Cork farmer chosen as a Farming for Nature Ambassador for 2021

CORK farmer Paul Moore has been chosen as a Farming for Nature Ambassador for 2021.

The Midleton man is one of seven Ambassadors chosen for the 2021 Farming for Nature public vote awards. 

Now in its fourth year, Farming For Nature was set up with an aim to source, share and celebrate the stories of farmers across Ireland who manage their land in a way that sustains nature, while providing a livelihood for their family.

Paul is an advocate for an economically viable and productive farming system, that simultaneously protects farmland habitats and enhances biodiversity on Irish farms.

“If every farmer did a little and did it properly, it would all add up and have an impact,” the Cork farmer said.

Dr Brendan Dunford of the Burren Programme, founder and committed volunteer with Farming for Nature said: 

"This year’s farming for nature ambassadors are just so engaging and inspirational. 

"They provide a powerful and timely testimony as to how farming and nature can, and must, work in harmony. Simple actions can make a big difference."

“These farmers deserve our respect and support. They embody all that’s great about rural Ireland. They offer great hope at a time of climate and biodiversity crises,” he added.

The Cork farmer runs a tillage and beef farm near Midleton. The mixed 140-acre farm is comprised of 95 acres of tillage, producing malting barley, spring beans, winter barley and oilseed rape. 

Mr Moore has recently begun incorporating regenerative practices on the farm such as the use of multi-species cover crops, longer crop rotations and strip-tilling the spring beans.

The remaining 45 acres is mature grassland and is used to produce 35 Hereford and Angus beef cattle.

A wildlife and bird enthusiast all his life, Paul is passionate about nature conservation and managing habitats on his farm. 

Over the years he has planted trees on the land, managed hedgerows for birds, incorporated wildflower margins around field boundaries, and increased the nature corridors where possible on the farm.

The deadline for voting is midnight Friday, October 22, 2021. For more information go to www.farmingfornature.ie

The winner of the public vote will be announced in late October.