Caomhnóirí na Talún, Irish farmers try to grow and protect wildlife

In a new TG4 series from IWR Media, Caomhnóirí na Talún, they follow five Irish farmers over the course of a year as they farm with nature. From an extensive suckler farm on Inis Mór island to the karst beauty of the Burren to the dairy heartland of east Cork, ther cameras follow as these farmers create and conserve habitats on their farms, pioneer new ideas and try to find a way to protect wildlife and their living.

Irish farmers, trying to balance nature and farming

Across the country we’ve seen catastrophic declines of birds, wild bees and native plants. Even once common birds of our farmland and open countryside like the skylark and kestrel, are now in deep trouble. The intensification of farming and forestry directed by policy and payments over decades, is seen as one of the most significant contributors to these losses – as land use changed, as wetlands and bogs were drained and reclaimed, as pesticide use and chemical fertiliser increased or as grass management changed such as the switch from hay meadows to silage. As more and more land was brought into production, there was less and less space for wildlife. Yet if biodiversity is to improve, if habitat loss can be reversed or even halted, it is across Irish farmland that change will happen. If it’s to happen, farmers are the ones who will turn this crisis around. And across the country there’s a growing number of farmers who are forging that path and farming with nature.

Over the course of a year, our cameras follow five of these farmers as they create habitats like ponds, nettle patches or bee scrapes on their farms. As they let their hedgerows grow, blossom and fruit. As they discover treasure in the fields. As they adopt new farming techniques like mob grazing or no-till to regenerate soil on intensive ground. Or as they keep faith with traditions such as the winterage [winter grazing] that maintain the wildflower beauty of landscapes like the Burren and the Aran islands. All while trying the find a balance between nature and the realities of making a living from farming.

The Farmers

Pádraic Ó Flaithearta has a small dry stock suckler herd on Inis Mór and like hundreds of farmers across the Aran islands, Pádraic farms traditionally in one of the most unique habitats of machair and species-rich grassland. John Arnold and his wife Mary run a dairy farm in Bartlemy, east Cork and are part of the flagship farmer-led B.R.I.D.E project [Biodiversity Regeneration in a Dairying Environment]. Full-time teacher and part-time farmer Eoin Collins, farms a suckler beef herd with Dad Michael in Kilfenora, Co. Clare where traditional farming practices maintain the rich flora of their Burren land.

Journalist and organic farmer Hannah Quinn-Mulligan farms in partnership with her grandmother Catherine on their Limerick farm where Hannah’s been increasing habitats and trialing new farming practices to help nature. And outside Maynooth, Norman Dunne, alongside Dad Michael, has switched to a regenerative farming approach which sees him try to rebuild fertility and life in the soil after decades of intensive tillage.

An IWR Media production for TG4 © 2024 with funding from Coimisiún na Meán.

Caomhnóirí na Talún is Written & Directed by Mary Brophy. Co-Directed & Produced by Neal Boyle.

More about the show in Irish

Tá meath tubaisteach tagtha ar éin, beacha fiáine agus plandaí dúchasacha ar fud na tuaithe. Áirítear diansaothrú na feirmeoireachta agus na foraoiseachta ar cheann de na cúiseanna is mó atá leis seo. Ach má tá feabhas le teacht ar an mbithéagsúlacht, is ar thalamh feirme na tíre a tharlóidh sé. Leantar cúigear feirmeoirí sa tsraith nua seo ó IWR Media agus iad ag feirmeoireacht leis an dúlra, ag cruthú nó ag caomhnú gnáthóga ar a bhfeirmeacha, ag triail smaointe nua agus iad ag iarraidh an dúlra agus a slí bheatha a chosaint.

Across the countryside we’ve seen catastrophic declines of birds, wild bees and native plants. Even once common birds like the skylark and kestrel are now in trouble. The intensification of farming and forestry is seen as one of the most significant contributors to these losses but if biodiversity is to improve that change will happen across Irish farmland. Caomhnóirí na Talún, a new TG4 series from IWR Media, Caomhnóirí na Talún, follows five farmers as they farm with nature, as they create or conserve habitats on their farms, pioneer new ideas and try to protect wildlife and their living.

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