October 24 @ 11:00 am – 1:30 pm
Farm walk & practical actions for nature with Farming for Nature Ambassador Tom Tierney.
‘No-Till And Conservation Agriculture with room for nature and forestry‘.
The Farming for Nature (FFN) farm walks are an opportunity for FFN Ambassadors to showcase their contribution to nature and good farming practices on their land.
Tom Tierney runs a 200-acre regenerative farm in county Kildare. The primary aspect of the farm is tillage production, operating under the principles of conservation agriculture – cover cropping, increasing soil organic matter, crop rotations and direct drilling. Barley, oats, wheat, beans and oilseed rape are grown on the land. Animal manure is brought in from neighbouring farms and composted on site before being spread on the land. White clover is grown as a companion crop and in field margins. Tom has been running a direct drilling system since 2015 and has observed tremendous benefits of this lower soil disturbance method for life both above and below the soil surface – “Biodiversity starts beneath our feet. The biological health of the soil plays a crucial role in increasing biodiversity.” Tom has reduced the amount of synthetic inputs required on the farm and there has been no insecticide used on the land in 6 years. Tom is continuously experimenting with different ways to produce crops in a more natural way. He has two wormery’s on the farm and he makes his own bio-stimulants from vermi-juice, seaweed, molasses and silica which further build the soil biology.
There is about 30 acres of mixed forestry on the farm, 60% hardwood and 40% softwood and Tom operates a continuous cover forestry system. There are about 12 acres of conservation areas on the farm. There is an acre of wetland with naturally regenerating woodland. There are 7 acres of wildflowers on the farm and 4 acres of permanent clover. Tom is a member of BASE Ireland, he is a Teagasc Signpost Tillage Farmer and a participant in the Protecting Farmland Pollinators EIP Project.
