The Causeway Coast and Glens Heritage Trust through the Heart of the Glens Landscape Partnership Scheme and Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty Staff are about to embark on a second round of free farmer information talks. Key to the success of these programmes has been the close partnership with Department of Agriculture and Rural Development’s College of Agriculture Food and Rural Enterprise. To download our schedule for the Binevenagh AONB and Causeway Coast AONB please click here or to download our schedule for the Antrim Coast & Glens AONB please click here.
Réamaí Mathers, who manages the Heart of The Glens Landscape Partnership said “ We’ve already had great success with our talks programme before Christmas, however due to such high demand we have extended the programme not only with 7 more talks in the area, but with the support of our colleagues on the Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty Team are adding 4 other evenings within the Binevenagh AONB”.
The events are designed to be both informative and practical. Topics will cover important issues such as soil nutrient management, renewables of the farm, soil drainage and structure, rush control, use of best sheep breeds for uplands as well as a specific talk on value of premium shorthorn beef production. Other important sessions will be focusing on the use of the APHIS online system which is designed to decrease paper work on the farm and aid farmers in a wide range of farm management activities.
The Causeway Coast and Glens Heritage Trust, through the Heart of the Glens Landscape Partnership Scheme and also through it’s local AONB Management Committees is one of the few environmental and tourist bodies who are seeking to work more closely with farmers by offering them practical support in order to sustain communities within rural districts. Andrew Bratton AONB Manager said “our organisation has a strong environmental remit; however, we believe that farmers and healthy farm businesses are key to the protection of the countryside. Many within the farming community look on environmental bodies with some suspicion but it is very important that we bridge this gap in perception. The fact is, in most incidences, the better and more cost effective the farming practice, the better it is for the environment. We take the basic and hopefully pragmatic view that by supporting farmers with useful and insightful talks that we can in some way help them to increase the economic and environmental sustainability of their businesses. This work, in turn, will facilitate farm families remain on the land for many generations to come”
If you would like more information about talks in the Antrim Coast and Glens AONB please contact Laura – laura@lps.ccght.org or if you want to find out more about talks in the Binevenagh or Causeway Coast AONB please contact Tierna – tierna@ccght.org.
Alternatively call our office on 028 2075 2100.