Duhallow Farming for Blue Dot Catchments Project opinions of farmers towards a result based approach, elements of the ecology of freshwater ecosystems and modern agricultural systems and demographics.
Wet Grassland habitat adjacent to the river Allow with Flag Iris Iris pseudacorus dominant forefront
The Duhallow Farming for Blue Dot Catchments EIP is a voluntary Agrienvironmental project open to farmers in the Allow River Catchment. The catchment is predominantly a rural hinterland in Duhallow with the towns of Newmarket and Kanturk the primary urban areas. The Allow Catchment comprises of several rivers spanning from Taur in the West to Meelin in the North and Freemount in the east. The main river channels include the Allow, Owenanare and Dalua along with the tributaries Glashwee, Owenkeel and Glenlara. Official Launch The project was officially launched in August last year in the James Duhallow Farming for of Keeffe Institute. The launch was attended by Blue Dot Catchments Expression of over 70 people, primarily local farmers, and a Interest Form. variety of other stakeholders including Department of Agriculture, Food and Marine, IFI, LAWPRO, Teagasc, National Rural Network, Cork County Council, the National Biodiversity Data Centre, other EIP programmes and the local Agri-food industry. Guest speakers at the event included Margaret Murray (DAFM) and Dr Maura Farrell (NRN).
At the launch of the IRD Duhallow Farming for Blue Dot Catchments, Dr. Darren Reidy, Maura Walsh CEO, Michael Doyle, Chair Environment Working Group, Margaret Murray, DAFM, Dr, Maura Farrell, NRN & Michael Morrissey IRD Duhallow.
Duhallow Blue Dot The Duhallow Farming for Blue Dot Catchments Project opened its call for submission of Expression of Interests (EOI’s) in July 2019. The deadline for receipt of EOI’s was December 2019. During this period the project team received 86 EOI’s. On receipt of these EOI’s perspective project participants were reviewed on the Department of Agriculture, Food & the Marine GLAM mapping system. Farmer Consultation & Monitoring Consultation was a key aspect of the project design to ensure all stakeholders were incorporated into the programme at an early stage. A percentage of farmers consulted at farm visit stage and during the course of the public information evenings completed a project consultation questionnaire. The questionnaire aimed to capture the
Environmental monitoring during the first year of the project focused on developing a robust baseline dataset of farm habitats, issues of concern, at risk Former IRD Duhallow staff Project Scientist drains from nitrates breaches Dr. Darren Reidy with Low-Income Smallholder and watercourses. At both Development Officer Katie Crowley at Duhallow Blue Dot Information stand. the consultation farm visits and EIP farm plan visit a detailed map of the holding was drafted depicting the source, pathway receptor model of nutrient run-off to watercourses. The project team conducted baseline farms surveys as part of the consultation period at project design and implementation phase. These included mapping of hydrological features, flora and fauna surveys and stakeholder attitudinal surveys.
IRD Duhallow staff visit the Bride Project.
Achievements to Date Over the course of the past twelve months the EIP Project Team has visited over one hundred farms throughout the catchment. This engagement in the community has enhanced and reaffirmed IRD Duhallow’s commitment to creating awareness about the environmental within the region. As the project enters its second year over seventy application packs have been sent to successful applicants. Several community meetings were held in the area in 2019 including Meelin, Glash, Freemount and Newmarket. These meetings along with the extensive farm visit consultation period provided valuable information and most importantly allowed the farmers input into the structure of the project. The project team attended several public events in Duhallow in 2019, including EIP-Agri Ireland’s Operational Groups Booklet Launch at Agriculture House, Dublin, the Teagasc Options Course at Doneraille Country Park Hotel, the Burren Winterage EIP-Agri Event in Lisdoonvarna, and the Department of Agriculture, Food & the Marine EIP-Agri Stand at the National Ploughing Championships, Fenagh, to mention a select few. The public consultation process was complimented with an intensive information dissemination campaign. A webpage for the project has been established on the IRD Duhallow website and Twitter account for the project has also been created and currently has 152 followers. Fliers advertising the project and containing an expression of interest form have been widely distributed in the community.
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IRD Duhallow Farm Planner Michael Morrissey at our stand at the National Ploughing Championships last September.
