Agriculture is inextricably bound to civilisation, it is the foundation of all human progress. Wherever Agriculture flourishes so does society, wherever it is floundering, so the society that depends on it vanishes. As with all things on Earth at the moment Agriculture is at a crossroads. 

Climate Change and the Biodiversity Crisis have led to important questions being asked about the sustainability of modern farming practices. Animal intensive agriculture is responsible for huge GHG emissions globally and has led to the loss of up to 80 percent of carbon from the world’s soils. At the same time there have never been so many people to feed on the planet and small to medium sized Farm livelihoods (who make up the majority of Farms in Offaly) have never been so threatened by competition from industrial farms who are desperate to secure the majority share of the global food market. 

It is easy to get despondent and yet all of these challenges offer us great opportunities for real change which benefits not only the planet, but the soil, our Farmers and the health of our Communities. 

Offalys Farmers are increasingly looking to diversify their farm incomes and explore ways in which they can become more sustainable. Renewable Energy is one such income stream. Emerging trends also indicate that consumers are increasingly looking to source healthy food which is grown locally. These factors could align in a way which sees us move away from transported and frozen ‘fresh’ produce and back to a more regionally focused food market which was the norm for Irish Farms in the early 1900’s. 

As part of our research work into how Climate Change will affect Offaly we held a Future Farming Forum – ‘Respecting the Past – Growing the Future’, in December 2019 for those Farmers who were interested in learning more about how farming will be impacted by Climate Change.

Information from the day has been compiled into a Green Farmers Almanac which is available in print and can be ordered online. The Almanac is filled with advice, links to experts, and suggestions as to how to green up the farm, we hope it proves to be informative, inspiring and useful.

Our Farmers are at the forefront of environmental guardianship and continue to do work of immense value in protecting our Environment.