FERMANAGH farmers are working with nature, not against it, and are producing some of the best produce in Europe as a result.
That’s the message from local farmer Megan Morrow, who is this subject of this month’s ‘Women in Agriculture’ profile by the Ulster Farmers’ Union (UFU). She wants the public to know that the local agriculture industry is much more sustainable than it is portrayed at times.
Megan works full time as a farm sustainability advisor for Dale Farm, but also still helps out on the family farm. Following in the footsteps of her uncle and grandfather, she grew up on one of the family’s out farms, where she helped out after school and on holidays.
“I always had the love and passion for livestock and nature from a very young age and as I grew up, I started to understand a lot more,” Megan told the UFU.
“With that came a deeper love and passion which is still here to this day. My grandfather and uncle never once let my gender or my age stop me from getting involved and now my uncle’s nine-year-old daughter and two sons whom are seven and three, are involved in all things farming also.”
Graduating with a degree in agriculture and animal science, Megan’s job with Dale Farm allows her to use her passion to “encourage and enable farmers to utilise their land and herds to their optimum – basically farming what you have well.”
“Sustainability is the current buzzword within the industry and across many other sectors,” she said.
“When farmers here me say ‘sustainability’, many shut down or respond with ‘oh so you are for culling the cows’, when that couldn’t be further from the truth. I do believe there is a limit on what some land and yards can handle when operating as a dairy herd and pushing for more can do more harm than good for a business.
“I see my role as an opportunity to encourage and advise farmers on what they want from their herd.
“This can range from improving age at first calving, considering pit silage over bales if that would suit their farm business and labour better or focusing on getting two/three good stable cuts rather than pushing for a fourth cut which can ultimately in many cases, not be as cost effective as it may be advertised as it can cause many issues within both the herd and milk tank.
“With a poor year overall and only a few windows to enable farmers to get the cuts done, this winter will be another testing season for herds and milk quality. Age at first calving, milk quality from grass and forage and how to make good silage are not new conversations, it’s just a new classification – sustainability.”
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