A team of Irish dairy farmers is joining a new campaign run by the National Dairy Council (NDC) to tell the public what they are doing at farm level to be more environmentally friendly and reduce emissions.

Eleven farmer ambassadors have signed up to act as advocates and spokespeople for Ireland’s family farm-based, grass-fed dairy production systems.

The farmers - both male and female - will showcase what’s happening on the farm, speak about what needs to be done and communicate a greater understanding of how Irish dairy farming operates and what it means to rural communities.

Videos

As part of the campaign, the farmers appear in videos which showcase the emissions reduction measures being taken to make Irish dairy the most sustainable dairy system in Europe.

They speak about initiatives such as robots, breeding programmes for a more sustainable cow, including clover in swards to reduce the need for fertiliser and better land management to increase biodiversity and capture more carbon.

NDC CEO Zoë Kavanagh believes that there needs to be more balance in the debate around the future of dairy farming and its role in Irish life – balance which is currently lacking.

“For some time now, the industry has lacked a consistent approach to communicating our side of the story and, as a result, we’ve been on the back foot.

"This is frustrating for our farmers, because they want to tell the Irish public all about the big steps they are taking to reduce their emissions and make dairy farming more sustainable."

Reality

Kavanagh said that in the videos, the farmers speak clearly and frankly about our industry and the reality of life on the farm, the things that are being done to address the environmental challenges, the people that make dairy happen and the future that they want for their families.

“The farmer ambassador programme provides a voice for our industry – well, 11 voices – and we want to provide the platforms that they need to tell their stories so the public can feel better connected to the farming process that ultimately puts the dairy in their fridge," she said.

A video of each of the farmer ambassadors sees them talking about themselves, their farms and their views on some of the current issues facing Irish dairy – providing a snapshot of who they are and the sort of things that they are talking about.

The videos are available to view here.