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Amenity horticulture

Amenity horticulture covers a range of non food plants grown in Ireland. Our mild temperate climate provides ideal growing conditions for a comparatively large range of garden/landscape plants and flowers. Commercial amenity crops are grown either indoors in permanent structures such as glasshouses, fixed and mobile polythene tunnels or in open field/plant bed situations. While protected food horticultural production i.e. growing in glasshouses/polythene tunnels, is mostly concentrated in the area just north of Dublin and along the East Coast, containerised nursery stock production is centred in Kildare.

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Strawberries

Wexford is the county most closely associated with strawberry production. Bord Bia estimate that it accounted for almost 100 of the 224 hectares of the crop grown in Ireland in 2008. The Irish strawberry industry began around 1930 and in 1939, when war cut off imports, a production region began around Bree, Clonroche and Adamstown in Co Wexford. According to Teagasc records, the county had just three hectares of the crop in 1940, but this had jumped to 336 hectares by 1960. Crops were grown in small field plots and employed hundreds of young people. Chivers jams opened a depot in Enniscorthy, while Bunclody co-op and Irish Sugar were also involved. In the late 1990’s the crop moved from the fields to indoors, with fresh berries now available for six to eight months rather than just weeks.

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River margins

A river flowing through a field with sheep and a mountain in the distance.

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Map of Ireland showing sheep numbers by county

This graphic shows the number of sheep per county in 2010 and the percentage change on 2009. For example, Kerry had 274,564 sheep at the 2010 census, a 2.16% increase on the previous year. The larger circles illustrate the larger county totals, with Donegal the most significant, at 387,057 sheep. The top counties – Donegal, Galway, Mayo, Kerry and Wicklow all have one thing in common – upland/mountain land. In these areas, sheep are the only enterprise suitable for the terrain.

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Ford tractor

Tractors have revolutionised farming and massively increased productivity. Pictured above is a Ford New Holland. The first mass produced tractor was created by Henry Ford, who was born on a farm near Detroit, Michigan in 1863. He was the son of William Ford, who was born in Ballinascarthy, Co Cork in 1826. As the son of a farmer, Henry Ford believed that tractors were essential to increase food production. The first Fordson Model F was completed in 1916. Henry Ford & Son Ltd. came to Ireland in 1917 and built a factory at the Marino in Cork, the first Ford foundry outside of North America. The very first Fordson tractor left the assembly line on July 3, 1919. By the end of that year, 303 tractors had been built in Cork. massively increased productivity. Pictured above is a Ford New Holland. The first mass produced tractor was created by Henry Ford, who was born on a farm near Detroit, Michigan in 1863. He was the son of William Ford, who was born in Ballinascarthy, Co Cork in 1826. As the son of a farmer, Henry Ford believed that tractors were essential to increase food production. The first Fordson Model F was completed in 1916. Henry Ford & Son Ltd. came to Ireland in 1917 and built a factory at the Marino in Cork, the first Ford foundry outside of North America. The very first Fordson tractor left the assembly line on July 3, 1919. By the end of that year, 303 tractors had been built in Cork.

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Sheep roaming on Achill Island

Sheep breeds kept on the hill areas are a hardier type of sheep more suitable to the tough conditions. This picture was taken on Achill island, off the coast of Co Mayo. Sheep wander the roads as they graze commonage land shared by multiple farmers. Each farmer makes their own sheep with a distinctive colour and sheepdogs are essential in order to gather the sheep for management tasks. Sheep farmers in some mountain regions now market their distinctive lamb direct to consumers (www.ringofkerryqualitylamb.ie and www.connemarahilllamb.ie)

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Ewe and lamb

Lambs are born in springtime after a gestation period inside the ewe of five months. Newborn lambs weigh about five kilograms and feed from their mothers’ milk for about 14 weeks. A ewe can only feed two lambs at a time and most ewes will produce one or two lambs per year. However, some ewes will produce three or four lambs and, in this case, lambs may have to be adopted by another ewe.

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Suckler cow and her calf.

A suckler cow pictured with her young calf. The cow would typically give birth (calve) in the Spring and her calf would suckle her milk until the autumn when he or she would be weaned onto a diet of grass and concentrates. The cows are bred to terminal beef sires selected for their carcase growth rate and conformation. The most popular breeds used in the beef cow herd are Charolais, followed by Limousin, Angus, Belgian Blue and Hereford.

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Hay-making

Haymaking became widespread in Ireland during the late nineteenth century. In more recent times, it has been overtaken by silage as the most popular method for preserving grass. It is cut in the summer time and turned in the field for a number of days until it is dry. In the past, crops were gathered into heaps called “cocks”, which were then gathered in the haggard of the farmyard. Barns to protect hay from the elements were widely in use by the early 20th century. Today, hay is generally gathered in the form of round or square bales, which are formed after passing the crop through a mechanical baler pulled by a tractor.

