pushes innovation. It helps us to build safer and smarter cars, designed around people’s everyday lives.

MADE BY PEOPLE

*Delivery and related charges not included. Terms and conditions apply. Model shown is the Volvo XC60 R Design SE from €47,545. Fuel consumption for the Volvo Range in mpg (l/100km): Urban 35.3 (8.0) – 68.9 (4.1), Extra Urban 58.9 (4.8) – 85.6 (3.3), Combined 34.4 (8.2) – 156.9 (1.8). CO2 Emissions 215 – 48 g/km. All new Volvo cars come with a 3 year warranty and 2 years’ roadside assistance.

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17/06/2016 17/02/2016 17:45 09/02/2016 11:24 17:07

Farm Insurance from Aviva

Land yourself complete cover, for a lot less Quality Farm Cover and service at competitive prices 4 Premium reductions for various farm safety procedures 4 Farm dwelling, outbuildings, livestock and liability insurance 4 Great deals on tractor and other farm machinery insurance 4 24 hour Claims Service 4 Flexible payment options

Talk to your local Insurance Broker today Aviva Insurance Limited trading as Aviva, is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority in the UK and is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland.

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31/05/2016 08:56 17/06/2016 31/05/2016 11:25 13:12