Join the Irish Agroforestry Forum at 1pm on Wednesday, 25th September 2024, for an agroforestry farm walk with Rossa Gibbons at his 13-hectare organic farm in Munig, Skibbereen, Co.Cork.

Rossa's farm features both forestry and agroforestry (silvopasture sheep). Currently building a pedigree Shropshire sheep flock, Rossa is focused on producing quality breeding stock and organic lamb for local supply, with his flock registered with the UK Shropshire Sheep Society.

During the walk, you will explore various plots on the farm. The first forestry scheme, established 22 years ago, spans 3.5 hectares and includes Oak and Larch, as well as Alder and Birch on the more marginal ground. The initial planting was completed by contractors. Another forestry plantation, now 8 years old and also covering 3.5 hectares, features ten broadleaf species, including walnut and Scots Pine, and was planted by Rossa himself.

You will also see a 2.4-hectare agroforestry plot, established 5 years ago and funded under GPC 11, which includes a silvopasture system with Shropshire sheep, ten or eleven broadleaf species, and 15% fruit and nut trees, all planted by Rossa with 8-meter spacing between trees and silage/hay harvested.

The farm walk is funded by Forestry Promotion Funding provided by the Department of Agriculture, Food and Marine.

The agroforestry at Jack Browne's farm is a silvoarable project set on 29 Hectares of excellent quality tillage land in Carlow. The land is certified organic. Trees are set in rows with wide alleys leaving plenty of space for machinery to access the land as the trees mature. 90% of the trees have been planted. There are sections of diverse fruit and nut trees, permanent native shelterbelts, and long lines of timber trees with short rotation biomass that act as nurses for the timber.  This project is one of three silvoarable demonstration projects established by Trees on the Land as part of their EIP project: "A Practical Silvoarable Agroforestry Demonstration & Research Project for Ireland: Showcasing the benefits for biodiversity, carbon sequestration, soils, nutrient cycling, water quality, farm productivity, income and the farming community.

Join us at 2pm on Thursday 3rd of October 2024, at the O'Connor Family Farm in Fossa, Killarney, Co. Kerry. Explore this meticulously managed forestry, with 10ha of Oak/Scots Pine and 10ha of Ash/Alder, planted with the support of forestry grants 22 years ago. The Ash tree have been affected by Ash die back. Recently the O’Connor’s were approved to replace the Ash under the RUS scheme. The Ash have now been replaced with Oak, Birch, and some Rowan, Wild Cherry, Hazel, Scots Pine and Hawthorn. Liam will share the inspiring story of why the family planted the forestry and their long-term plans for sustainable farm management of this beautiful Kerry farm. Hear about their Continuous Cover Forestry (CCF) methods and see how they are now utilising this established woodland for grazing their Hereford and Angus cattle. As the Managing Director of Kerry Die Products, Liam will also tell us about their expertise in manufacture of Biomass wood pelleting machines and how he integrates farming and agroforestry with an innovative biomass technology business.

The farm walk is funded by Forestry Promotion Funding provided by the Department of Agriculture, Food and Marine.