On a glorious summers day we were delighted to welcome Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue on his first visit to our Demonstration farm at Tullynavin, Redcastle recently.

During his visit Minister Mc Conalogue got a firsthand insight into the innovative agroforestry, diverse swards and biodiversity-friendly farming techniques and features of the farm.

Minister Mc Conalogue stated - “This project is a tremendous example of what can be done in relation to making the environment work with agricultural production.” Video Link

Henry O’ Donnell, Project Manager explained how the upland cattle measure provided the farmer with a previously unused grazing platform for cattle where the cattle graze the uplands from late spring to late autumn. This is a cost free grazing system and weight recording from last year has shown that the animals perform very well over the grazing season.

The Minister saw for himself how the ponds established on the farm add to the benefits for biodiversity and flood mitigation that the establishment of ponds can bring as well as the potential for a farm water supply.