As many of you know, I have a great interest in forestry. Tommy was able to arrange for Brad and I to meet several farmers who have put in forestry practices on their farms. We met Steven Meyens with TEAGASC who is the Area Forestry Specialist at the farm of Charlie Doherty. Charlie has 250 acres in Sitka spruce plantations and another 250 acres in potatoes, grains, and cattle. In 1916 when Ireland gained independence, the country was less then 1% tree cover. Now with many initiatives, Ireland has around 11 % tree cover. Farmers receive compensation for putting marginal land into forestry. Charlie also just had planted 5 ha of bird feed that he will receive a payment of about 900 euro/ha with a limit of no more than 5000 euro to each farmer for this practice.
Growing pains for this relatively new industry is not enough contractors to harvest logs and limited marketing for smaller trees. As a result, many farmers have come together to create a cooperative to further marketing and growing potential. At our next stop, we met with John Jackson who is the leader of the cooperative and developed his own firewood business.
Our last visit was with Ralph & Liz Sheppard who put in forestry practices mainly for their concern for biodiversity in Ireland and love of nature. The couple mainly focused on hardwood trees and native species. They keep a count of the insects and birds who ultilize their forests. In addition, Ralph has established a planting of hazel that he markets to crafters. The hazel is coppiced (cut and allowed shoots to grow back) allowing for a crop about every 7 to 8 years.
We ended our evening meeting Teagasc Adviosrs, Seamus and Andy, who were starting a new discussion group for sheep producers. The groups have 12-18 farmers in them and they meet on each other farmers to discuss problems and solutions to issues. One issue discussed was the fact that the EU was not in favor of producers receiving payments for those who graze land with heather. Some of the land in Dunegal is mountainous and heather is common.
