As part of the REGINA Erasmus+ project, the Irish National Workshop was designed to offer a unique opportunity for farmers, researchers, educators, students and support agencies to network, learn and exchange ideas in relation to Regenerative Agriculture practices and to jointly consider how best to support sector in addressing the challenges faced in the collective fight to address climate change.

Through an expert panel of speakers, and engaging discussion, the workshop also aimed to create a shared learning space for all participants to gain greater knowledge and understanding of the sector from multiple perspectives. It sought to give a balanced insight into the challenges and opportunities for supporting and adopting Regenerative Agriculture systems in Ireland and the EU.

This workshop formed part of a wider campaign to mobilise individuals, key farming stakeholders and rural development and education institutions, to join the REGINA community and utilise the online learning resources available through the REGINA platform. It was designed to promote learning and engagement which would be further enhanced through the REGINA tools and modules once the platform has been launched.

Workshop Objectives:

• To engage a wide cross-section of stakeholders within the farming and agri-community
• To increase awareness of the REGINA project and its aims and objectives
• To generate ideas, discussion and networking opportunities
• To provide inspiring case study examples of successful regenerative agriculture practices
• To begin to nurture local links between research, education, policy makers and practitioners in the fight against climate change
• To identify obstacles and challenges faced by the sector and explore potential solutions and supports to overcome these

The proceedings of the National Workshop were video recorded and are available here to view: 

Welcome & Introduction

The session was opened by SECAD Partnership CEO, Ryan Howard, who welcomed participants to the event. This was followed by a brief introduction by SECAD Development Officer, Katie Kearns, who gave a short presentation on SECAD and its work to support the farming community and the environment.

Introduction to REGINA

Patricia Honvári, Széchenyi István University, Hungary

Patricia Honvari is College associate professor of Economics and Environmental Economics at the Budapest Business School (Hungary). As a previous research fellow of the Centre for Economic and Regional Studies, she has more than 10 years of experience of scientific and practical activity in research projects (both national and international, mostly Erasmus, Interreg and Horizon 2020). Patricia holds a PhD in regional studies, with the research topic linked to rural areas, environmental economics, and sustainable development. Also involved in several educational projects, working on the development of digital learning material for different courses. Member of Euracademy Association since 2014, currently the Secretary General.

In her capacity as REGINA Project Lead, Patricia provided an introduction to the REGINA project to the attendees and presented some of the project results to date.

This was followed by a presentation from Isabel Power, PhD student and previous Graduate Development Officer with SECAD Partnership, on the work completed as part of the REGINA project in Ireland to date. Isobel signposted participants to the results of her work including blog posts with Irish farmers and a ’Good News Story’ webinar recording. 

Workshop Presentations

The panel of speakers for the workshop was comprised of researchers, agency support representatives and farmers who are leading the way in innovative, sustainable farming methods.

Dermot Forristal, Research Officer, Teagasc

Regenerative Agriculture in Ireland – Alternative Crop establishment systems in the Irish climate

https://www.teagasc.ie/contact/staff-directory/f/dermot-forristal

Dermot is a Research Officer with the Teagasc, the Agriculture and Food Development Authority. Teagasc is the national body providing integrated research, advisory and training services to the agriculture and food industry and rural communities. Dermot’s research area of interest is the mechanisation aspects of crop production and crop production systems, particularly crop establishment and soil cultivation systems.

Robert Coleman, BASE Ireland & Farmer

Regenerative Agriculture in Ireland – The Farmer Perspective

Rob Coleman farms with his father Billy near the village of Castlemagner in North Cork. They manage a mixed tillage and stock farm, with tillage being the main commercial aspect of the farming system. Rob and Billy run a calf-to-beef system and a flock of 150 breeding ewes. Rob and Billy have always been fascinated by soil health and environmental conservation / regeneration and since joining BASE Ireland in 2016, Rob began a journey in adopting numerous conservation agriculture practices on the farm. BASEIreland.ie is part of an International community of farmers, agronomists and agriculture professionals who are committed to advancing the knowledge and practice of Conservation Agriculture. 

