Landmark peatland initiative launched at Shinrone farm

A LANDMARK initiative was launched at a farm in the Shinrone area on May 21st last.
The initiative, the project, is called “Peatlands for Prosperity: Farming for Tomorrow” and it's located at the Regan family's Paludiculture Showroom in Gortavally, Shinrone.
This is Ireland's first on-farm Paludiculture trial, exploring how wetland farming can offer real, sustainable opportunities for peatland communities through biodiversity, carbon/nature credits, and the bioeconomy.
In attendance were local farmers, stakeholders and project partners, all working together to bring new life and economic potential to Ireland's rich peatlands. The project is backed by the EU Just Transition Fund and the Irish Government.
Local TD Tony McCormack was in attendance. “A huge thanks to Green Restoration Ireland and the Regan family for hosting such a forward-looking and informative event,” he said. “The future of farming in Offaly is evolving, and it's heartening to see such innovation happening right here in our county.”
The aim of the Shinrone project is to support farmers with peatland areas by providing free hands-on training, tailored farm services and innovative ways to generate income, particularly through raising the water table and adopting climate-friendly practices. As a demonstration farm the Regan farm is showcasing how 'paludiculture' (wetland agriculture) can produce a range of crops suited to wetter conditions to develop commercial products for income generation while helping a circular bio-economy.
A related Just Transition project, the Tóchar project, led by NPWS, was launched in Abbeyleix, Laois the following day. Helena Stromberg, the Communications Officer and Evaluations Officer for the EU Just Transition Fund (Eastern & Midland Regional Assembly), told the Tribune that the Tóchar project in Abbeyleix “focuses on restoring degraded wetlands as part of a broader movement towards carbon neutrality. The project recognises that nature restoration is a social transition, where restoring landscapes goes hand in hand with strengthening communities and reconnecting people with their natural heritage.”
The Tóchar event, Ms Stromberg pointed out, “brought together communities, experts and stakeholders to celebrate the rich wetland heritage and explore the future of restoration and regeneration in the Midlands. The Tóchar event also launched the results of research from Red C on the Irish attitudes toward wetlands at the event. The projects in Shinrone and Abbeyleix were held in locations that helped tell the story of the projects - at a demonstration farm located next to a peat bog and a venue right next to a bog which the local community transformed into a public amenity."
The full day event on May 21st in Shinrone began with an introduction by Dr Douglas McMillan, the General Manager of Green Restoration Ireland Co-operative Society Ltd. This was followed by a Farm Walk & Talk tour for the attendees, which showcased: Opportunities for peatland farming; Carbon & Biodiversity credits; the Paludiculture showroom; The ReWet project; the Circular bioeconomy; and other carbon/nature farming measures.
In the afternoon there were presentations by a number of speakers including: Stéphanie Gantzer-Houzel, Programme manager, Directorate General for Regional and Urban Policy, European Commission; Bernie Roe, Assistant Director, Eastern and Midland Regional Assembly; Paul Leadbitter, Peatland Programme Manager, North Pennines National Landscape; Dr. Mike Longden, Peat Programme Technical Lead, Lancashire Wildlife Trust; Ross Jackson, Private Agricultural Consultant; Professor Neil Rowan, Lead Principal Investigator, Bioeconomy Demonstration for Change of Land Use, TUS.
Ms Stromberg told the Tribune that if anyone reading this is interested in getting involved, whether they be peatland farmers, farm advisors, or just generally interested, they can book free training or surveys. Anyone interested can contact Green Restoration Ireland at doug@greenrestorationireland.coop or call Doug at (087) 9678 372.
“As part of the project,” she said, “Green Restoration Ireland is offering free, hands-on support to farmers, farm advisors, and the wider community as to how to access new income streams from peatlands, in particular abandoned cutover. Anyone with an interest is encouraged to book training with the project or get in touch to find out more about surveys and other services.”
Peatlands have been very much in the headlines of late with a lot of concern in the farming community about the possible imposition of conditions for agricultural peat grasslands. The Shinrone event showed that there's a possibility to ‘restore’ damaged and degrading peatlands by reclamation for agriculture, and generating income from lands with apparently no financial potential.
As well as the Regan farm there is a second demonstration farm in Offaly, located in Ferbane.
