Update from the Project Team
Happy New Year! We have lots of good news to report. All farmers received their result-based payment in December. Thank you again to everyone for submitting their scorecards. The total sum of payments sent out to farmers was €84,614.33. Hopefully we can increase this value again for next year. Some of the highlights of this year’s scorecard are:
-Twenty-six farmers increased their whole farm pollinator score
-Eight farms have reduced pesticide inputs on their farm
-Four hectares of native meadow have been created
-34,107 meters of flowering hedgerow and hedgerow margin have been maintained
The image below shows the average whole farm pollinator score for each farm type. You can see this year’s average compared to last years for beef, dairy, mixed and tillage farms. Tillage and dairy farms have had a great increase in pollinator points this year compared to last year. Thank you to everyone for being part of the Protecting Farmland Pollinators Project and to everyone that has taken action to help pollinators on their farm.
Last but by no means least, congratulations to Brian Ovington, Jenny and Peter Young, Andrew Bergin, and Tom Tierney on more than tripling their pollinator score in one farming year! Our Four ‘Star Farms’ for the year!
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Plant to Spot
Primrose (Primula vulgaris)
Primrose or Sabhaircín in Irish is sign of Spring for some. It has pale yellow flowers that darken towards the centre. Pink versions can be seen and are likely hybrids of the garden variety. The leaves are oval and crinkled. Primrose was rubbed on cows’ udders to increase milk yield and prevent bareness.
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Pollinator to Spot
Keep looking out for winter bumblebees. If you spot any bumblebee workers active, please submit your sightings to: https://records.biodiversityireland.ie/record/bumblebees. In the comment box please mention how many workers you spotted and whether they had pollen baskets on their legs or not.
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What you can do this month
Four steps to planting a bareroot hedgerow.
1. Never let a root go into the ground dry. Keep a bucket of water at hand and if you find a dry root, give it a quick dip, shake off the excess water and plant.
2. Firm the bareroots into the ground with your heel. This can be a good job for the kids as they are guaranteed to get mucky!
3. Water after planting - unless it is raining.
4.Weed management is important in the first few months of growth and herbicides are not advised for this.
Recommended Hedgerow plants: Blackthorn (Prunus spinosa); Dog Rose (Rosa canina); Guelder Rose (Viburnum opulus); Hawthorn/Whitethorn (Crataegus monogyna); Hazel (Corylus avellana); Holly (Ilex aquifolium); Spindle (Euonymous europaeus).
Remember “Lots of small actions, together, make a big difference”. Is there 100 meters of hedgerow that can be cut on a 2–3-year rotation on your farm, why not experiment and see what works and what doesn’t work for you.
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The National Biodiversity Data Centre
If you are interested to helping to track change, check out the Farmer’s Wildlife Calendar: Climate Tracker. The Farmers’ Wildlife Calendar aims to record nine key events on Irish farms to see how they are being affected by climate change. One of these is the first time you see a primrose in flower on the farm. For more information see: https://www.biodiversityireland.ie/projects/additional-survey-schemes/farmers-wildlife-calendar-climate-tracker/. There is also a live observation map.
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Contact details
Phone: +353 (0) 51 306240
Email: eip@biodiversityireland.ie
Twitter: @BioDataCentre
Facebook: Biodiversity Data Centre
Protecting Farmland Pollinators is an EIP (European Innovation Partnership) project being administered by the National Biodiversity Data Centre. The Project is funded by the EU Recovery Instrument Funding under the Rural Development Programme 2014-2022.
Is tionscadal EIP (Comhpháirtíocht Nuálaíochta Eorpach) é an Protecting Farmland Pollinators atá á riaradh ag National Biodiversity Data Centre. Tá an Tionscadal maoinithe ag Maoiniú Ionstraim Téarnaimh an AE faoin gClár um Fhorbairt Tuaithe 2014-2022.
Aspects of the Project are subject to change in response to participant feedback and project monitoring.
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