Forging connections on the land with Social Farming

NESTLED in the rolling hills between Inagh and Cloonanaha, Michael Callinan’s family farm is both productive and peaceful.

“It was a different world, coming out here on a Friday,” said Occupational Therapist (OT), Kathríona Moloney.

Along with Imelda Hogan from Ennis, Kathríona formed part of a group who visited the farm between February and May, experiencing the changing rhythm of the seasons and enjoying the benefits of social farming.

Activities for the group included feeding cattle, growing vegetables, planting hanging baskets and the odd visit to see ‘Romeo’, the bull – depending on his mood. Imelda’s face lit up when she recalled her weekly visits. “I loved it,” she said. “It was a lot of fun.”

Michael is one the first Clare farmers to open up his home and farm, so that people from all walks of life can access social and other supports.

He has around 80 livestock, on a 50-acre suckler farm with another 20 acres rented out. Since training three years ago with Social Farming Ireland (SFI), Michael has been offering a hands-on experience of rural life.

Teenagers, the elderly, migrants, those with physical or intellectual disabilities or mental health challenges are just some of the groups who participate in social farming.

“It’s an initiative where activities are offered on family-run farms, as a form of social support,” explained Eadaoin O’Connell, Regional Development Officer with SFI.

“It can be on farms from one acre – where there might be a family garden and a couple of animals; right up to farms of two or three hundred acres, with dairy, beef or tillage.

“Each farm has something to offer and there are participants for every farm. A big part of my job is finding the right match for participants and farmers.”

A tour of Michael’s farm, held at the end of July, offered an opportunity to showcase what social farming is all about.

It brought farmers together with potential participants and social and healthcare organisations, and allowed Michael to share his experiences.

“My first placement was in January and finished up in May,” he said.

“I had teenagers and they were a bundle of fun. They really loved it. It might have been a bit daunting the first week with the cows and calves, but the next week it was easier and they took to it and they were talking and making new friends.

“There were cows calving and baby calves. They got the fresh air. In spring, we moved to the garden and got the soil ready for setting the cabbage and the peas. They really, really enjoyed it and their mothers and fathers were thrilled that they were here.”

Michael is no stranger to innovation and has received several prestigious awards for livestock and for farm safety.

Diversifying into social farming is something that has proven immensely rewarding.

“This a great opportunity for farmers and for social farming clients,” he told The Champion.

“Social farming is a great interest. For the clients coming out, they really, really enjoy it. Every group is different. Some people come out and they’re mad for farming.

“Others want a cup of tea and a chat. The kids want a bit of fun and to play with the animals. That’s what it’s all about.”

Michael’s wife Chris, a Mayo native, agreed that the experience benefits everyone involved.

“Mike really enjoys it,” she said.

“At the beginning, he was nervous and wondering if he’d be able for it, but he loves it and he really got on well with the young kids, because we have three of our own.”

Social farming is an international phenomenon and based on a solid platform of research. Its focus is on inclusion and developing participants’ social and practical skills. Currently, it supports hundreds of people in Ireland, but there is potential for thousands more to benefit.

“This is a national programme,” outlined Dr Aisling Moroney. The Sixmilebridge native is a researcher with SFI and based in Drumshanbo, County Leitrim.

“It started from really small beginnings in the border counties, as part of a European Interreg project.

“It has since, largely with the support of the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, become a national project. We now have close to 140 active social farmers in every county in Ireland and that’s growing all the time.

“We continue to find these amazing farmers who are willing to open up their farms and take part. This year alone, we will support roughly 600 people on social farms.

“That’s 600 people getting to have, at the very least, these life-enhancing experiences – and in a lot of cases, life-changing experiences – on our farms.”

Eadaoin, who is based in the South-West regional office in Newcastle West, is the point of contact for farmers and for potential participants in this area.

Any farmer interested in getting involved fills out an expression-of-interest form. While farmers are reimbursed for their time, the main focus is on the non-monetary rewards on offer and the sense of fulfilment to be gained by supporting others.

Once the forms are filled, Eadaoin will visit the farm to find out more about it and to create a profile.

She then looks at the interests and needs of service users and begins the matching process. In most cases, each participant will be offered a choice of two different farms, but that can vary, depending on their location.

“Then, there’s an induction visit, when everyone will get a chance to meet, get to know one another, get to know the farm and the activities that are involved,” Eadaoin explained.

“If all goes well and everybody’s happy to start, then we’ll do a placement on one day per week, for between eight to 12 weeks.

“All those details are ironed out between myself, the farmer and the support service. I’m the support for both sides. We get everything written up including support plans for everyone on the farm.”

Training is also provided to the farmer, Eadaoin explained: “Our training is three days, two are classroom-based or online. They cover all of the essentials: the steps to take to start social farming; health and safety, Garda vetting, references, safeguarding for vulnerable adults, Children First. All that makes sure you’re comfortable to get started taking participants out on the farm.”

Social farming activities are expanding internationally, with major efforts being made to increase awareness and access in Ireland.

“In the Netherlands, there are 30,000 people availing of social farm services every year,” Aisling noted.

“It is fully embedded in health and social care over there, where people can do that, if that’s their choice.

“We have great ambitions in Ireland for social farming. The demand is so strong from health and social care providers. We want to keep growing and, in Clare in particular, there’s definitely untapped potential, both in the farming community and among health and social care providers.”

Aisling added that research suggests up to 10,000 people in Ireland could be supported through social farming, as the initiative expands.

“That would be amazing for those people and for rural development,” she said.

“There are definitely farmers who could use this additional source of income from things like social farming. Our social farmers tend to be thinking a bit more widely about what they can do with their assets and there’s a lot of potential there.”

Aisling is also conscious of the huge resource Ireland’s farming community can offer, primarily because most farms are family owned.

“We are part of a research partnership with a number of European countries and if you look at the Netherlands, it’s fully embedded into the services there,” she noted.

“On the other hand, if you take somewhere like the Czech Republic, they’re very envious of us because they have so few family farms left. So many of the farms there are owned by big corporations.

“The lack of family farms there cuts down hugely on the potential for social farming. We’re lucky in that we don’t have that problem.”

Against the backdrop of climate change and the debate over the future of agriculture, social farming could also be a way to bridge the urban-rural divide, Aisling believes.

“I think every young person in a school should spend time on a farm,” she said.

“It’s as fundamental as it gets, looking at where our food comes from, what it takes to produce it and how we can continue to produce food while also taking care of the environment and taking care of each other, as well as ensuring good farm livelihoods.

“One of the great things that social farming has done is to widen that understanding. Sometimes, there can be negative attitudes towards farming and agriculture and what this does is to bring people onto farms so that they get to see the reality of it.

“In Ireland, for a long time, everyone nearly came from a farming background. That is decreasing as time goes on, that nature connection and affinity.

“Something like social farming has a role to play in bringing that back. It is so important to all of us, because we are all ultimately dependent on the soil, agriculture, food. This is as fundamental as it gets.

“Anything that brings people together more and increases understanding and connections and creates new social capital has got to be a good thing.”

As the open day drew to a close, there was time for visitors to enjoy tea and scones in the barn and to share their reflections.

“We loved our time over ten weeks,” Kathriíona said. “It just felt so natural. Michael and his family welcomed us in and we really felt part of the farm.

“We missed it on the Fridays when it was over. It’s highly recommended and a great experience. I’ve been raving about it to anyone who will listen to me.”

Full details on participating in social farming in the South West are available on Socialfarmingireland.ie, or by contacting Eadaoin O’Connell on 087-3663842.