Get your wellies on for a day down on the farm
BUTTEVANT FARM IS HOST FOR INAUGURAL ‘NATIONAL OPEN FARM DAY’
IF the only time you get up close and personal with a bovine is when it’s on your plate then you can change that on Monday next.
‘National Open Farm Day’, promoted by Agri Aware, takes place on Bank Holiday Monday, May 7, and dairy and beef farmers John and Ann Coughlan, from Ballyellis, Buttevant, have been selected as one of four farms to host the event.
This will be the first time in Ireland that farms from across the country will simultaneously open their gates to the public on one day to help educate consumers about what happens on a working farm and to encourage families to learn more about where our food comes from.
New RED C research shows that 1 in 10 Irish people have never visited a farm and 1 in 3 Irish people have not visited a farm in the past five years. For more than half (55%) the reason was simply that they never had the opportunity.
It comes as similar research in the UK found that one in eight young people in the UK have never seen a cow in real life.
John and Ann Coughlan’s farm, which dates back to the 1830s, has been in the family for an impressive six generations.
Ann is a former teacher, but now works full-time on the farm with John. The couple have two grown-up children, Michael (27) and Helena (26) who both work abroad. They have one full-time member of staff, George O’Keeffe, who is part of the family at this stage, having worked with the Coughlans for almost four decades!
The Coughlan’s farm operates 365 days of the year producing beef and milk. Their milk goes to Dairygold, where it is processed and packaged for consumers to buy in the form of cheese, butter and cartons of milk.
Their beef goes to Dawn Meats where it is processed in the form of beef joints, steak, burgers and much more and then sold to retailers, hotels and restaurants before ending up on consumer’s plates in Ireland and around the world.
In addition to the hectic life of the farm, John is the IFA’s regional chairman for Munster, while Ann is secretary of Buttevant Heritage Group. Ann works closely with the group to preserve the town’s rich medieval Norman history and to honour the area’s farming heritage.
“It is important that we continue to highlight the role of the family farm as a key part of the rural community,” says Ann.
Both Ann and John are delighted to have the opportunity to take part in National Open Farm Day and plan to showcase all aspects of farming for their visitors.
“As we become an increasingly urbanised nation, many people are losing the connection between the activity carried out by farmers and the food that they consume every day,” commented Agri Aware’s executive director, Deirdre O’Shea. “Our research clearly shows that Irish people would welcome the opportunity to visit a working farm to learn more about how our food is produced.”
On Monday, the Coughlans farm will be open to the public from 11am – 4pm, and wil be signposted locally.