Date: Monday April 15th
Location: Jim Cronin’s Farm, Bridgetown, Killaloe, County Clare.
Start time: 10.30am
Lunch: 12.30pm – 2pm (Home-cooked lunch included)
Finish Time: 4.30pm
Our very first Farm Walk & Focus Session of the season will take place in East County Clare with the legendary Jim Cronin.
Navigating the challenges and realities of small-scale production is no mean feat – it’s very easy to become exhausted, physically and emotionally with the endless demands of growing for market and balancing finances. With this in mind, we are kicking off this year’s OGI Network programme with a unique day that will focus on growers’ wellbeing and ways to cope with challenges. Some of the topics that Jim will cover include:
– Yield
– Returns per metre square
– Crops to grow
– Time Management Efficiencies
– Regulating Work Flow and making time for family Biscuit Tin Finances.
Jim and Rebecca have generously invited all those registered to a home-cooked lunch in harmony with the wellness theme. We are also planning some movement as part of the day, led by the fabulous Flo McAleer.
This event is limited to 20 attendees, so make sure to book now to avoid missing this great opportunity to learn, laugh, share food and share your experiences, struggles and thoughts with your fellow growers to set you up for the season ahead.
Jim scarcely needs an introduction, but his profile below (copied from the Farming for Nature website) sums up his life’s work nicely. His vivacious energy and sparkle in his eye after over 30 years in in the field is inspirational.
Jim Cronin is gradually winding down commercial production on a 16-acres organic market garden farm in Co. Clare where he has been adopting biological agriculture principles for the last 30 years without losing many of the traditional methods of farming.
Jim’s entire farming ethos is seamlessly entwined with nature conservation. Not only does he create a habitat for pollinators and wildlife but also for all the unseen worms and micro-organisms which are fundamental to growing crops and sustaining life above ground. Jim has both a small suckler herd and 2 working horses that both help work the land and provide essential manure for soil fertility.
Jim is both a teacher and a commercial grower of fruit and vegetables. Jim both combines the old traditions with new knowledge and methods based on sound principals as well as proves that one can make a good commercial yield from a small area without compromising nature. “Listen to your heart, yes you have to make money, but every farmer I know is a custodian of the land and intrinsically knows what is best for nature”. His knowledge is second to none when it comes to growing horticulture crops and traditional farming practices, such as the use of the horse and plough. He has distilled his farm knowledge down to an exact science and created a bank of wisdom. For example, not only does Jim grow large crops of cosmos and sweet pea to attract pollinators but he is actively encouraging aphid eating insects by growing marigolds through his potatoes.
Everything Jim does is a deliberate move to try to harness the resources that nature already offers us in terms of soil health, pest control and crop growth. Most importantly there is the unquestioning fact that he loves what he does and what he does is a truly beautiful way of farming for nature. www.farmingfornature.ie/nominees/jim-cronin/