Dr. Rok Mihelič, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia

Effects of Soil Management on Soil Quality

Rok Mihelic is the Chair of Soil and Environmental Science at the Department of Agronomy, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia. Rok is an internationally recognised and widely published expert on soil management, soil fertility, sustainable agriculutre, agroecosystems and environmental protection. He is also a founding member of the Slovenian Association for Conservation Agriculture and a member of the board of Directors of Euracademy.

Dr. Marco Napoli, University of Florence, Italy

Crop Rotation and Intercropping: Maximising Crop Diversity

Marco Napoli is a technologist at Department of Agriculture, Food, Environment and Forestry (DAGRI) of University of Florence, where he lectures in "Biotechnological applications for sustainable crop production” for the MSc “Biotecnologie per la gestione ambientale e l'agricoltura sostenibile”, “Field crops for energy production” for the Msc “Scienze e tecnologie agrarie”. His preferred research fields are soil conservation, growth and development of herbaceous crops, analysis of hydrological-erosive processes, pollution and phyto-remediation of agricultural soils. He is the author of 46 works in Scopus-referenced magazines. He is a member of the American Society of Agronomy; Crop Science Society of America; Order of Agronomists and Forestry Doctors of Florence; National Organization of Wine Tasters; Italian Society of Agronomy; Tuscan Horticultural Society; Soil Science Society of America. 

Laura Jayne Foley, Farmer

Irish Case Study - Wild Atlantic Hemp

Laura Jayne Foley and Daniel Lyons, owners of Wild Atlantic Hemp, are farmers and hemp cultivators based in County Clare. They founded their company on the Loop Head peninsula, where they focused on farming with nature. Graduates of the University of Galway with Masters in Agricultural Innovation, they received a start-up award from Enterprise Ireland New Frontiers programme to develop their hemp processing facility in Kilkee. They discovered significant improvements in their crops by using biochar and homemade microbial tea to enhance soil nutrient density. These methods formed the basis of the Hemp4Soil European Innovation Partnership, a Regenerative Farming Experiment which won the national Climate Action Award in the Pride of Place awards in 2023.

The workshop provided attendees with a unique opportunity to network and discuss ideas across multiple stakeholder viewpoints including farmers, support agencies, researchers, community organisations and educators. Greater opportunity for such engagement would be welcomed by the attendees and one commented that the hosting of an annual event should be considered.

A key message of the event was that there must continue to be multi-stakeholder discussions in order to bring forward the sector. One participant commented that there was significant benefit of having sectoral state agency representatives in attendance so that there was greater awareness of the impact of policy on farming practices on the ground. There was some frustration in relation to changes in policy direction and how these changes are impacting farmers both in relation to productivity and understanding of best practice.

The importance of education and sharing of positive experiences were highlighted as key to the growth and adoption of regenerative agriculture practices. While many farmers are keen to ‘do the right thing’ and adopt more sustainable practices, they are unsure of how to progress. A number of participants commented on how they felt the stories shared by the speakers and fellow participants were inspiring, and the event had created an opportunity for them to think more creatively about how they might introduce some of the farming practices and methods discussed.

To support the education of farmers and practitioners, there is also a need for greater consumer education, and increased education for food processors and retailers as to the value of supporting the primary producers which adopt Regenerative Agriculture systems.

Challenges relating to farm viability and the need to maintain a sustainable income for farm families was also discussed. Farmers felt that there was a risk involved in trying new methods and the key panel message was ‘small steps’ and ‘small risks’.

Participants were given the opportunity to provide written feedback at the event and were also invited to submit feedback by email in the following days. In general, the feedback from participants was very positive and many expressed gratitude to the REGINA project for providing an opportunity to highlight the positive benefits of Regenerative Agriculture.

A final key message from the panel was the request for all participants to take away their learnings from the workshop and to bring it into discussion with at least one colleague, friend, fellow farmer, etc. to try and bring greater awareness of the concept.

While the workshop was considered an overall success, it was agreed that a longer session, perhaps a full day would allow for greater in depth discussion amongst the participants and panellists. This could be considered for future events, however it must also be acknowledged that a longer session may not be as attractive to the farming community, particularly during busy farming periods.