Co. Louth free-range farm walk to focus on ‘sustainability'
A farm walk is due to take place next week at the family-owned free-range Belview egg farm in Co. Louth, with the aim of promoting sustainability in the sector.
Dermot Herlihy, who has a strong focus on environmental responsibility within poultry on his enterprise, will host the farm walk on Wednesday, June 18 at 11:00a.m.
The Teagasc-organised walk will take place in Carrickbaggot, Co. Louth, and all are welcome to attend.
The company – which was established in 1978 by Dermot and his wife Nicola – has grown over the last 40 years from 5,000 hens to a brood of 288,000 hens today.
The event will primarily discuss poultry manure in tillage, European Innovation Partnership (EIP) farming for water quality, as well as solar panels and energy savings.
Poultry manure in tillage
Broiler litter is a mixture of chicken manure and bedding material, and is a fertiliser often used for tillage crops in Ireland.
It can be a very cost-effective way of building soil fertility in comparison to artificial fertilisers, particularly on soils low in phosphorus (P).
Chicken manure has a high dry matter content, which helps to build soil organic carbon, improve the soils water-holding capacity, and can also improve the soil biological activity.
Broiler litter is rich in essential nutrients, including P, nitrogen (N), potassium (K), and trace minerals.
European Innovation Partnership (EIP)
The Farming for Water European Innovation Partnership (EIP), will provide €50 million to approximately 15,000 farmers up to the end of 2027 in a bid to improve water quality, according to Teagasc.
There are over 40 measures to choose from, including: completing a rainwater management plan; a farmer training course; and a Nutrient Management Plan.
It also provides funding for items such as solar pumps, stream fencing, and hedge and tree planting.
This grant aid is targeted to specific priority areas for action.
Solar panels and energy savings
For many farmers, solar power is becoming a prominent option when dealing with current environments.
Research suggests solar panels can cut energy costs, support sustainability, and give electrical independence to farmers.
Depending on battery specification, a farmer can displace the majority of his electricity, and may even be approved to be eligible to return to the grid.
If eligible, the Targeted Agricultural Modernisation Scheme (TAMS) provides a 40% grant on a solar PV investment, while young qualified farmers can get up to 60% in grant aid.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Agriland
a day ago
- Agriland
Co. Louth free-range farm walk to focus on ‘sustainability'
A farm walk is due to take place next week at the family-owned free-range Belview egg farm in Co. Louth, with the aim of promoting sustainability in the sector. Dermot Herlihy, who has a strong focus on environmental responsibility within poultry on his enterprise, will host the farm walk on Wednesday, June 18 at 11:00a.m. The Teagasc-organised walk will take place in Carrickbaggot, Co. Louth, and all are welcome to attend. The company – which was established in 1978 by Dermot and his wife Nicola – has grown over the last 40 years from 5,000 hens to a brood of 288,000 hens today. The event will primarily discuss poultry manure in tillage, European Innovation Partnership (EIP) farming for water quality, as well as solar panels and energy savings. Poultry manure in tillage Broiler litter is a mixture of chicken manure and bedding material, and is a fertiliser often used for tillage crops in Ireland. It can be a very cost-effective way of building soil fertility in comparison to artificial fertilisers, particularly on soils low in phosphorus (P). Chicken manure has a high dry matter content, which helps to build soil organic carbon, improve the soils water-holding capacity, and can also improve the soil biological activity. Broiler litter is rich in essential nutrients, including P, nitrogen (N), potassium (K), and trace minerals. European Innovation Partnership (EIP) The Farming for Water European Innovation Partnership (EIP), will provide €50 million to approximately 15,000 farmers up to the end of 2027 in a bid to improve water quality, according to Teagasc. There are over 40 measures to choose from, including: completing a rainwater management plan; a farmer training course; and a Nutrient Management Plan. It also provides funding for items such as solar pumps, stream fencing, and hedge and tree planting. This grant aid is targeted to specific priority areas for action. Solar panels and energy savings For many farmers, solar power is becoming a prominent option when dealing with current environments. Research suggests solar panels can cut energy costs, support sustainability, and give electrical independence to farmers. Depending on battery specification, a farmer can displace the majority of his electricity, and may even be approved to be eligible to return to the grid. If eligible, the Targeted Agricultural Modernisation Scheme (TAMS) provides a 40% grant on a solar PV investment, while young qualified farmers can get up to 60% in grant aid.
