Project Description

The Loop Head Peninsula is predominantly an agricultural landscape and has been for centuries if not millennia. Farming is at the heart of the Loop. However there is often a lack of knowledge within the wider non-farming community about what working the land on the peninsula entails, how many hours have to be put into it, what challenges have to be overcome. In recent years the farming sector has also become a climate change scapegoat and the narrative that Irish farmers are to blame for most of Ireland’s CO2 emissions is now widespread.

Promoting what it actually means to be a farmer on the Loop Head Peninsula would make away with those headlines, would create a stronger bond between the farming community and non-farming residents which in turn would strengthen local confidence and invoke a sense of pride in the people who put food on all our tables.

The components of the Loop Head Farming Community Outreach and Celebration project could be:

• Development of a new, easy to update website on Google Workspace/Sites to provide a vibrant platform to showcase all aspects of farming on the Loop. A set of professional photographs/videos would be produced for the new website.

• Develop a mechanism to regularly update the website (blog written by farmers or a social media equivalent).

• Explore the possibility of “Farm Walks” and “Open Farms” for the public to get first hand insight into farming and, in the longer term, create an additional income stream for farmers.

• Organise a “My Farm” art competition where students capture their vision of farming on the Peninsula in a painting, drawing or photograph. These artworks will be displayed on the website.

• Develop projects that will strengthen the engagement with the community and link in with other Loop Head Together projects.

• Explore the possibility of a “Loop Head Farming Forum” to connect the farming community closer to the wider community and together explore new opportunities.

Project Justification & Objectives

Farming is the heart of the Loop Head Peninsula but is often taken for granted or seen as an annoyance or even slandered as the sole reason for climate change and other environmental problems.

The Loop Head Farming Community Outreach and Celebration project would give the farmers a voice and platform to showcase their daily work and the challenges they face as well as highlight the positive impact farming has on the environment and biodiversity. This would create a stronger bond between the farming community and the wider Loop Head community and create a greater appreciation of and support for the work farmers do every day.

Potential Project Stakeholders*

• Loop Head farmers

• Loop Head Together

• Loop Head Tourism

• Wider Loop Head community

*Potential Project Stakeholders means all stakeholders have not necessarily yet been contacted to help co-design the project, but are mentioned here as they would be a desirable project partner. We may have forgotten some - please let us know!