Sustainable Livestock Village to be added to Tullamore Show
A further evolution in the life of Tullamore Show is occurring this year, with the introduction of a Sustainable Livestock Village and Sustainable Farmers Awards
The introduction of a Sustainable Livestock Village provides a relevant and timely platform for farmers to learn more about practices that can further boost the sustainability performance of their farms.
The Sustainable Livestock Village will see key agencies such as the Department of Agriculture, Food, and the Marine, Teagasc, Bord Bia, ICBF, Animal Health Ireland, Meat industry Ireland and Dairy Industry Ireland working together to deliver clear, practical advice to farmers in relation to sustainability practices that can be adopted on their farm and highlight the supports available.
The village will also include a Sustainable Farmer Awards, which will recognise beef and lamb farmers that have adopted best practice across a range of sustainability areas. They will showcase how farmers across different beef and lamb farming systems have implemented sustainability practices and highlight the impact they’ve had in terms of the environmental and economic performance on their farms. The awards are being run in partnership with Bord Bia, Teagasc and the Irish Farmers Journal.
Chairman of the Tullamore Show & FBD National Livestock Show Joe Molloy said: “We believe that the National Livestock Show is the perfect platform, with well over 60,000 people attending annually, he highlighted how this project started from a brief discussion back in 2022 and we are proud of how it has evolved, and he concluded by stating “Sustainable practices are the foundation of the future.”
Speaking at the Sustainable Livestock Village launch event held at FBD House, Minister of State Pippa Hackett said “With annual show attendances in excess of 60,000, there is a huge potential target audience for the advice that will be available around breeding, animal performance, grassland management, animal health and nutrient management. I’ve no doubt that the Sustainable Livestock Village will prove a popular exhibition for 2023 at the Tullamore Show.”
“Sustainability is a word we hear so often, and I think it’s useful to stop and think about what it really means. When we talk about sustainability in the environmental sense, what we are talking about is the quality of causing little or no damage to the environment and therefore an ability to continue for a long time.”
She said: “The real sweet spot is for a farmer to be able to deliver environmental sustainability alongside economic sustainability, where the economics of the farm enterprise are such that it will be able continue for a long time”.
The Chief Commercial Officer of FBD, John Cahalan, said climate change, resource depletion, and biodiversity loss have become urgent issues for the world we live in today and he wished all involved the very best of luck with this new venture.