News
PMP Farmer Meetings Go Digital
With the health issues around the Covid-19 virus, the safety and wellbeing of our participant farmers, colleagues, and project stakeholders is very important to PMP.
So with this in mind PMP held its first online participant farmer meeting for the Owenriff catchment last night via the online meeting platform Zoom. 18 partcipants tuned in online to hear presentations from Derek McLoughlin and Mary McAndrew on the latest developments in the programme.
As Derek McLoughlin says “Our farmer meetings area really important, particularly from the communication perspective. We need to be able to stay in touch, and with the current situation this online method of communication allows us to do just that safely... its the way to go under the current circumstances.”
PMP aim to develop this training method and other online resources to meet the challenges posed by the current restrictions. Further details to follow.
Our catchment officers and HQ will of course continue to handle any one-on-one farmer queries via phone.
You can watch the video here
#pearlmusselproject #musselrivers #EIPAgri #RuralNetwork #agriculture_ie
Pearl Mussel Project Newsletter: Issue 1
The Pearl Mussel Project have produced a short farm newsletter with information on some of the latest developments within the programme.
Download your copy of Pearl Mussel Project News, Issue 1 from our PMP Publications section.
We hope to produce further issues of Pearl Mussel Project News during the year. So check in again to see the latest programme developments.
If you would like to submit an article, photograph or item for inclusion in the newsletter which relates the programme email Mary McAndrew at mary@pmproject.ie
#pearlmusselproject #musselrivers #EIPagri #ruralnetwork
Pearl Mussel Project Farmer Profile
Tom Keane is one of the Pearl Mussel Project Pilot Farmers who farms in the Dawros Catchment in Connemara. Tom came back from England in 1983 to farm with his father. He started his own flock with 9 hoggets he bought in Maam Cross and now has a flock of 160 ewes.
Tom is very passionate about where he farms, he feels one of the best things about farming in this area is the wild nature of the area, “It’s not the easiest place to farm, but I love the area”.
Tom thinks the Pearl Mussel Programme is great for the area. When he was a child, both pearl mussel and fish stocks in the catchment were plentiful. This is not the case anymore and programmes like this can only help.
Tom used to feed meal, but he found it was just too costly. He feels the key to getting the best from his farm is “getting the land to work for you”. He ensures his stock are rotated regularly and works with nature to get the best from his land.
#pearlmusselproject #musselrivers #EIPagri #RuralNetwork
Pearl Mussel Project - Coronavirus (COVID-19) Update
With the health, safety and wellbeing of our participant farmers, colleagues, and project stakeholders in mind, we are providing this update on how the Pearl Mussel Project will deal with and work through the Covid-19 virus outbreak for the foreseeable future.
Most of our staff will be working remotely although a limited number, for now, will continue to work from the office. Our phone lines will remain open and emails will be dealt with as normal.
All upcoming farmer consultation meetings that were to be held over the next month are postponed until further notice. We are currently exploring alternative means of holding these meetings remotely.
One-on-one farmer meetings will continue for the time being, subject to prior agreement with the relevant farmers and we will strictly adhere to social distancing guidelines during such meetings.
We will be in touch with farmers, advisors, or other stakeholders to make alternative arrangements for any scheduled face-to-face meetings. Where feasible scheduled face-to-face meetings will be replaced with phone or video call.
Scheduled fieldwork and farm surveys will continue as planned where it doesn’t require close person-person contact, and this is agreeable with the landowner, and can be conducted in line with any guidance from public authorities.
We will continue to monitor the situation and update our approach as necessary and will notify stakeholders of any significant changes.
We wish all of our farmers and colleagues well during this difficult period.
HSE.ie guidelines summary:
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Send us your photos!
The Pearl Mussel Project invites students, farmers, local residents and amateur photographers to submit photos for our 2021 calendar. The theme for the calendar will be “Farming for nature in a freshwater pearl mussel catchment”.
Photos can be of anything topic or theme that you feel captures what it is like to farm in your catchment. The best entries as judged by PMP will be included in our 2021 calendar. Winners will receive a complimentary copy of the final 2021 calendar.
Photos should be emailed to mary@pmproject.ie and should be in landscape format. Please remember to let us know who took the photograph and where and when it was taken.
So get snapping and best of luck!
#pearlmusselproject #musselrivers #EIPagri #RuralNetwork
Deadline Extended to join PMP
The PMP would like to advise all farmers interested in joining the Pearl Mussel Programme in 2020, that the closing date for receipt of Expression of Interest Form has been extended to the 31 March 2020.
So don’t delay and register your interest in joining the scheme by completing and returning your Expression of Interest Form (PMPF1) today.
