Ireland Trip Summary
18 July 2024As a current agriculture student in Scotland I was very much looking forward to furthering my knowledge of the subject on the trip to Ireland and seeing the similarities & differences between the Scottish and Irish systems.
The trip particularly allowed me to expand my knowledge of biodiversity enhancement as we learned greatly about the ACRES habitat scheme which is implemented in Ireland (similar to the Scottish AECS scheme) however this scheme rewards farmers based on results already established on farm compared to the highly competitive AECS scheme where farms aren’t guaranteed entry- resulting in a high uptake in the Irish scheme. We learned about this at the Teagasc sheep research centre in Athenry where it was also particularly useful to get a visual representation of what successfully established field margins and hedges look like as these types of measures will most likely become widely expected within Scotland in the future to aid meeting the Government’s climate and nature targets.
Another highlight at the research centre was seeing the methane measuring chambers which they have for sheep. Teagasc had done various studies on how different feeds etc. would affect the enteric fermentation of sheep on farms and by gathering sound data it has allowed them to give accurate advice to farmers on mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions from their flocks.
Our group also visited a farmer out in Galway who was part of the Teagasc “Better” scheme. He had no more sheep than your average crofter in Scotland- around 200- however he managed to run this as his full-time job due to every business decision he made being a very conscious one to improve his flock- resulting in a highly efficient and productive flock of sheep- ultimately minimising his carbon footprint as much as possible whilst saving costs. This visit showed our group how well-calculated decisions can improve your flock. An example of this being a strict culling policy for sheep, if she didn’t have a lamb she would be culled or if there were any issues at lambing time with the ewe then, likewise, she would be culled and her offspring wouldn’t be kept on- this improves efficiency of the flock in the long-term.
We also got to see examples of farms which had diversified into specific enterprises such as Connemara ponies and a dairy which had diversified into cheese production, adding value to their original product. This highlighted to the group how one innovative idea can completely alter the direction of your business but also make it more sustainable.
Ultimately, the trip allowed for valuable networking opportunities between likeminded crofters from across varying parts of the Scottish crofting communities as although everyone has had different experiences in life, everyone could still relate to the struggles and challenges (and the good parts!) of being a crofter in Scotland and this allowed for inspiring discussions to take place around what we could do better to improve within our own businesses when speaking to others. I look forward to keeping up with the group I visited Ireland with in the future as we continue our crofting discussion group meetings.
Written by Katrina Coutts
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