The Farming for Nature (FFN) project has announced that it has welcomed Co. Monaghan farmer, Pat McKenna to its growing ambassador network.
The project, which is now in its fourth year, highlights the stories of farmers who manage their land sustainably, while providing an income for their family.
Pat is among this year’s 23 ambassadors that come from across Ireland and include beef, sheep, forestry, dairy, horticulture and tillage farmers.
The ambassadors have a wide range of very valuable habitats on their holdings including species-rich grasslands and heaths, wetlands, woodlands and hedgerows.
Farming for nature
Pat McKenna keeps a Dexter suckler-herd on 60ac of marginal land at the foothills of Sliabh Beagh in north Co. Monaghan.
The herd consists of about 90 cattle and the farmer operates a calf-to-beef system. The beef is sold directly to restaurants and local customers.
There is a traditional hay meadow on the farm of about 7ac, along with 12ac of broadleaf forestry which was planted eight years ago.
Last year, Pat took part in the Sliabh Beagh conservation grazing trial which aimed to reduce fire risks on the mountain. The region is also a hen harrier protected area.
“Using cattle and a conservation grazing system on the mountain aims to improve the habitat by breaking down the pasture, loosening it and opening it up,” the farmer explained.
The result of this approach is that there is “more life on the ground” which provides better opportunities for ground-nesting birds, such as the hen harrier.
As the farm is also located in a protected area for curlew, Pat does not cut any grass until July or August.
The enterprise operates as a low-input farming system with no chemical fertiliser being used. The only inputs are farmyard manure, slurry and dry bedding.
“I am farming in sympathy with nature because I see it as the future of farming in a time when consumers are tuned into greener, more traceable food products.
“In a time of rapidly rising input costs it is becoming apparent that lower inputs and more care for the soil can be profitable for primary producers,” Pat said.
The FFN awards are sponsored by Bord Bia and supported by stakeholders including the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM), the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) and the National Rural Network.