Minister McConalogue commends farmers’ contribution to environment and biodiversity

Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue TD, has commended farmers in Tipperary and nationwide for their efforts to protect water bodies and improve water quality, enhance habitats and reduce agricultural emissions.

Acknowledging the work being done by farmers, Minister McConalogue said: “The work being done by farmers as part of the Agri-Climate Rural Environment Scheme (ACRES) will have long-term benefits for all of us.

“As well as taking actions to protect water courses, for example, landowners have also committed to planting more than 2,000 kilometres of hedgerows and approximately 580,000 native trees. This illustrates some of the hugely positive contributions being made by farmers to the country’s environmental sustainability.

“We should not underestimate the value farmers are adding to our landscape and our lives, and how important the work that they do is. It goes beyond the tangible benefits of quality food production.

“As part of ACRES, farmers are helping to conserve breeding waders such as curlews and snipes; maintaining and developing coastal habitats such as dunes and saltmarshes; supporting rough grazing to benefit hen harriers, barn owls and small birds and mammals; and maintaining semi-natural grassland habitats for pollinators,” the Minister added. 

As well as planting hedgerows and native tree species, under ACRES, farmers are also maintaining more than 10,000km of traditional dry stonewalls, installing tens of thousands of owl, bird and bat boxes, and are rejuvenating more than 1,400 kilometres of hedges.

Extensive work is also being carried out by farmers in management and protection of approximately 560,000 hectares of upland peatland. Farmers have also committed to a series of actions to control invasive species, improve grazing practices, delay mowing and grazing to protect ground-nesting birds and change vegetation on land, among a range of other agri-environmental actions.

“I want to thank the more than 54,000 ACRES participants for their commitment to putting the environment at the core of Irish farming.

“It is particularly encouraging to see strong interest in taking further environmental actions which complement these already extensive efforts, including further tree planting and establishment of additional hedges through the scheme’s Non-Productive Investments programme.

“I acknowledge there have been challenges associated with the scale and administration of some elements of the scheme, but I do not want to lose sight of the enormous amount of work already completed and in progress and the positive impact this will have. My Department is working to ensure that remaining issues are resolved early in the new year,”  Minister McConalogue concluded.