Sustainable Cork farmers contribute to new book
Farmers are key to improving and protecting nature and a new book aims to give farmers and others practical tips on how to create a more sustainable future.
‘The Farming For Nature Handbook’ is a practical guide to protecting and restoring nature and Irish farmers — including six from Cork have contributed. It combines scientific research with local knowledge and shares farmers’ experiences of how working with nature can help reduce costs and improve incomes.
The six Cork farmers are: Darina Allen, Eoghan Daltun, Jacinta French, Paul McCormick, Paul Moore and Thomas Fouhy. All are also Farming For Nature Ambassadors.
This book attempts to highlight the positive ways farmers can sustain and enhance our natural environment, and benefit from the results.
It is hoped ‘The Farming For Nature Handbook' will become the essential guide to caring profitably for our land.
The book, which will be launched today on 28 November, was inspired by regular requests to the non-profit Farming For Nature project from landowners, farmers, smallholders and growers wanting to learn how best to manage their land, big or small, in a way that enhances habitats, protects profits, and safeguards our natural environment and rural communities.
The Farming For Nature project was set up to support, encourage and inspire farmers who farm, or who wish to farm, in a way that will improve the natural health of our countryside.
Paul McCormick and Jacinta French are beef and agroforestry farmers in Skibbereen. Their advice includes: “On our small farm in West Cork, we outwinter a small, suckler herd of cattle, a heritage breed, native to Ireland, called Droimeann. They provide beef, they maintain existing pastures and enhance their biodiversity, they prevent dense wooded areas becoming overgrown and inaccessible and they create new pastures within the woods.”
‘The Farming For Nature Handbook’ shares tips for a better farming future and shows how to manage land in a way that enhances habitats, increases wildlife and harnesses natural processes while protecting livelihoods, food security and profiles. It is not just targeted at farmers but is for anyone who wants to grow, garden and gather better.
The book was conceived and developed by Brigid Barry, researched and mainly written by conservation ecologist Dr Emma Hart on behalf of Farming For Nature and co-edited by Dr Brendan Dunford of the Burrenbeo Trust.
The Farming For Nature Handbook is published by Dingle Publishing for €30. It is available to order at farmingfornature.ie.
The book was supported financially by the National Parks and Wildlife Service, the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, and the Lifes2Good Foundation.
Farming For Nature co-founder Dr Brendan Dunford said: “Two thirds of our countryside is owned and managed by farmers, and we view these farmers as potentially a huge resource in addressing the biodiversity crisis that Ireland faces today.
“This has seen declines in most of our habitats and species – for instance, it’s estimated that we’ve lost 30% of our semi-natural grasslands in only one decade.
“To mobilise these ‘farmers for nature’ we need better funding but also better guidance, and this handbook will hopefully help inform the journey ahead towards a more sustainable future for our wonderful landscapes and those who farm them.”