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Paper bins only

At your local bring bank you are likely to see bins like these, plus bins for cans, glass and other waste. It is important to separate your waste before heading off to a bring bank.

Car emissions

Every year, on September 22nd, we have a European Car Free Day. Across the EU, people are asked to take different types of transport like walking, cycling and public transport.

Great soil groups of Ireland.

Great soil groups of Ireland. Source: Ireland's Environment 2008.

Courtesy EPA

Poolbeg - the site of the Dublin plant

This is the site for the Dublin thermal treatment plant. The current power station is currently owned by ESB and sits beside the now-decommissioned Pidgeon House generating station where electricity was first generated in 1903.

Copyright John Kennedy

Dairy farmers per county

Dairy farming is practiced throughout all counties of Ireland, although Munster and eastern counties have the greatest number of cows. Cork had over 4,200 dairy herds, while Tipperary, Kerry and Limerick are also significant. A noted dairy production region touching all four counties is the "Golden Vale", a stretch of top quality land across Limerick, Tipperary and Cork and including the hinterlands of the towns of Charleville, Michelstown, Kilmallock and Tipperary.

Copyright Irish Farmers Journal

Farmer's markets

At a Farmers’ Market, farmers, growers or producers (usually from a defined local area) are present in person to sell their own produce direct to the public. Farmers’ Markets give local producers the opportunity to eliminate distributors and retailers’ margins, as well as generating very valuable direct feedback on the product. Consumers can make a more direct connection with the source of their food and learn more about what is in season and the best cooking methods. Farmers' markets are held weekly or monthly in many Irish towns and cities in Ireland - a listing of approved Farmers Markets is available from An Bord Bia (www.bordbia.ie).

Copyright Irish Farmer's Journal

Bailed silage

Preserving grass silage as bailes is very popular in Ireland. The grass is compacted into a bale and then wrapped in an airtight plastic wrapper. The system offers more flexibility at feeding time than conventional pit silage, as bales can be transported for feeding. Some of the world’s best equipment for making baled silage is manufactured in Ireland by companies such as McHale (Mayo) and Tanco (Carlow).

Copyright Irish Farmers Journal

Milking machine

Milk from dairy cows in Ireland is collected each day using a milking machine in a milking parlour. This highly efficient system uses a pulsated vacuum to draw milk from the cows. Milk let-down is encouraged by the release of the hormone oxytocin, which is promtpted by the pre-milking washing routine employed by the farmer. Milk is drawn from the cows and piped to a stainless steel bulk tank, wher it is quickly cooled for storage. Hygene is essential and milk is regularly tested to ensure that bacterial contamination is avoided (www.milkquality.ie)

Copyright Irish Farmers Journal

Cattle Grazing in the Burren

The Burren is Ireland's most distinctive and internationally celebrated landscape, while the burren is inhospiabble it is used for farming.

Holstein calves

The vast majority of dairy animals in Ireland are Holstein Friesians, the most popular bairy breed globally. They have been intensively selected for milk production in the main dairy regions around the world, particularly in the Netherlands and the USA. In 2010, there were 611,853 Holstein Friesian Calves born in Ireland compared to 17,099 Jersey calves and 9,472 Montbeliarde. Further details from the Irish Cattle Breeding Federation (www.icbf.com) and from the Irish Holstein /frieshian Association (www.ihfa.ie)

Copyright Irish Farmers Journal