The IFA is Ireland’s largest farming representative organisation. We have protected and defended the interests of Irish farmers in all sectors for more than 60 years.

We represent Irish farmers at home and in Europe, lobbying and campaigning for improved conditions and incomes for farm families.

We also provide representation, support and advice to members on an individual basis.

IFA is a democratic association, organised in branches, County Executive and National Committees. Through our democratic structure, each member can have their say.

https://www.ifa.ie/

What’s involved?

The Smart Farming programme focuses on eight key areas that have the highest costs on farms, or offer the greatest savings to farmers.

You can simply follow the Smart Farming advice or you can take part in a Smart Farming Case Study.

Get a free Smart Farming Cost-Saving Study

Case study farms get the benefit of tailored advice from experts. If you take part an advisor will visit your farm and work with you to find ways to save money and take practical actions to improve resource management.

If you want a free cost-saving study, silage quality analysis, domestic water analysis, carbon navigator and nutrient management plan and you are open to sharing the cost-saving tips taken from the study on your farm with your discussion group or IFA branch – get in touch and join the programme!

https://smartfarming.ie/

Ireland’s largest news portal for farmers.  AgriLand.ie is the largest digital news publisher in the agricultural sector in Ireland. Established in 2013 their aim is to bring together in one online resource all the information, news, and services required by people involved in the agricultural and farming sectors in Ireland.

https://www.agriland.ie/

Farming for Nature is an independent, not-for-profit initiative which aims to support High Nature Value (HNV) farming in Ireland.

Much of the impetus for Farming for Nature came from our experience of working with farmers in the Burren region, western Ireland. This convinced us of the enthusiasm of many farmers to look after their heritage if given the right financial incentives, technical support, and encouragement (the pocket, head, and heart as we say).

During this time we also witnessed the power of partnership in achieving what are, ultimately, common goals – indeed we are delighted to welcome many of these partners – agricultural and environmental – to support our first public venture, the National Farming for Nature Award 2018.

The main purpose of the Award is to unearth and to share the stories of farmers across Ireland who are making a positive difference to nature on their farms and in their communities. We want to show that farmers are a part of nature and not apart from it, and we want to use these positive testimonies to encourage others to follow suit. We want to show that farming for nature can also be agricultural, economically and socially progressive.

Of course, storytelling alone will not solve all of our challenges. We hope to use this website and other media to promote and share some of the exciting emerging initiatives and technological innovations taking place in this field in Ireland today, for example, our locally-led ‘European Innovation Partnerships’ and our ‘Results-based’ Agri-environmental programmes.

We hope you can join us on this journey.

https://www.farmingfornature.ie/

Coillte is privileged to be custodians of 7% of Ireland’s land. Their forests and land now extend to over 440,000 hectares. Over the last 30 years, they have cared for and developed their estate and businesses while being firmly focused on maximising the financial and social potential of these natural resources in a sustainable way.

They have three high potential businesses:

• Forestry
• Land Solutions
• Medite Smartply

Forestry in Ireland has a history which stretches back almost 100 years but its development has accelerated since Coillte was established in 1989 when the company left the Civil Service and became a commercial semistate.

Today the forestry sector employs 12,000 people and every year it contributes €2.3 billion euro to the Irish economy. The industry has the potential to double in size over the next 10 years and Coillte will play a leadership role in delivering this growth.
Coillte are enabling Government Policy to be implemented in key areas such as renewables, infrastructure, industrial development, and tourism, all of which are leading to significant job creation and through our wind farms, and are on track to deliver electricity to over 300,000 homes by 2019.

Their Medite Smartply business is Ireland’s leading producer of innovative, environmentally friendly wood panel products and exports to 32 countries worldwide.

We want future generations to continue to enjoy our landscape and resources that is why we are committed to managing all our activities in a sustainable way and we play a critical role in mitigating the impacts of greenhouse gases and climate change

Their objective is to maximise the value of every hectare they own while continuing to deliver social and environmental benefits for everyone to enjoy.

https://www.coillte.ie/

Origin Green is Ireland’s food and drinks sustainability programme.  It is a voluntary programme, led by Bord Bia, that brings together our food industry – from farmers to food producers, retailers to foodservice operators – with the common goal of sustainable food production. This programme enables Ireland’s food industry to set and achieve measurable sustainability targets that respect the environment and serve local communities more effectively.  Crucially, Origin Green is about measuring and improving how we do this on an ongoing basis.

Origin Green members include farmers and food businesses such as food and beverage manufacturers, retailers and foodservice operators.

The Ambition

The overall ambition of the Origin Green programme is that farms and food manufacturing businesses throughout Ireland sign up to the sustainability agenda, making measurable commitments to producing in a sustainable manner, with progress independently assessed and verified.

Realising that no one country, sector or individual business can solely lead the move towards global sustainable production, we are committed to working with both domestic and international partners to improve performance through collaboration.

https://www.origingreen.ie/