Open farm event calls for more social farming projects

Philip and Kerri Morgan’s Achadh an lúir Stud Farm was the venue for one of the Open Days during the National Social Farming Awareness Week. The farm in Virginia specialises in breeding and training Connemara ponies, but also hosts regular events to engage in therapeutic, hands-on agricultural work.

Social Farming Ireland works on inclusion and offers people who are socially, physically, mentally or intellectually disadvantaged the opportunity to spend time on a family farm. Encouraging farmers to consider giving social farming a try, Kerri said: “It’s an honour to be able to share the farm with others who may not have the opportunity to experience it otherwise.”

The programme helps people increase their self-esteem and improve health and well-being by taking part in day to day farm activities on the farm.

“Social farming has added so much to our life, as a family we have gained so much from being involved,” Kerri said.

Philip considers the farm lucky to have some very quiet horses for participants to engage with. He shared the famous horse whisperer’s quote: “There is nothing better for the inside of a man than the outside of a horse.”

Carrick farmer

Another social farmer from Monaghan spoke about his social farming practice. Patrick Corrigan, a dairy farmer from Carrickmacross has been involved since 2018 and has some long-term participants attending on a weekly basis.

“Farming can be a lonely job, even though the kids help out, that doesn’t happen daily, having social farming participants on the farm makes it less isolating as a job,” Patrick explained the benefits for him as a farmer.

“I have Paddy with me today and we make a great pair, I like to break things, while Paddy is great at fixing things!” Patrick alludes to the fact that the farmers can also learn from participants.

Patrick encourages more farms to get involved, especially in Monaghan where demand is high and there aren’t enough farms to meet that demand.

Local Fine Gael Senator Joe O’Reilly noted the importance of the programme.

“Social farming is a very much needed intervention at a particular time that can lead to progression in life and in circumstances.”

Peter Johnston, Department of Agriculture Food and the Marine, mentioned how social farming had changed the participants' lives as well as the life of their loved ones.

He added: “It offers families freedom and an opportunity to build confidence. The project exceeds in delivering on outcomes for people and we would love to see further farm development in the coming years.”

Padraic Geoghegan, Prosper Meath, spoke about how social farming pushed people outside their comfort zone “in a positive way”. He commended Philip and Kerri on their work with the participants: “They are treated as part of the family, they make every effort to make it an inclusive experience for each participant.”

Philip and Kerri even learned some Lámh sign language to be able to communicate with one of their participants.

John Murphy, a former participant, said “social farming has had a knock-on effect on his life”. After his placement, he gained employment on the farm, where he worked for 14 years. He since moved on to a different setting to gain new different experiences.

John says social farming gave him the confidence to return to education where he worked on his reading and writing skills. From being shy and nervous person 14 years ago when he started social farming, he is now proud to stand in front of people and share his journey.

MORE INFORMATION

Anyone interested in looking for meaningful supports or know a farmer interested in becoming involved in social farming can contact Darren at 086-0654136 or by email socialfarming@ldco.ie. Alternatively visit www.socialfarmingireland.ie.