Climate crisis: Trees on farms can be part of the solution, forests on farms is an even more exciting idea

Agricultural emissions are a problem. The giant food processors have become immensely wealthy and are the big winners in Ireland’s dairy boom. It has come at the expense of clean water, bird, insect, mammal and soil life, and creates a cloud of greenhouse gasses from the nitrous oxide emissions of fertiliser to the methane burped by the cows, each of whom can produce as much greenhouse gas as a family car.

But our dairy obsession is also a lost opportunity. This column has been about trying to persuade people with money to spend it better, to pivot away from damaging consumption and put resources into a habitable future planet. One example? By putting the cost of a diesel guzzling SUV into a home retrofit and an electric cargo bike – it’s a double win. Your transport emissions drop, your home is more comfortable and your heating emissions fall. There’s a treble win if you count the health benefits of cycling.

There is a similar double win for a just transition away from intensive dairy. By using some or all of their land differently, farmers can reduce the pollution of livestock farming and enhance the ability of their soil to become the carbon sink it should be. The scale can tip in the other direction with impressive speed. With a few years of good decisions, there is the potential for productive food farming to become a solution to the worst crisis we have ever faced.

Trees on farms are going to be part of the picture. Forests on farms is an even more exciting idea. The Irish Agroforestry Forum has held farm visits over the summer to show how productivity can rise when trees are planted into pastures. This weekend there’s a chance to step into a woodland world and see the opportunities for jobs, home-building, education, food production, fun and reconnecting with a tree-obsessed Ireland. Because trees were central to our identity from our Ogham alphabet, to the ash that makes the hurls for our most beloved sport.

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The Woodland Festival on this Sunday, August 28th also offers the opportunity to explore the 700 acre Clonalis Estate in Castlerea, Co Roscommon. Farmers can see how small-scale timber extraction can work, moving away from clear-felling and using a mobile sawmill to turn a tree into timber on site. There will be wood turning and charcoal demonstrations and Fuinseog Woodland Crafts will be opening their “Bemusement Arcade” with handcrafted wooden games, marble runs and mazes. Not least of all there will be the magic of wandering around a wooded estate and feeling at peace and at home in a woodland. The event is free. Just turn up. There is a €10 parking charge. woodlandfestival.ie