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Horace Plunkett and the co-operative movement

Horace Plunkett and the Co-operative movement: One man who had a tremendous positive impact on Irish agriculture was Horace Plunkett, who led the introduction of the co-operative movement. In 1889, Plunkett established a co-operative butter-making industry in southwest Ireland, basing his structure on a Scandinavian model. In 1894 Plunkett founded the Irish Agricultural Organisation Society with 33 affiliated dairy co-operative societies or “creameries”. His organisation expanded rapidly; four years later there were 243 affiliated societies. Later, as an MEP at Westminster, he inspired the Recess Committee Report of 1896, which documented failure in Irish agriculture administration. The government eventually accepted his plan, and by the turn of the century the Department of Agriculture and Technical Instruction for Ireland (DATI) was established, with Plunkett as vice-president. Cooperatives still dominate Irish agriculture; you can learn more from their umbrella organisation, the Irish Cooperative Organisation Society (ICOS) (www.icos.ie) For more on Horace Plunkett, see www.plunkett.co.uk

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Woodland in Polmounty

An excellent view of a number of shade-loving plants can be found in this wet willow-alder-ash woodland in Polmounty in the South of Carlow including ferns, ivy and brambles.

Betsey Hickey

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Spreading fertilizer

Farmers in Ireland spread fertilizer to add nutrients to the growing crop. In 2011, farmers spent €490m on fertilizer (www.cso.ie). Nitrogen (N) is the most important nutrient, fuelling the growth of the crop. This can be applied mechanically throughout the growing season, or delivered organically through clover which is a legume (fixed Nitrogen in the soil). Phosphorus (P) and Potassium (K) are also required. Farmers purchase fertilizers with varying percentages of N, P and K, with 10-10-20 containing 10% Nitrogen, 10% Phosphorus and 20% Potassium. They come in granular form in easy to handle bags. Farmers use highly accurate mechanical spreaders to accurately apply fertilizer.

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Exports

Dairy cows pictured grazing the fields at Ring, overlooking Dungarvan bay in Co Waterford. Exports of food and drink from Ireland were worth €8.85 billion in 2011, with dairy and beef accounting for over 60% of the total. In terms of the destination of Irish food and drink exports in 2011, the United Kingdom at 41% was the principal market with sales of just over €3.66 billion. Continental EU markets accounted for 34% of food and drink exports with a combined value estimated in excess of €3 billion.

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Sheep dog herding the sheep.

A well trained sheepdog is a key aid for moving sheep from one field to another and essential for gathering mountain sheep. Training and handling sheepdogs is a very skilled job and well trained dogs are very valuable. The most common breed of sheep dog is the Border Collie.

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Flock of sheep

A group of sheep is called a flock. There are many different strains or breeds of sheep in Ireland, with two main categories - hill/mountain breeds and lowland breeds. The lowland sheep are concentrated in the inland counties and low lying land, while the hill sheep are a hardier type more suited to the tough terrain of the mountains in the west and in Wicklow. Females that are over one year of age and that have given birth to a lamb are called sheep. A mature female sheep is called a ewe. A mature male sheep is called a ram and a castrated (neutered) male sheep is called a wether.

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Christmas trees

Christmas trees are a significant niche crop in Ireland, with an annual market value of around €15m. Bord Bia estimate that around 100 growers annually harvest 700,000 trees for sale. About 300,000 are exported, mainly to Britain and France. Christmas trees are grown mainly in counties Wicklow, Wexford and Carlow but also in Kerry, Tipperary, Roscommon and Dublin. The most popular varieties grown are the Nordmann fir (70%) and the Noble fir (20%), which suit our soil types. Their ability to retain their needles makes them popular with customers. On average it takes 7 – 10 years for a Christmas tree to grow to a minimum height of 2 metres.

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Pigs

Pigs farmed for meat are mainly of the breeds Large White and the Landrace. More than half of all pigs are found in just four counties - Cork, Cavan, Tipperary and Waterford. Females that have had one or two litters are called sows. A male is called a boar, whilst a newborn is called a piglet. A group of piglets is called a litter. The meat from pigs is called pork, while cured pig meat is called bacon.

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National ploughing championships

The National Ploughing Championships (www.npa.ie) take place each year in late September. It has grown into the largest event on the Irish farming calendar. Taking place over three days, the event is about far more than ploughing, with thousands of trade stands, demonstrations and retail outlets aimed at the farming community. The event takes place across a site running to hundreds of acres for the ploughing competitions, car parks and exhibitors. One of the attractions of the event is that it moves around the country to different locations. In 2011, an estimated 200,000 people attended over the three days in Athy, Co Kildare.

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Turning the soil

The soil of Ireland is an immensely valuable, and finite, national resource, which forms and evolves slowly over very long periods of time. It is the basis for almost all farming activity. Soil is a biologically active, complex mixture of weathered minerals, organic matter, organisms, air and water that provides the foundation for life in terrestrial ecosystems. The general consensus is that soil quality in Ireland is good. Irish farmers have a major responsibility to nurture and protect this valuable resource for future generations.

