RDS Spring Awards 2019
The economic, environmental and societal sustainability of rural Ireland was at the heart of the RDS Spring Awards which took place in the RDS Concert Hall on Wednesday April 24, 2019. Seventeen awards given out by the RDS highlighted some of the best examples of sustainable farmers and foresters in the country.
The 2019 RDS Spring Agriculture and Forestry Awards Ceremony in the Concert Hall
The RDS Spring Awards 2019 recognised and rewarded farmers and woodland owners who are employing the principles of climate smart agriculture on their properties, including sound commercial management, environmental protection and the encouragement of bio-diversity.
According to Michael Duffy, RDS Chief Executive: “this year we took further steps to incorporate climate smart agriculture into the RDS Spring Awards to better reflect the changes that agriculture needs to make to ensure sustainable living and sustainable farming in rural Ireland.”
Highlighting the best applications of science in farm practice remains central to the RDS Spring Awards. The RDS-ICBF Beef Herd Award recognises the best use of genomics and beef data in farms around the country. Patrick Drohan, from Scrahn, Kilmacthomas, Co. Waterford took the 2019 award, however this award was accepted on his behalf by his wife Jane, as late last year Patrick was killed in fall while working on the farm. Patrick was a very prominent and popular suckler farmer in the south-east region and was actively involved in the Teagasc Better Farm Beef Programme. He also hosting various farm walks on his land, helping others to learn from what he was able to achieve.
Converting a land from livestock use to forestry is not a decision to be taken lightly, but Gerard Deegan was recognised by the RDS for his brave and successful move into forestry in 2012, and presented with the 2019 RDS-Forest Service Teagasc Farm Forestry Award. Gerard planted 75% of his 145 acre farm in Cooksborough, Co. Westmeath with mixed woodland and is today reaping the rewards of this decision. He had previously been involved in organic diary production and a calf-to-beef system. Gerard has gained personally from this change, finding that “for the first time in my life, I feel that I am in charge of my time. Since planting trees, I feel my workload is more manageable and I can now fully appreciate and enjoy what my farm has to offer”. But he has also opened up benefits to others through his involvement with Social Farming Ireland: “The benefits that people with special needs gain by partaking in both the farm and forest activities are brilliant for both the participants and myself.”
More people are leaving farming than going into it, but Ailbhe Gerrard is one such recent entrant when she bought a farm near her family home in 2010. Situated on the Tipperary side of Lough Derg, Ailbhe was awarded the 2019 Talamh Sustainable Farming Award for the added value Ailbhe has brought to her farm. Before she started Hivegifts, Ailbhe’s farm was already very busy with producing organically certified lamb, honey production, conventional tillage, as well as native woodland and broadleaf plantation. Not content with this already diverse mix of activity, Hivegifts was set up in 2015 and is an on-farm craft business that has significantly increased the farm’s revenue. The Brookfield Farm visitor experience currently welcomes visitors for educational farm walks and talks and candle-making demonstrations. The next phase of development envisages developing a small visitor centre to allow more visitors to take part in candle-making demonstrations.
Overlooked by the Sugarloaf mountain and a major supplier of Dublin’s water supply, Irish Water and Dublin City Council jointly collected the Community Woodlands Award for Vartry Reservoir, Co. Wicklow. Owned and managed by DCC and Irish Water, local volunteers have also become involved in the development of the woodland which provide an important recreational amenity for the local community and visitors alike, and now serves as an excellent example of the NeighbourWood scheme run by the Department of Agriculture.
Leahy’s family farm was awarded the 2019 Talamh Sustainable Living Award for their enterprising open farm that has transformed their holding from a diary and pig production to an agri-tourist model. Leahy’s open farm first opened to the public in 1996 displaying Eddie Leahy’s collection of vintage farm machinery, as well as turning a profit due to Eileen Leahy’s home bakery skills. The enterprise has become so popular that it now provides full-time employment for a number of their children, which is something that that traditional farming model would have been unable to do.
Commenting on the Awards, Michael Duffy, Chief Executive of the RDS said: “The RDS is committed to the future of Irish agriculture, it is a vital way in which we realise our mission of seeing Ireland thrive. Science and farming are becoming ever more intertwined through both increasing technological advances and the responsibilities of climate change, and many of the Awards presented today are to farmers who are setting the standard for others to follow in this regard. The Awards also highlight those who are adding value to their farm through enterprising ideas and demonstrating to others what can be achieved.”