Globe-trotting Offaly woman is living the dream

BIRR woman Lucy Reid has been living the dream over the last couple of years, globe-trotting and absorbing herself enthusiastically in exotic and fascinating places.
Lucy's parents are the well-known farmers William and Ann Marie Reid, who have been running a farm for many years near Birr in the townland of Ballinamoe.
Lucy takes after her parents because she has a big love for agriculture and wants to one day come home and run the family farm. She also possesses a strong spirit of adventure which has seen her spend years in Uganda and Brazil where she's pursued her interest in agricultural science as well as immerse herself in the culture and natural beauty of the places she's lived in.
I chatted with Lucy via a zoom call a couple of weeks ago, when she spoke to me from the coffee farm in Brazil that she's been living on for several months.
She told me the agricultural science part of her life is very busy at the moment because it's coffee harvest time in Brazil, and she's collecting data from the harvesting and analysing it. Her hope is that her series of analyses over the last couple of months will eventually be read and acted upon, thus improving the running of the various agricultural scenarios that she's been looking into.
“I’ve been in Brazil for ten months now,” she told me, “and before that I was in the Netherlands studying 'Resilient Farming' & Food Systems. Prior to that I was in Uganda for two years.”
In her early 20s, Lucy has energy to burn and she's combined a very busy work schedule with an active downtime routine. “Over the last few years I've done so much apart from coffee and agriculture and my research,” she says. “I’ve been immersed in the art and the culture of Uganda and Brazil. I love dancing, so I've often been doing that. I love being a tourist, so I've done that quite a bit. In Uganda I went on tough hikes into the mountains where I came very close to Silverback Gorillas and Chimpanzees. In one instance a Silverback walked right up to me.” In such circumstances it might cross one's mind that a Silverback possesses the strength of ten men and it's probably best to keep very still!
Lucy also loves horseriding and she's done this quite a few times, including horseback rides on safari in the African Savanna.
“I went to a music festival where we camped by the Nile while listening to the music. I danced with the Karamojong tribe near Sudan. I also participated in traditional African Dancing Classes.” She's also enjoyed some downtime with “the hip-hop/breakdance community.”
In Brazil some of Lucy's spare time has been spent embracing the cowgirl lifestyle which entails moving cattle on horseback and going to rodeos. In Brazil there are about 1,800 rodeos each year. She's also learned how to dance Forró (a lively, traditional Brazilian dance), and sometimes goes to Samba Bars to enjoy a vibrant music and social scene. She attended the famous Rio de Janeiro Carnival and danced on the streets during Blocos (which are street parties with music and dancing).
Above all, it is the many people she has met along the way during her time abroad which really lingers in the memory. “I have many Brazilian and Ugandan friends who are like family to me,” she says. “During my travels I have time and time again come across community spirit, creativity and a desire to make positive changes in the world.”
As well as energy, the Ballinamoe woman has brains to burn! After studying Food & Agribusiness Management in UCD, she studied abroad in Cornell University New York where she got into agroecology. Her adventures abroad began in September 2021 when she started working as a Project & Operations Manager in Devenish Ltd in the city of Hoima, Uganda. Devenish Nutrition Ltd, is a global firm that runs a model pig farm and feed mill in Hoima. “It was during Covid. For a year I was the Project Manager with Devenish, overseeing the day to day operation of the feed mill as well as running the pig farm with its 400 pigs. We were sourcing from local producers, including buying sunflower seed from a home for children. I was also looking for alternative proteins in the animals' diet, such as insect protein, instead of fish (to try and reduce the problem of overfishing in the region). Devenish had six shops around Uganda. I was also involved in running programmes about pig rearing and helping farmers to move from subsistence farming methods to better methods which would increase their household incomes.”
After a year in Hoima she started working in Clarke Coffee Farm in Fort Portal, western Uganda (where she split her time between the farm and Kampala city.) “Dr Ian Clarke runs a 700 acres farm & coffee estate in Fort Portal which was connected to 2,000 coffee Out Growers. Dr Clarke asked me to look at possible ways of improving the quality of the coffee and also improving the company's marketing campaign and setting up eco-tourism. I was linking up with buyers outside Uganda.”
In September 2023 Lucy started a Masters in Resilient Farming & Food Systems in Wageningen University in the Netherlands.
In November 2024 she moved to Brazil to begin her research on “the impact of regenerative management practices on coffee quality & productivity.” She spent five months in the University of Sao Paolo engaged in soil analysis and farm visits. Since May she's been based in the Sul de Minas region, a region bordering the States of São Paulo and Minas Gerais. She's living and working on FAF coffee farm and is also doing research on 30 other farms in the region.
“During the whole of May and June I spent every day harvesting coffee by hand and drying it on the patio. Now I'm doing coffee analysis to investigate the factors that improve the coffee's quality. My working days run from 6am to 9pm.”
She said Climate Change has been negatively impacting coffee production. Periods of drought in Brazil have made growing conditions difficult. An increase in stormy weather has also been noticeable. “Part of my research is looking at improving the resilience of the coffee crop.”
Lucy is returning to Wageningen University in October, “where I will go through the process of defending my research and then graduating.” All going well she will return home early next year. She is looking forward to returning home. “I love home and I love the area I live in.” She said she's also very grateful to Birr Camogie Club for sending her jerseys to donate to a Ugandan GAA team. Such acts of generosity mean a great deal.
Lucy has learned much during her years away and she's also gathered a lot of knowledge which hopefully will be put to good use in Brazil, Uganda and other countries. “My plan now,” she remarks, “is to return to Ballinamoe in January and start to put my visions and dreams for our family home into action.”

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