Uplands Symposium

A significant one-day symposium on Upland Farming took place on Tuesday, 12^th November in the Ballymascanlon Hotel, Carlingford Road, Dundalk, Co. Louth, A91 PF57. It brought together scientists, policymakers, knowledge transfer professionals and practitioners from across the island of Ireland engaged with managing the uplands.

The objective of the Uplands Symposium was to highlight current developments in supporting Upland Farming Systems and to identify future opportunities for Policy, Education and Research. The symposium was a mix of scientific presentations and panel discussions, with farmer and wider stakeholder contributions.

Symposium Agenda

Welcome & Symposium Opening 

David Colbourne, Teagasc Regional Manager

Session 1

Chaired by Ivan Kelly, Environment KT Specialist, Teagasc

Opening Remarks
Professor Frank O'Mara, Teagasc Director & Paul McHenry, Head of Knowledge Advisory Service, CAFRE

Keynote Address: Upland farming systems for food and ecosystem services - a future policy perspective (pdf)
Dr James Moran, Atlantic Technological University

Session 2: Farmers at the centre of the uplands system

Chaired by Damian Costello, Sheep Specialist, Teagasc

Economic and social dynamics amongst upland farmers (pdf)
Dr Emma Dillon, Teagasc Economist

mBeCHUF (Behavioural Change in Hill and Upland Farmers) project (pdf)
Professor Barry Quinn, Ulster University

Developing a farming blueprint for the Comeragh uplands (pdf)
Catriona Foley, Teagasc Advisor

Session 3: ACRES CP: a results based policy approach

Chaired by Dr Catherine Keena, Countryside Management Specialist, Teagasc

Upland Improvement through RBPS, ACRES so far (pdf)
John Muldowney, Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM)

ACRES CP Local Action Plan Cooley Peninsula (pdf)
Padraig Cronin, ACRES Munster South Connaught, ACRES Leinster

Session 4: Achieving success in the uplands across multiple objectives

Chaired by Mark Scott, Head of Sustainable Land Management, CAFRE

• Dr Andy Bleasdale, NPWS (Biodiversity)
  Acting for Nature in the Uplands (pdf)
• Dr Karl Richards, Teagasc (Carbon)
  National Soil Carbon Observatory (pdf)
• Dr Eileen McCloskey, CAFRE (Livestock)
  Successful Upland Livestock Systems (pdf)
• Gary O’Connell, LAWPRO (Water quality)
  Achieving Success in the Uplands Across Multiple Objectives (pdf)
• On-Farm Videos
  Conor McCann, County Louth Farmer
  Clement Lynch, County Derry Farmer

Close of Symposium

Dr Stan Lalor, Director of Knowledge Transfer, Teagasc