Ireland Archives - Agricultural and Rural Convention

Ireland | EIPs make the case for a better CAP

7 September, 2020 ARC

A group of EIPs – European Innovation Partnerships – has come together in Ireland to argue the case for this environmentally engaged form of farming. So what’s next – will some of the methods and approaches used in these EIPs become templates for other farming regions in Ireland, or for the design of CAP schemes, or for more market-orientated approaches such as PDO and PGI? Here we publish a joint letter by a number of EIPs from Ireland to help stimulate this debate. […]

Letter From the Farm – of Seeds and not Reseeding

9 July, 2020 ARC

Madeline McKeever has been farming in west Cork, on the edge of the Atlantic, since 1999. First in dairy and cheese making, then beef, and now mostly selling organic vegetable seeds. Madeline has seen a lot – like the return of mushrooms, white clover, and dozens of plants in her unploughed sward. […]

Europe’s Agroecology Movement – Stepping up in Times of Covid19

22 June, 2020 Alison Brogan

Four innovative and committed agroecology initiatives showed how they stepped up in times of Covid19 at a webinar organised by Forum Synergies and ARC2020 last week. And dozens, from all over Europe and beyond, got involved in the conversation. Alison Brogan tells us about this event which provided a moment to reflect, some key contemporary learnings, and which sowed the seeds of further action. […]

Ammonia | Hanging Around Like A Bad Smell

10 June, 2020 Alison Brogan

An unpleasant stench stank out cities across Europe this spring as the pandemic-induced drop in emissions from transport and industry cleared the air for agricultural air pollution. As luck would have it, the Covid-19 lockdowns coincided with peak slurry-spreading time – making the stink all the more pungent. But there’s more to manure than a bad smell to worry about. Alison Brogan reports. […]

Covid-19 & Meat Processing Plants: An EU-wide response?

4 June, 2020 Alison Brogan

Covid-19 outbreaks in meat factories worldwide are revealing different responses for the exposed workers – and makes the case for an EU wide standard for meat factory workers. Alison Brogan highlights recent developments in Germany and Ireland. […]

Ireland | Remote Work Could Rejuvenate Rural Communities

22 May, 2020 Luke Kent

We don’t know yet what the “new normal” will look like, but we do know that remote work can work – with the right supports. In Ireland, the pull of jobs in the city and abroad has hollowed out rural areas, and young graduates have little incentive to return home after completing their studies in Dublin. Many young graduates from rural areas would jump at the chance to stay put and pursue their careers remotely, rather than facing crippling rents in Dublin, or a crippling commute. Now is the time for a paradigm shift in working life to rejuvenate rural communities, argues Luke Kent. […]

Covid19, Meat Processing Plants and the Limits of the Intensive Farming Model

19 May, 2020 Alison Brogan

While the exploitation of agri-food sector workers is a longstanding food system issue, the emergence of slaughterhouses across Europe and the US as coronavirus hotspots has brought renewed urgency and heightened awareness to issues relating to the conditions to which meat-plant workers are exposed. Alison Brogan rounds up the Covid19 news on this topic from the US, Ireland and Germany. […]

Farming as its Ferment to be? Korean Natural Farming in Ireland

31 March, 2020 Oliver Moore

Having seen the unfolding of huge supply chain issues with Covid-19, there is much to be said for resilient self-sufficient farmers who can make their own inputs. Traditionally, this has been practices like seed saving and compost. Tom Stack takes it to another level. […]

For Peat’s Sake – Paludiculture and a Wetter, Better CAP

3 February, 2020 Jan Peters

Fully functional, healthy peatlands are the most effective long-term carbon store and sink on the planet. But what sort of state are they in, and what role for agriculture and CAP. And just what is Paludiculture? Jan Peters and colleagues assess the terrain. […]

Alan Matthews on the Current CAP process in Ireland

9 January, 2020 ARC

In this second of a two part series with Alan Matthews, we discuss his home country of Ireland and CAP. Oliver Moore speaks with Matthews on Ireland’s greenhouse gas emissions; its increasing herd size, in particular in dairy; the success of the European Innovation Partnerships; the role of coops; issues facing the beef sector; diversification and more. […]

Is There Space for Rewilding on Organic Farms?

9 December, 2019 ARC

Oliver Moore spoke with Irish organic cattle farmer Sean Butler about rewilding and organic farming. The west-of-Ireland man is already starting to encourage nature to come back – but could CAP help? […]

Rural Dialogues | Not Necessarily Money – farm renewal and (inter)generational considerations

29 October, 2019 ARC

How do farms pass on between the generations in a way that respects the needs of older and younger people? Share Conway and colleagues argue for an approach that allows older farmers to maintain and sustain normal day to day activity and behaviour on their farms in later life, whilst also ‘releasing the reins’ to allow for the necessary delegation of managerial responsibilities and ownership of the family farm to their successors. […]

Farm-2-Fork 2030: A Truly Green Farming, Food and Rural Vision for Ireland

20 September, 2019 Stuart Meikle

With the Irish 2030 agri-food strategy preparations underway, Regenerative Farming Ireland (RFI) have launched a vision for a truly green farming, food and rural future for Ireland, Farm-2-Fork 2030. Stuart Meikle, member of RFI, lays out the vision here. […]

Rural Dialogues | Stochastic System Collapse Part 2 – the Social and Solidarity Economy Alternative

5 September, 2019 ARC

In part one, we outlined just how bad the situation is regarding climate and biodiversity collapse, as well as the people-driven responses to this – from extinction rebellion to the school strikes. Beyond these alarm-raising direct action initiatives, what is there out there to become the system change that’s so clearly needed? Here in part 2 we introduce the social and solidarity economy, and the interesting lessons we can learn from separatist movements from the past and present, from Quebec to Ireland. […]

Rural Dialogues | Stochastic System Collapse Part 1

4 September, 2019 Oliver Moore

Just how bad are the twin climate and biodiversity crises, and what is anyone doing about it? The first of a two parter on the topic from ARC2020’s Oliver Moore. […]