In a Press Statement the Minister for Climate, Environment and Energy Darragh O’Brien remarked: “We welcome this opportunity to support this innovative project. Management of farmed peatlands through paludiculture is a valuable opportunity to support the transition towards climate-neutrality and encourage biodiversity, while also facilitating the diversification and modernisation of the economy of the Territory for the benefit of impacted communities. Peatlands for Prosperity demonstrates an environmentally sustainable solution to the challenges of the cessation of peat extraction in the Midlands, placing the welfare and wellbeing of the farming community at its core. This project represents the necessary shift towards environmentally conscious land use while enabling farmers to access new potential sources of revenue. We look forward to witnessing the impact and influence of this project on future initiatives.”
The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Martin Heydon T.D. also stated: “As Minister for Agriculture, I recognise the importance of working with farmers with peat soils in generating an income for their families. A key element of the Peatlands for Prosperity initiative is the provision of hands-on support for farmers. Providing farmers with the right tools, in the right place, at the right time are critical to ensuring an economic and environmentally sustainable Irish agriculture sector. I look forward to seeing the outputs of this project and wish all involved great success.”
Peter Power, Head of the European Commission Representation in Ireland said: “The EU Just Transition Fund supports innovative approaches to developing the territories most affected by the transition towards climate neutrality. The Peatlands for Prosperity project is about developing alternative income streams for farmers while contributing to the restoration of peatlands.”
“The prosperity of the wider Midland region is closely tied to sustainable agriculture. The Peatlands for Prosperity project,” said the Director of the Eastern and Midland Regional Assembly, Clare Bannon, “is an excellent example of innovative approaches that preserve the region’s unique environment and while supporting economic opportunities for local farmers. The Eastern and Midland Regional Assembly (EMRA) as the Managing Authority of the EU Just Transition Fund, is delighted to work with Pobal in administering grant aid directly from the European Union to projects that stem from the ingenuity of our local communities – in the first scheme of its kind. Projects like Peatlands for Prosperity highlights how financial supports that directly target regional and local innovative entities can transform regional development and improve the livelihoods of our communities.”
Pobal CEO, Anna Shakespeare said: “The Peatlands for Prosperity project delivered by Green restoration Ireland which is trialling new farming practices such as paludiculture to help counter biodiversity loss and introduce farmers to a “new” sustainable agriculture, is an excellent example of the innovative initiatives that organisations, communities and enterprises across the Midlands are undertaking under the Just Transition Programme. It is one of 44 projects being supported under the Fund and we have been impressed with the uniqueness of a range of such initiatives being piloted that attempt to build new skills, generate jobs, and diversify the economy while contributing towards the transition to a low carbon economy.”
Dr Doug McMillan, General Manager of GRI said: “With the Peatlands for Prosperity project, Green Restoration Ireland (GRI) is offering free, hands-on support to farmers, farm advisors, and the wider community. Participating farmers can avail of comprehensive, no-cost surveys to assess their peatland’s potential for carbon payments, Paludiculture crops and establishment of paludiculture crops. The project also offers free on-farm training delivered at the pioneer farms in County Offaly to demonstrate how to successfully manage your peatlands and unlock new income streams.”
“Paludiculture (wetland agriculture) is the productive land use of wet and rewetted peatlands that preserves the peat soil and thereby minimizes CO2 emissions and subsidence,” is how the CAP - Wetlands International Europe defines Paludiculture). The EU and Irish government are calling Paludiculture “a veritable silver bullet, which, if done right, has the potential to pay four times over:
1. Firstly in the form of carbon payments from raising the water table to lock in carbon and avoid carbon emissions as outlined in the new Peatland Standard for Ireland (Peatland Standard for Ireland — Peatland Finance Ireland);
2. In the form of payments for the crops and raw materials produced;
3. Where this is done on existing agricultural land it conserves the peat soils for future generations of farmers (drained peat soils are lost at an average rate of 1 cm a year); and
4. Lastly, it pays in co-benefits of enhanced biodiversity, habitats and ecosystem services that arise from healthy peatlands providing climate resilience for agriculture and contributing to national and EU objectives for climate, green growth, biodiversity and water quality, so reducing costly fines for the country as a whole. Payment for these additional ecosystem services are an integral part of carbon payments outlined in the Irish Peatland Standard.”
The government says that with paludiculture, peatlands are kept productive under raised water tables making it a blueprint for carbon farming of peaty soils by simultaneously allowing agricultural cultivation (or forestry) to produce food, feed, biomass and other raw materials. At the Regan ‘Showroom’, a full cross-section of crops suited to wetter conditions have been trialled including grasses, fruits, herbs, vegetables, commercial timber species and crops for construction, fibres and other raw materials that can develop the circular bio-economy. A key project aim is to show farmers a range of the most lucrative crops to choose from and help them transition to these new agricultural systems.