Podcasts

Farmers – listen up.. Here is a series of podcasts for you, by you!

Here are podcasts from farmers on why and how these farmers are doing their bit for nature.  Listen to them below.  You can also subscribe to our podcast channel through various apps, just click on the subscribe button under any of the below images to pick the app you want to follow through.  Don’t forget to please rate and review the podcast too.

“Farming For Nature has produced a lovely series of podcasts by farmer, explaining how and why they farm the way they do….Delivered in a relaxed, conversational manner – very enjoyable listening.”
Clover Magazine 2021.

FARMING FOR NATURE PODCAST

‘What is Farming For Nature?’

The founders of Farming for Nature, Brigid Barry and Brendan Dunford, explain what the initiative is, and how and why farmers across Ireland should get involved.  (Recorded December 2021)

GROUNDTIPS PODCAST

A series of podcasts with tips and advice from farmers on the best whys to encourage and enhance nature on your farms.

‘How nature benefits a micro-dairy & vice versa’ with Sinead Moran

Sinéad farms 27 acres with her partner Mick. She explains why they decided to set up an organic microdairy, and how it benefits her business, the wild life and the land.  More about Sinead’s farm here.  (Recorded January 2022)

‘How to get the best from your hedgerows’ with Sean O’ Farrell

Hedgerows are the green veins of our countryside, but poor management can leave them all but lifeless.  Tipperary’s Sean O’Farrell describes how farmers can ensure their hedgerows pulsate with wildlife, to the benefit of the farm – and the farmer.  More about Sean’s farm here.  (Recorded February 2022)

‘Farming at Altitude with Nature’ with Nia O’Malley

What does it take to farm the uplands in a way that both provides an income and restores nature? Nia O’Malley farms 150 acres in the Slieve Aughty Mountains in Co. Galway, in the west of Ireland.  She explains how her beef farming works to support – not diminish – the wild species who make the uplands their home.  More about Nia’s farm here. (Recorded November 2021)

‘Why Every Farmer Should Dig A Pond!’ with Tommy Earley

Roscommon beef farmer Tommy Earley has created 15 ponds on his farm in the West of Ireland.  They attract a spectacular array of life, and he explains why every farmer – and gardener! – in Ireland should create a watery space for nature.  More about Tommy’s Farm here. (Recorded November 2021)

‘How to Entice Barn Owls to your Farm’ with Paul Moore

They’re known as “the farmer’s friend” because they eat rodents such as wood mice, pygmy shrews and rats.  But barn owls are struggling in Ireland – there’s been a 50% decline in the last 25 years. How can farmers help to restore barn owls to their land?  Wildlife expert & tillage farmer, Paul Moore, explains how he brought them back to his farm in Midleton, Cork.  More about Paul’s farm here.  (Recorded November 2021)

VOICES FROM THE LAND

Gearoid Maher

Gearoid is a dairy farmer from Limerick with 197 acres and 80 purebred Friesian cows.  He explains how and why he works with nature on his farm. ““The old rule of thumb was a cow to the acre – and that has been my ethos all along. If I can farm a cow to the acre without pressure then that’s what I’ll do.”

Mimi Crawford

Mimi owns a 28 acre farm in Tipperary with her husband Owen.  They have a micro-dairy and sell raw organic cream, butter and buttermilk, and they also farm beef, chickens, pigs and ducks. (They’ve also just had their first baby, which you can hear gurgling behind the scenes here. Congrats Mimi & Owen!) More info on Mimi’s farm here.  (Recorded on January 2022)

Norman Dunne

Norman Dunne owns a 400-acre tillage farm near Maynooth. Five years ago he transformed the way he farms, in a way that has benefitted nature and his own mental health.   More on Norman’s farm here.  (Recorded on November 2021)

Thomas Fouhy

Thomas Fouhy  is an arable farmer with 84 acres in north Co. Cork.  He farms speciality crops such as grain-lupins, linseed, lentils, sunflowers, as well as the standard grain crops.  More information on Thomas’s farm here. (Recorded October 2021)

Fergal Smith

Fergal Smith owns the 66-acre Moy Hill Farm in West Clare.  He keeps Dexter cattle, Jacob sheep and runs a large market garden. He sells all his produce direct to his local community.  More information about Fergal’s CSA farm here. (Recorded December 2020)

Patrick Holden is a dairy farmer at Bwlchwernen Fawr in Wales, UK and campaigns for more sustainable food systems.  He speaks here during the Burren Winterage Weekend (October 2020).

James Rebanks

Donna Mullen

Donna has a 43 acre farm that she bought 20 years ago with her husband.  In this time they have turned an intensive farm with just 2 fields into a nature reserve with woodlands, meadows and ponds attracting a wide range of species.  Each year they focus on one species to attract the farm by providing their habitat.  More information on Donna’s farm is available here.  (Recorded February 2020)

Padraig Corcoran

Padraig Corcoran has a beef and sheep farm in Mount Plunkett in Lecarrow, Co. Roscommon. He talks about how he manages his 54 acre farm for food production and nature.  More information on Padraig farm here.  (Recorded October 2018)

Olly Nolan

Olly farms in the valley of Glenasmole in the Dublin Mountains. He’s new to farming, and talks about his approach to producing food and habitats for wildlife on his land.  More information on Olly’s farm is here. (Recorded October 2018)

Ailbhe Gerrard

Ailbhe Gerrard farms on the shores of Lough Derg in Co. Tipperary.  Her approach to farming is not limited to food – she also tries to produce better land for nature.  More information on Ailbhe’s farm is here.  (Recorded October 2018)

Sean Farrell

Sean O’Farrell has a mixed farm near Roscrea in Co. Tipperary. A few years ago he changed the way he farms. He explains why he did this, and how he makes space for wild species on his land.  More information Sean’s farm here. (Recorded October 2018)

Tommy Earley

Roscommon farmer Tommy Earley talks about his farm and how – and why – he leaves spaces for nature.  More information about Tommy’s farm here. (Recorded October 2018)

Donal Sheehan

Can intensive farmers make a profit and farm for nature at the same time? Conventional dairy farmer, Donal Sheehan, explains how he has changed the way he farms to encourage more wildlife. Donal is a third generation farmer from the Bride Valley in east Cork, Ireland.  More information about Donal’s farm here. (Recorded October 2018)

Relevant podcasts from other sources:

Guardians of the Land

A series of podcasts based in counties Clare and Galway interviewing the farmers and conservationists that are working towards maintaining and protecting different ecological landscapes, habitats and wildlife. The landscape of Ireland has not been shaped purely by natural forces, it has been sculpted by thousands of years of agriculture. During this time, the wildlife has evolved to adapt to this farming environment. To protect our wildlife, conservation farming needs to continue.  How can we protect our biodiversity while keeping farming viable and profitable?  This series of podcasts explores how farmers based in counties Galway and Clare are guarding Ireland’s living landscapes.

Each podcast is approximately 30 mins long.  These were produced by Pranjali Bhave and presented by Dr Oliver Ó Cadhla for Galway Bay FM in 2016 with the help of Broadcasting Authority of Ireland.

Episode 1: Farming to save the Burren

Episode 2: Farming to save the Lesser Horse-shoe bats

Episode 3: Farming to save the Corncrake on Omey Island

Episode 4: Farming to save the wading birds on the Shannon Callows

Episode 5: Farming to save the hen harriers

Episode 6: Farming to save the Twelve Bens of Connemara

Episode 7: Farming to save the Aran Islands

Feedspot podcasts on farming

Farming For Nature has been awarded in the top 20 international farming podcasts by Feedspot. If you are interested to see what the other farming blogs/podcasts are out there you can click here.

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