Mayo farmers amongst winners of Farming for Nature Ambassador Awards

Three Mayo farmers have been named amongst the 12 winners of Farming for Nature’s 2024 ambassador awards.

Father-daughter beef, sheep and forestry farmers Alan and Alanna Daly were named as ambassadors.  The fourth and fifth generation on their farm situated alongside Lough Mask, they farm over 200 hectares (500 acres), carrying 340 sheep and 60 Angus and Galloway cattle.

 _{New Farming for Nature Ambassadors, father and daughter Alan and Alanna Daly farming along Lough Mask}

The other Mayo winner is Colum Ginnelly, an upland, conventional sheep farmer in Mulranny who keeps 250–280 ewes on multiple commonages and even has some land on islands in Clew Bay. He keeps a lowland and hill sheep cross to produce a better-quality lamb, to make his business viable.

_{New Farming for Nature Ambassador Colum Ginnelly pictured with his wife Elaine. Colum is farming in Mulranny}

The project, founded in 2018, seeks to acknowledge and support farmers who farm, or wish to farm, in a way that will improve the natural health of the countryside. 

The network has now grown to having 102 Ambassadors from all over the country, and has received 21 nominations from farming and conservation organisations around the country. 

There has been an additional award given out this year to honour ambassador Michael Hickey and his passion for hedgerows, who passed away earlier this year. This award recognising outstanding hedgerows was won by Pat Maher, a beef farmer in Tipperary. 

The group of chosen ambassadors represent a broad range of farm types and systems that include not only dairy but beef, sheep, tillage, as well as mixed systems. Of the 12 ambassadors, five are organic or are in organic conversion and seven are conventional farms, with farm sizes varying from ten to 240 hectares.   

Over the next year, each of these farmers will host a farm walk on their land, participate in a five-minute video about their farming system, share their work on a podcast and take part in an online question and answer session. 

These are invaluable resources, with some of the new ambassadors having attended previous Farming for Nature events to help them get to where they are now. 

Each Ambassador is showcased in detail on the Farming for Nature website and social media channels, giving other farmers the opportunity to hear their stories.

The awards were presented by RTÉ broadcaster Ella McSweeney at the National Farming for Nature Awards, which took place at the Burren Winterage Festival over the October bank holiday weekend in Kinvara, County Galway. 

A short video profiling each new ambassador is available to view below.