Kissing the Blarney Stone

Winging across the Atlantic for the fourth time this year, I'm thinking of the Old Irish proverb "My the road rise to meet you, May the wind be always at your back..."

And I've noticed the various reports & predictions regarding wind lately:  The buffeting the South Island has taken, the tornado / storm threats to both sides of the Atlantic and of course the expectation of the impact of El Nino this summer.
Wind and change. Strength and flexibility. Force and reaction...

Dairying and catchments have been the focus of my time in Ireland.
As with the other places I've been so far, the E.U. is a dominant presence. Here there is the clear recognition that the pro's have thus far outweighed the cons. 

The Catchment Programme I was introduced to at Timoleague in West Cork, and saw more of at the Catchment Science Conference (at which I was able to present), is an intensive monitoring exercise being carried out in 6 catchments through the country. It is both driven and partially funded by the EU as part of its Water Framework Directive. In comparison to the earlier Nitrates Directive, which is process (rules) oriented, this is very results driven. There is the potential in a given catchment for farmers to be compliant with the nitrates rules, but for the water quality to fail to meet its target. Back to my wind thought earlier - the Water Framework Directive may well blow harder on land users than  the earlier legislation did. This raises the need for all contributors to water quality to be aware of the real impact of their actions / choices / management on the environment.

How aware am I, for example, as someone who lives in Rotorua of the real impact of my water use choices on the lake? Focusing our minds on real effects not just on compliance would be transformational. Hmmm. I'm having a Conscience Moment about all manner of things right now!
Back to Ireland!
With a sample of highlights in brackets, I managed to take in quite a circuit: 
* west & north from Dublin to Galway (land of endless stone wall fences),

* back down through the centre (pausing in Loise at the ploughing match - cf. our Natitonal Fieldays),
* south to West Cork (where I stayed at my friend Maire's and and ventured around the county to catchments, cows and co-ops - and castles!),

*  up to the Warm South-east of Wexford (full on catchment conversations),

* back to the centre to Loise & Kilkenny (discussion group farmers),

* completing the second loop in Dublin (government and history - can you guess who I'm beside in the below photo?)

* adding a "weekend bubble" up to Bru na Boine in Meath (visiting the famous stone age passage tomb of  Newgrange, which predates the Great Pyramids),

* completing yet another loop by taking the country roads back to Brian & Becky Rushe's , where I had been welcomed on my first night. Coincidentally I watched two momentous rugby games there, a fortnight apart - SA vs Japan and Aus vs England... Needless to say the RWC has gotten a mention with most of the people I've met!

The dairy industry is palpably ready to blossom. Liberated from the winter of milk quotas earlier this year Irish dairy farmers are enjoying a warm spring breeze.  Many have seized the opportunity to add cows, land, feed... However, expansion of an operation beyond the traditional family boundary is usually only temporary, & that often very short term. There are all manner of leases and even land use swaps in the pursuit of efficient growth. It does make it difficult to design and implement a whole farm setup. Other traditions such as sole operator structures, desire for beef calves from the dairy herd and benchmarking on litres (not solids, despite this now being the payment basis) also make it harder to think outside the square. However, Irish agriculture has a supportive government, great research programmes and an excellent advisory service. Ireland grows good quality pasture all summer and there are a great number of excellent pasture managers.

There is an exciting time ahead for those willing to ask the right questions & to challenge the status quo... who act while thinking about the real impacts of their farm management and tell their and their industry's story well.
I've just reread this - I'm not intending to sound like the outsider-know-it-all. In fact I think there are many parallels to home...
Canada next, where as an aside I'm hoping to catch some good autumn colour - it was just starting in Ireland!