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Hidden Donegal

November 19, 2016November 19, 2016 ~ www.ancaoradubh.ie ~ Leave a comment

Over the past few months, I have been involved with the Community Development Group here in my local village. The group was dormant for a number of years, but reinstated in February 2016 with new members and a renewed focus.

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Aranya CHCDG Community Compost coppice Design Dulra Education Elaine Ingham Grazing hedgerow Holistic Management Ireland PDC Permaculture Sheep silvopasture Soil soil microbiology trees Woodland

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“It’s not about the COW, it’s about the HOW”. . Following on from coverage in movies such as #cowspiracy there is increasing negative rhetoric about the role of livestock agriculture in Carbon emissions. But this is more than a bit misleading; it’s not necessarily cows that are the issue, it’s how we raise them. . We need to begin thinking of our farms as carbon sinks, looking for every possible opportunity to lock away carbon in our on-farm processes. Effective grazing management, multi-level production in #agroforestry systems and on-farm composting are all great examples how we can increase yields while locking away much more carbon in our soils and additional biomass than we emit. . Using grass to capture energy from sunlight and turning this into calories for human consumption via livestock is an example of nature working at the highest order of efficiency - seeing as humans can neither eat sunlight nor grass. Raising livestock on grain requires an input of 10-15 lbs in order to yield 1 lb of meat, not to mention the additional Carbon exhausted to atmosphere in the process of raising grain, harvesting, drying and transporting it and then dealing with concentrated effluent from overstocked CAFOs at the other end. This system makes no sense when we could be raising grain for direct human consumption. . . . #Repost Thanks to @foodprintorg for the great infographic!

I had the opportunity to speak with #agscience students at #lyit this morning about the importance of tree systems on farms. We covered a lot of ground from typical #agroforestry systems and their design to improved water and nutrient cycling to additional forms of production and what a truly regenerative agriculture would look like. - - - I left this place in 2004, on my journey to qualifying as an engineer and it feels a great privilege to return here as a #regenerativeagriculture advocate and have the opportunity to hopefully inspire the next generation of agriculturalists into questioning the very system they are about to enter, rather than just accepting it. It turns out it’s rather difficult just to talk about trees, without pointing out the huge potential upsides of #regenerativeagriculture on ecosystems and rural communities as well as farm viability...!

Farm walk today at @briancos_ place was the perfect end to a week focussed on #biologicalfarming with the man who literally wrote the book, Mr. Gary Zimmer of @midwesternbioag . I even got to teach the main man something myself, what an #Irish rush was...!😂🤣 . . . Thanks to NOTS for arranging the conference and getting the big hitters Joel Williams of @integratedsoils and Dan Kittredge of @bionutrientfoodassociation over to Ireland, among others. Great to spend time with progressive Irish farmers from all sectors @drumanilra @janeshack @morsinead @foodture_irl @mcgspacesmart @davebeechersoil

Really looking forward to the Biological Farming conference next week in Tullamore; anybody else out heading along? Promises to be a fantastic event, with input from some of the leaders in the world of #soil including Joel Williams of @integratedsoils Dan Kittredge of @bionutrientfoodassociation and Gary Zimmer of @midwesternbioag as well as homegrown talent such as @rareruminare talking all things mob grazing & The Soil Preacher himself, @davebeechersoil ! ・・・ This is the place to be next week. @integratedsoils @davebeechersoil #soilhealth #soilbiology #regenerative #soilcarbon . . . #Repost @organictrust with @get_repost

The community co-op in Scariff is a great space. I was there yesterday giving a presentation on how tree systems are being integrated into the broader vision for the An Caora Dubh project - tackling these design decisions on broad acre sites can be overwhelming, but with a pattern approach, the right strategies soon become clear. - - - I always come away from these events energised, both by the stories I hear from the people I meet and for how supportive people are for my own vision. Thanks to CELT and all who attended for giving me this opportunity to come along and share my story.

Playing around with some more detailed #agroforestry design on these wet days, in preparation for the upcoming planting season. sure what else would be at on a wet Saturday night...? - - - It’s a lot of fun to imagine what @an_caora_dubh_farm will look like in 10 yrs, 20 yrs or even 100 yrs from now! - - - Shelterbelt, contour planting on 12m centres, grid & diamond savannah-style planting, riparian planting; all blended into one #regenerative solution for this 20 acre site.

Surrounded by pioneers of all kinds here at the @centreforalternativetechnology in #wales . Some fine examples of #primarysuccession here on this old slate quarry. Nature builds soil and marches on!

Contender for best beer garden in the world...?

Deer activity is increasing by the day, as we near another rut... #glenveagh #reddeer #donegal

There’s a definite change in the weather in these hills... - - - We’ve had a great summer. The #holisticplannedgrazing has model has served us well, enabling a 50% increase in flock size whilst moving them through the landscape quicker to capitalise to those long, warm growing days. The grass ahead of us is stockpiling nicely & it looks as if we’ll have plenty of quality forage to take us through the winter (plus a healthy margin). In only a year - two rotations on most of our grazing platform - I can see the positive impact this approach to management is having on biodiversity, plant recovery time and in an improving community of grassland plant species. - - - I can feel a vlog coming on...🤓😉

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