Kildare farmer shortlisted for national award thanks to positive impact on nature

A farmer from Calverstown, Co Kildare, was this week named on a shortlist for the Inaugural National Farming for Nature Award, with five other finalists among the list of names going for the gong.

Sponsored by Bord Bia, the awards seek to recognise farmers who are farming for nature and who provide real examples of how sustainable farming with nature is not only possible but essential and rewarding.

MEP for the Kildare area, Mairead McGuinness, congratulated Mr McCall and highlighted the positive role that farmers are playing in the environment.

Speaking at the awards ceremony in Kinvara, Co Galway on Saturday evening last, she said the awards highlight the reality that many farmers are acutely conscious of the environment and work every day in harmony with it.

This awards recognise the work of farmers around the country with the six short listed finalists drawn from a larger pool of 150 farmers nationwide.

Positive role models of farmers 'farming for nature' are essential and we now have role models who are practical farmers, producing food, trying to make a living from the land and doing it with an holistic approach where the environmental challenges are part and parcel of their everyday activities, Ms McGuinness said.

“These finalists provide examples from many parts of the country of how care for the environment is core to their farming enterprise. This is a positive farming story, all too often we only hear about what is wrong about farming.”

She said it’s time to spread the word that environmental issues must be at the core of all farming enterprises, as they already are on many farms.

“It’s also high time to bridge the artificial divide between environmentalists and farmers, which leads to unnecessary and unhelpful conflict and delays further action,” she said.

“Farmers today are conscious of environmental issues, yet they sometimes feel under attack from those who claim to be environmentalist.

“Pressure on the natural environment, on biodiversity, air quality and soils are real, but so too is farmer awareness of these challenges. What farmers need is help and support to deliver for the environment and that support includes advisory systems which focus on integrating environmental delivery with production.”