News
Mayo advisor training days test PMP waterproof scorecards
Final two days of PMP farm advisor training in Galway/Mayo ended in the Bundorragha catchment, County Mayo yesterday. Well done to all for braving the weather. We were delighted with how our waterproof scorecards performed in the soft conditions!
Over 55 of Ireland’s top farm advisors have been trained up in delivering our results-based Programme. Now the real work starts as we begin to assess results on our participant farms.
#pearlmusselproject #musselrivers #EIPagri #RuralNetwork @agriculture_ie
Farm Advisor field training course in Donegal
The Pearl Mussel Project Team had a great couple of days in Donegal training farm advisors. We are delighted with the positive response and engagement from advisors taking part in the programme. Huge thanks to Victor and Michelle in Wilkins Bar and Lounge, Churchill for their hospitality and to James Forrest for allowing us to use his farm to carry out the field training. We now have approx 35 farm advisors who have completed the Pearl Mussel Advisor training. We are in Galway/Mayo today and Thursday for the final two days of training.
#pearlmusselproject #musselrivers #EIPagri #RuralNetwork @agriculture_ie
Pearl Mussel Programme contract offers are in the post !
Busy day in the office with the first 130 contract offers being sent to farmers. The packs include a farm plan, terms and conditions, and various forms that need to be completed and returned to the project team. Further contract offers will issue over the next two weeks so don’t worry if you don’t receive one this week. Important that farmers who wish to accept the offer nominate an advisor as soon as possible so work can start on farm assessments for 2019.
#pearlmusselproject #musselrivers #EIPagri #RuralNetwork @agriculture_ie
Freshwater Pearl Mussel presentation in Sneem
We were delighted to give a talk on Freshwater Pearl Mussel in Sneem last night as part of #BiodiversityWeek2019. Great so many interested members of community there. Many thanks to Jane O'Sullivan for organising and sharing her photos.
KerryLIFE Kerry Local Authorities.
Field training with farm advisors in Blackwater, County Kerry
Had a great two days field training with farm advisors in Blackwater, County Kerry. These 28 experienced advisors have now successfully completed our training. They will play a critical part in the successful roll out of our results-based Programme. Training centred around developing ecological skills amongst advisors to enable scoring of habitats and watercourses to determine a results-based payment for delivery of environmental quality. Thanks to the Blackwater Tavern for providing lunch and refreshments and thanks to Michael Harrington for allowing us to demonstrate our methods on his farm. Michael farms high nature value farmland (mix of blanket bog, heath, and grassland) bordering the Kerry Blackwater River, which supports one of the largest remaining freshwater pearl Mussel populations in Western Europe.
#pearlmusselproject #musselrivers #EIPagri #RuralNetwork @agriculture_ie
Over 420 Farmer Expression of Interest forms submitted to the Pearl Mussel Programme
The PMP are delighted to announce that more than 420 Expression of Interest forms were received by the 30th of April this year, the closing date for applications for 2019. All further expression of interest forms received after this date will be held over for consideration until 2020.
The project team have been busy assessing the applications and preparing contract offers for those selected for entry in 2019. This involves looking at each landholding and giving it a priority ranking based on its proximity to pearl mussel populations and the amount of watercourses relative to land area in the holding.
Those of highest priority will be offered the first places on the programme and will be sent a contract offer in early May. These contract offers will include a map of the land holding, divided into Pearl Mussel Programme habitat plots which will be scored annually to determine participant payments.
We have been delighted with the level of interest in the Programme and hope that there will be a high level of uptake of contract offers.
#pearlmusselproject #musselrivers #EIPagri #RuralNetwork @agriculture_ie
