Congratulations! Tipperary man announced as Farming for Nature Ambassador

Mark Harold-Barry of county Tipperary has been chosen as a Farming for Nature Ambassador for 2022.

Now in its fifth year, Farming For Nature was set up with the aim of identifying, celebrating and supporting farmers who are farming, or farmers who wish to farm, in ways that support and protect nature on their land.

This year’s Ambassadors come from right across Ireland and include beef, dairy, forestry, horticulture and tillage farmers who manage a wide range of valuable habitats including species-rich grasslands and heaths, wetlands, uplands, woodlands and more.

The public are invited to vote for their favourite farming story by visiting www.farmingfornature.ie.

You can learn more about each Ambassador by viewing a specially commissioned short film which provides an insight into these farmers and their inspiring work.

Mark Harold-Barry runs a mixed organic farm outside Tipperary Town. The 170-acre farm has been certified organic for almost 20 years.

Mark grows organic oats for Flahavans and for winter feeding for his stock, he also grows seed oats for Gold Crop.

There is about 90 acres of grassland on the farm, which is a mixture of permanent pasture and multispecies swards.

Mark keeps a suckler herd of about 25 Aberdeen Angus/Hereford cattle and all of the animals are finished on the farm.

He also keeps about 20 hives of honeybees, and the honey is sold locally in Tipperary.

The family manage a kitchen garden on the farm and are relatively self-sufficient during the summer months.

The farm is extensively managed and external inputs are minimal.

There is about 40acres of woodland on the farm – a mix of hardwood and softwood trees, some very mature and some much younger.

Mark follows in this father’s footsteps and continuously plants trees on the land.

He said: “My father is a great man and he has a policy of planting about half an acre of trees on the farm every year since he came here.”

The woodland provides a wonderful habitat for wildlife.

There is a river running through the farm and a pond on the land which attract birds such as the kingfisher, ducks and snipe. Ditches, hedgerows and field margins provide thick nature corridors throughout the land.

Mark is proud to run a productive farm, all the while leaving plenty of space for wildlife and biodiversity to thrive.

Dr Brendan Dunford of the Burren Programme, founder and committed volunteer with Farming for Nature said: “These farmers deserve our respect, gratitude and support: they embody all that’s great about rural Ireland and we are so proud of them.”

The five Ambassadors will be featured at the annual Burren Winterage Weekend (www.burrenwinterage.com) in October when the winner of the Public Vote Award will also be announced.