Uplands Symposium

A significant one-day symposium on Upland Farming will take place on Tuesday, 12^th November from 9:30am - 4:15pm in the Ballymascanlon Hotel, Carlingford Road, Dundalk, Co. Louth, A91 PF57.

Click here to register!

It will bring 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 is to highlight current developments in supporting Upland Farming Systems and to identify future opportunities for Policy, Education and Research.

The symposium will constitute a mix of scientific presentations and panel discussions, with farmer and wider stakeholder contributions.

Symposium Agenda

9:30am - 10am
Welcome & Symposium Opening 

Speaker: David Colbourne, Teagasc Regional Manager

10am - 11:15am
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
Dr James Moran, Atlantic Technological University

11:15am – 12:30pm
Session 2: Farmers at the centre of the uplands system

Chaired by Michael Gottstein, Head of Sheep KT, Teagasc

Economic & social dynamics amongst upland farmers
Dr Emma Dillon, Teagasc Economist

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

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

12:30pm - 1:30pm
Lunch

1:30pm - 2:30pm
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…
John Muldowney, Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM)

Acres CP Local Action Plan for the Cooley Peninsula
Padraig Cronin, ACRES Munster South Connaught, ACRES Leinster

2:30pm – 4pm
Session 4: Achieving success in the uplands across multiple objectives

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

Panellists

• Dr Andy Bleasdale, NPWS (Biodiversity)
• Dr Karl Richards, Teagasc (Carbon)
• Dr Eileen McCloskey, CAFRE (Livestock)
• Gary O’Connell, LAWPRO (Water quality)
• On-Farm Videos

• Conor McCann, County Louth Farmer
• Clement Lynch, County Derry Farmer

Followed by Panel Discussion

4pm - 4:15pm
Close of Symposium

Speaker: Dr Stan Lalor, Director of Knowledge Transfer, Teagasc