Irish Examiner
2 days ago
- Irish Examiner
Teagasc to demonstrate field vegetable crop establishment and band-spraying at Crops Open Day
A live field vegetable crop establishment and band-spraying demonstration will take place in Teagasc Oak Park on Wednesday, June 25, as part of the Crops Open Day 2025. The Teagasc Horticulture Development Department are hosting the event and have invited growers and industry to attend. The demonstrations will take place at the Teagasc Crops Research Centre in Oak Park on June 25, running from 9am to 11am. Some of the latest developments and commercial machinery for planting/drilling brassicas, root crops, alliums and cucurbits suitable for various farm scales will be demonstrated live. The aim of the event is to demonstrate commercial and innovative equipment for establishing quality crops as quickly and as labour efficiently as possible. This will be increasingly important in attempting to establish crops between adverse weather events, particularly in the spring. Speaking ahead of the demonstration, Head of the Teagasc Horticulture Development Department, Dr Michael Gaffney, commented: 'Labour costs in the field vegetable sector increased by 7.7% in 2024 and make up approximately 40% of the cost of production, while labour availability also continues to be a challenge. 'Continued adoption of innovative technology that requires less labour input and/or improves quality, and output is key for the sustainability of the field vegetable sector," he explained. Band-spraying demonstration In addition to the crop establishment demonstration, a band-spraying demonstration will also take place to show how growers can meet the requirements of the new label of root crop fungicide SL567A. The use of a band-sprayer is now required when applying this product and this demonstration will inform growers of the correct approach to applying this fungicide. Specialised Vegetable Advisor with Teagasc, Eoin Sweetman, said: 'Various technologies are available to achieve banded spraying, including very specialised equipment but it is also possible to modify existing sprayers to achieve a banded spray, which will be demonstrated on the day. 'Apart from band-spraying to meet label requirements, targeted applications of SL567A or other products such as liquid fertilisers reduces product usage, improving efficiency and sustainability.' The Teagasc Horticulture Development Department will also present poster boards of some ongoing research in the areas of sustainability metrics for the horticultural sector, measuring Integrated Pest Management adoption and microbiological food safety. This is the second field vegetable demonstration at the Crops Open Day following the mechanical weeding demonstrations at the Crops Open Day in 2023 and is an event not to be missed for growers and industry.
Agriland
3 days ago
- Agriland
Gallery: ‘Dairying at Dusk' event explores sustainability
An award winning Co. Tipperary dairy family partnership have showcased the steps they are taking to 'protect the environment' during a 'Dairying at Dusk' farm walk. Hundreds of people attended the award winning Walsh family farm in Ballylooby, Co. Tipperary for the event organised by Teagasc, FBD and Dairygold, yesterday evening (Tuesday, June 10). John, Maria and Brendan Walsh, who were the overall winners of the 2024 Teagasc/FBD Environmental Sustainability Awards, hosted the walk on their 63 hectares platform, with 107 hectares of grass, farm. The Walsh family are milking 165 and are supplying Dairygold co-op. The 'Dairying at Dusk' walk on the Walsh family farm Source: O'Gorman Photography Sustainability During the 'Dairying at Dusk' farm walk members of the Walsh family highlighted what particular measures have been taken on their farm to promote sustainability. They highlighted how a careful selection of hedgerows have being planted across the farm and that it is home to over 20 pollinators – recorded in a 2022 biodiversity assessment. John Walsh also detailed how the farm provides shelter and food sources for birds and other wildlife. A section of the crowd at the 'Dairying at Dusk' Source: O'Gorman Photography He detailed the work he carries out to prune all hedges in the first three years of planting, and how he carefully manages them to ensure a wide base, eight foot tall and whitethorns flourishing every 50 meters. The Walsh's paddocks are rich in clover, with a small portion of paddocks made up of multispecies in a bid to reduce their chemical nitrogen usage. The multispecies swards contain chicory, plantain, white and red clover and ryegrass. Brendan Walsh, host addresses a group at 'Dairying at Dusk' Source: O'Gorman Photography Herd According to the Walsh family partnership their biggest treasure is their herd of cows. Brendan Walsh said it took years of careful and selective breeding using the Economic Breeding Index (EBI) to get to where they are today. The cows produce an average of 524 kilograms of milk solids per cow per year, while the carbon footprint of the milk produced is 10% lower than the national average. The carbon footprint was 0.86 kg CO2 eq/kg FPCM in 2024. Catherine Keena, Teagasc, Prof. Frank O'Mara, Teagasc, Dr Siobhán Kavanagh, Teagasc, Liam Herlihy, Teagasc chair and host John Walsh at 'Dairying at Dusk' Source: O'Gorman Photography The farming family also keep a keen eye on water quality protection and highlighted that they have reduced their chemical fertiliser usage greatly. Only 130 kilograms of N per hectare per year is used across the farm, with the help of clover integrated swards. The farm is still producing 13.7 tonnes of grass dry matter. According to the Walsh family all of the slurry on the farm is spread using low emission slurry spreading techniques (LESS) combined with GPS for precision on application. They have also fenced off all water courses and created buffer strips beside water bodies to maintain a high water quality.
