Over the next two months a pilot initiative at Mountbellew Livestock Mart, Co. Galway called ‘Farmer’s Yards’ aims to support farmers and promote social inclusion in the community.
The project led by the University of Galway will provide farmers in the area with a platform to come together as a local peer group in a familiar and friendly mart setting.
Established as an opportunity to support individual farmers and fit the farming community’s collective interests and values, the initiative will run through March and April.
In addition to the mart’s primary function providing a method of buying and selling livestock, the bidding ring also provides a vital social facility for the local farming community, the University of Galway said.
‘Farmer’s Yards’ at Mountbellew Mart
Farmers can come together in a secure and positive environment to chat about livestock, issues relevant to their livelihoods, and local news over a cup of tea and biscuits the evenings the mart takes place.
Farmer’s Yards will also include a weekly stock-judging competition of cattle, and discuss topics such as understanding online mart bidding platforms, interpreting Euro-Star breeding indexes, farm succession options, and physical health and well-being.
“Many farmers rely on their weekly visit to the mart to meet with their friends, exchange ideas and catch up on local news,” project lead Dr. Shane Conway at University of Galway said.
Commenting that the Rural Studies Centre at the University of Galway, which leads the new social organisation, believes that Farmer’s Yards has a lot of potential to succeed, Dr. Conway said:
“It is gender inclusive and has an intergenerational aspect, bringing together men and women of all ages involved in farming in the form of a social hub for the entire farming community.”
The project can contribute to the older farmer’s overall sense of happiness, belonging and self-worth, providing a social outlet for them to remain actively involved in the farming community, the centre said.
EU social policy
More than one third of Irish farmers are over the age of 65, he said adding that the project will also address recent calls by the European Commission to use social policy to help older farmers enhance their quality of life.
This is an important shift in focus, he said, as previous policy aimed at stimulating generational renewal in agriculture, such as the most recent Early Retirement Scheme for farmers (ERS3) in Ireland.
For example, requesting farmers to “cease all agricultural activity forever” upon retirement, overlooking their identity and social circles in later life, Dr. Conway added.