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Laying hens

Poultry is the name given to birds that provide us with meat or eggs. The chicken, the turkey, the duck and the goose are the birds most commonly kept by farmers in Ireland. A female chicken is called a hen and a newborn chicken is called a chick. A male chicken is called a cock or a rooster and a young male chicken is called a cockerel. Chickens live in large groups called flocks.

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Beef calves from a dairy herd.

Calves of a beef breed from the dairy herd are an important source of raw materials for the Irish beef industry. Dairy herds breed their best animals to dairy breeds in order to provide replacements, but around 30% of the national dairy herd is mated to a beef sire in order to increase the value of the offspring. Angus and Hereford, which are noted for their ease of calving, are the most popular beef breeds for use in the dairy herd.

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A Charolais calf

Charolais cattle are the most popular beef breed in Ireland – (www.icbf.com). They originate in the Massif Central region of France, with the first imports to Ireland in 1969. Today, there are over 3,000 breeders of pedigree Charolais cattle in Ireland (www.charolais.ie). Pure bred or pedigree Charolais cattle have a distinctive white coat, although when crossed with other breeds they can be seen in various shades of grey or white. Their main attributes are fast growth, docility and ability to thrive when grazing or when fed intensively indoors.

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Piggery

Pigs live in a piggery. During a pig’s lifetime, it will live in three different houses within a piggery. A piglet begins life in a farrowing house where the sow will give birth. It will remain here until it is four weeks old. It will then be moved to a weaner house, where it stays until it is about 12 weeks old and approximately 32 kg in live weight. Following this, it will move to a finishing house, where it will reside until it is 6 months old and ready to be slaughtered at around 90 kg. Once a piglet is weaned and moved to the weaner house, the sow is moved to the dry sow house.

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Countryside

The spring barley harvest pictured at Redcross in Co Wicklow, with typical mixed farming countryside and the Irish Sea in the background. Part of the visual appeal of Ireland is that the agricultural land is farmed by an estimated 139,829 family farms. Two thirds of Ireland’s farms are less than 30 hectares in size. The Central Statistics Office (CSO) Farm Structure Survey in 2007 reported an average farm size of 32.3 hectares (75 acres) (www.cso.ie). The Farm Structures Survey involved a sample size of 55,000 farms and was also undertaken in 1991 and 2000. Fresh data on farm sizes will emerge in late 2012 when the full results of the 2010 Census of Agriculture are published.

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Pat O’ Keeffe, author of the Farming in Ireland section

Pat O’ Keeffe is the news editor and deputy editor of the Irish Farmers Journal.

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Meat factory

Over 1.4million bovine animals were slaughtered at approved export meat plants in 2010. This consisted of 664,000 steers, 444,000 heifers and 337,000 cows. The product is sold in a range of formats to Irish and international customers. Irish beef processors now have a substantial presence in the retail markets of the UK and Continental Europe (www.bordbia.ie).

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Tagging

Every calf in Ireland must be tagged and registered within 20 days of birth. This unique 12 digit identification number must be maintained throughout the life of the animal and all changes in status or ownership must be notified to the central Animal database maintained by the Department of Agriculture. The system generates 100% traceability which is important for public and animal health protection. The Animal Identification and Movement System (AIM) database produces detailed statistics on the Irish cattle herd each year (www.agriculture.gov.ie).

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Cattle show

During the Summer, agricultural shows are hosted by communities throughout Ireland. A calendar of dates is available from the Irish Shows Association at (www.irishshows.org). Breeders of pedigree cattle, sheep and horses compete for the coveted rosettes, while there are numerous other events to entertain and amuse. The largest show on the calendar is the national livestock show held each year in Tullamore, Co Offaly (pictured). It attracts over 50,000 people and in 2011 hosted 1,900 cattle classes, as well as sheep, horses and countless other attractions (www.tullamore.com)

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Prize bulls at a show

Beef cattle breeding in Ireland is being advanced by the Irish Cattle Breeding Federation (www.icbf.com). The organisation, based in Bandon in Co Cork, was established in 1997 and has as its mission “to achieve the greatest possible genetic gain in the national cattle herd for the benefit of Irish farmers and the industry”.

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Chickens

Chicken meat is now the most popular meat in Ireland, with average consumption of 30kgs per capita. The industry is highly consolidated with only a small number of large scale growers who are closely linked to the processing firm. Ireland’s largest poultry firm is Carton Brothers in Co Cavan (www.chicken.ie). The company employs over 600 people and has 150 farmer suppliers. Meanwhile, Ireland’s largest producer of duck meat and associated products is Silver Hills Foods, based at Emyvale in Co Monaghan (www.silverhillfoods.com).

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Cattle mart

Livestock marts are located throughout Ireland and are used as trading centres where regular - mostly weekly – live auctions of livestock take place. The majority of marts are owned by farmer co-operatives (www.icos.ie), while some are privately run businesses. In 2010, a total of 1.68million livestock sales through marts were recorded, with the peak month, October, accounting for 249,000. Animals are sold by public auction, with the video showing a typical sale day at Kilkenny mart in autumn 2011.

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Litter Constituents

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