series Archives - Page 5 of 7 - Agricultural and Rural Convention

Letter From The Farm | Thriving In The Ford

May 30, 2020 Chiara Garini

We’re back on Chiara’s mushroom farm at the foot of the Italian Alps, where forest farm life goes on regardless of the lockdown. She is determined to get her on-farm processing facility up and running for this season. During the Covid-19 crisis she’s been even more socially isolated than usual, giving her time to muse on the deeper meanings of the “ford”: the site of her farm, but also a metaphor for agroforesty and agroecology. […]

Letter From The Farm | A Conscientious Objector to the Meat Industry

May 28, 2020 Louise Kelleher

Meet Josef, a Czech livestock farmer who is a conscientious objector to the meat industry. For ethical reasons he slaughters his animals on farm and sells the meat locally to friends and neighbours. On-farm slaughter is not legally possible for small farmers in the Czech Republic, where the only ways to kill a cow are via big processors, investing in your own on-farm facility – which is prohibitively expensive – or live exports. In order to speak freely about his activities, Josef (not his real name) chose to remain anonymous for this conversation with Louise Kelleher. […]

Climate and environmentally ambitious CAP Strategic Plans: Based on what exactly?

May 25, 2020 Matteo Metta

Climate and environment will rightly form a huge part of how the next CAP is framed – but the process for developing and checking relevant criteria is unclear. Here’s how we can help with that. […]

Letter From The Farm | The Resilience and Privilege of a Rural Homestead

May 18, 2020 Brindusa Birhala

We’re back on Brindusa’s farm in Romania, where the Covid-19 crisis has halted her main sales. On the flip side she’s seeing a lot more interest in local food. She’s been doing a lot of thinking about food justice and the informal economy. The lockdown has made her take stock of her privilege. And so this year she’s determined to feed more people than ever. The only question is, how will she distribute this year’s bumper crop? […]

How Transparent and Inclusive is the Design Process of the National CAP Strategic Plans?

April 29, 2020 Matteo Metta

After the first steps made towards designing the National CAP Strategic Plans, we analyses the transparency and stakeholders inclusivity in six selected Member States: France, Ireland, Italy, Germany, Spain, and Poland. […]

CAP Performance Monitoring and Evaluation Framework: What’s Cooking?

April 6, 2020 Matteo Metta

The new Performance Monitoring and Evaluation Framework (PMEF) of the CAP Strategic Plan Regulation (SPR) is composed of a set of elements, including common objectives for both CAP Pillar I and II, common indicators, quantified targets and milestones, data management and reporting activities, and incentive mechanisms for good performance and to address deviations. […]

Letter from a Farm – Ruminating on the First Two Years in Italy

March 4, 2020 Chiara Garini

We are back in northern Italy, with mushroom and agroforestry farmer Chiara Garini. Writing after two years on her own farm, she reflects on her experiences and takeaways and what plans lie ahead. […]

Letter from a Farm | Saving Carrottop – the Life of a Cow in Mayo

July 9, 2019 Sinéad Moran

We’re back on Sineád Moran’s farm in Mayo, Ireland to meet her stock. Sineád introduces her cows and some of the struggles they have been facing over the last two years. It brings up questions about farmer’s knowledge and learning to trust your instinct. But really caring for your cows takes time and energy, something not all farmers can afford. […]

Letter from a Farm – Diverse Systems & Diverse Skills

June 4, 2019 Chiara Garini

We are back in Trento, Italy, on the farm with Chiara Garini. This time she talks us through the challenges of making an agroforestry farm ecologically and economically viable in the long term. In particular, she stresses the many skills and approaches needed to be a successful agroecological farmer. […]

Letter from the Farm | Spring Update from Greece’s Mazi Farm

March 13, 2019 Natasha Foote

The idea of support species stems from the observation that in nature, you always find a diversity of species growing together. You can observe different species working together to support and facilitate the growth of others and for the good of the whole system in many complex interactions. […]

Letter from a Farm | Starting the Soil Health Journey in Ireland

March 7, 2019 Kieran Sullivan

Kieran Sullivan, our Man in Muddy Boots, is keen to regenerate the soil on his sheep farm in Ireland. Here he reports on his journey to understanding the soil and implementing some measures to improve soil health. This is no small feat, he finds out. […]

Letter from a Farm | A Stormy Winter in Italy

February 5, 2019 Chiara Garini

Winter and the fierce storms that came with it were a blow for our budding agroforestry farm in Italy. We hear from farmer Chiara Garini about how she dealt with the extreme weather events, how she plans to prepare for more such events in future and how she’s prepping for the year ahead. […]

Letter from a Farm | Growing Relationships in Romania

January 30, 2019 Brindusa Birhala

We are back on Brindusa’s farm in Romania as she reflects on what worked in 2018 and what she will work on in the coming year. Not to be underestimated: the importance of steady, reliable relationships to consumers keen for larger quantities. […]

Letter From The Farm | Mimicking Natural Processes in Greece

December 19, 2018 Natasha Foote

We are back in Greece on Mazi Farm with Tash Foote who talks us through the thinking behind the farm design. […]

Letter From The Farm | Seeking Sustainable Shiitakes

December 10, 2018 Chiara Garini

With the cold season setting in, we are back on Chiara Garini’s agroecolgical farm in Italy to talk mushrooms and sustainable forest management. Introducing Gunter Pauli’s Blue Economy concept, Chiara discusses the pros and cons of shiitake cultivation and how she has approached it on the farm. […]