The research was released by Agri Aware in advance of its National Open Farm Day which will take place on Bank Holiday Monday, 6th May 2019.
 
Commenting on the research Agri Aware Executive Director, Deirdre O’Shea who herself has a background in Human Nutrition said: “Events such as Open Farm are vital to engaging an increasingly urbanised society in the pasture to plate journey of their food. We are seeing worrying trends emerging in childhood obesity in Ireland and empowering our young people with the knowledge to make healthy food choices is vital. Consumers may be aware that agriculture plays a key role in the Irish economy, but unless you are directly involved in the industry its relevance can be lost when in reality agriculture impacts on all of us.”
 
This unique event aims to bring Agri Aware’s mission “to improve the understanding of agriculture and the agri-food industry” to life in an engaging and a holistic way – bringing consumers on the full “pasture to plate” journey of their food.  Three farms across the country will simultaneously open their gates to the public and will allow consumers a rare chance to experience first-hand what happens on a working farm and allow them to learn more about where our food comes from.
 
Chairman of Agri Aware Alan Jagoe added: “We are delighted to host National Open Farm Day again this year. The event aims to bridge the gap between consumer and producer, it is an opportunity to see what happens at the coalface of the sector. Farming is the lifeblood of our land and our people and as a sector we need to continue to communicate the vital links between agriculture, food and our economy to the consumer. As our research shows it is evident that there is an appetite amongst urban consumers to learn more about their food and the sector and this event aims to do just that in an innovative and engaging way.”

Each farm will host several activity zones on the day including:
Meet the Farmer: from Moo-ternity wards to tours of the Milking Parlour there will be talks on each farrm with the farm families, giving visitors a chance to get a real life experience of what life is like on the farm, the animals and crops the farmers tend to each day and some history of the farm.
 
The Cookery Zone: Each location will have the “farm to fork” journey come to life with a host of cookery demo by celebrity chef’s cooking a veritable feast using local produce and ingredients straight from the farm. Celebrity chefs on the day include Edward Hayden (Kildare), Gary O’Hanlon (Dublin) and Adrian Martin (Cork). You will also get a chance to meet many of the local producers from Beekeepers to farmhouse cheese producers.  
 
The Kids Zone: The kid zone will be a hive of activity with lots of fun interactive activities for younger visitors this will include milk races, butter discos (making their own butter), farm safety games, face-painting, farm trails and lots more!
 
Free of Charge
The event is free of charge for everyone. On the day, each of the farms will open their gates to the public from 11am – 4pm and each location will offer its own unique programme of activities. For full details of the activity planned on each farm, along with directions, visit www.agriaware.ie/openfarm   ​

Agri Aware Ireland’s agri-food educational body last night unveiled their exciting new #ManyHatsOneCAP advertisement. This unique, innovative advertisement aims to showcase the role the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) plays in everyday life in Ireland. 

The advert follows a day in the life of a number of characters who make up the rural landscape in Ireland. ​It features four major characters which include Dr. Dayle Johnston, an Offaly native working in Teagasc Grange making waves in calf health research; Rural entrepreneur, culinary lecturer and chef Edward Hayden cooking up a storm in his Graiguenamanagh cookery school; Dr. Marijke Beltman a vet based in UCD’s Veterinary hospital talking through her work on UCD Lyon’s Estate and farmer Kevin Moran up before dawn in Galway to milk his dairy herd.

This event series is timely as we see major updates to the Agricultural Science course at second level for the first time in over 40 years. This new syllabus will be rolled out at 5th year level from September 2019.  Agri Aware engaged extensively with stakeholders including Agri Aware’s patrons over several years to ensure the new specification was reflective and relevant of today’s agri food industry.

Speaking at this year’s launch( Thursday 28th February) Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Michael Creed T.D said: “I am delighted to launch this year’s Agri Aware Farm Walk and Talk series. Society in general is becoming increasingly detached to the source of their food making the role of Agri Aware even more important today, and into the future. It is only through understanding the origin of food  that people will value the role of farmers and the importance of this sector to Ireland. It is of particular importance that initiatives like this are run to communicate with a younger audience many of whom are looking to their future, and will indeed be sectoral leaders in years to come. I wish Agri Aware every success with the initiative.”

Agri Aware Chairman Alan Jagoe added, “Agriculture is hands-on and events like Agri Aware’s Farm Walk and Talk provide thousands of students with an insight into the practicalities of farming and the hard work that farmers do each day. We need the educated students of today to become future industry leaders, to build on our exports of over €13.6 billion and to continue to build on our reputation as world class food producers.This is why initiatives such as Farm Walk and Talk are of such paramount importance – allowing students to experience the various farming techniques that they read so much about and giving them an opportunity to apply what they have learned in the classroom to a working farm, covering topics from soils and fertilisers to silage making and livestock. The event is particularly beneficial for students who don’t come from a farming background”.

Kicking off on Monday the 4th of March the series will be held over 10 days and venues include Teagasc colleges and research centres across the country and UCD’s Lyon’s Estate. The model is unique in that it allows students to experience first-hand the work of industry experts and leading academics in a practical environment. From beef genetics to live lambing the students will experience the reality of the subject that they are taught each day in the classroom.
​
Agri Aware Executive Director, Deirdre O’Shea added, “Agri Aware’s are delighted to be running the Farm Walk and Talk initiative for what will be its 11th year. Its longevity is testament to the role of the initiative in educating our future industry leaders, many of whom may have never visited a farm previously.  This is a fantastic opportunity for students to gain an insight into the hands-on experience of a working farm while also getting the opportunity to engage with key industry stakeholders. Agri Aware wouldn’t be able to facilitate these events without the help of Teagasc, UCD, IASTA, Farmers Journal and our patrons from the agri-food industry.”
 
For more information on the initiative including venue details and dates please visit www.agriaware.ie

The incoming Chairman of Agri Aware Alan Jagoe said “My goal as Chairman of Agri Aware is to continue the work of communicating the vital links between agriculture, food and our economy. Increasing awareness of the relationship between our standard of excellence in farming, and the payoff in terms of excellence in the food we eat and export, while maintaining the unique green image we have here in Ireland. I also recognise the importance of educating the general public from a young age in the role farming plays in all our daily lives, and with the input of a strong board, along with the expertise of our Executive Director Deirdre O’Shea, and the team in the office, I expect Agri Aware to grow in its capacity to deliver our core values”.

Agri Aware, the independent Irish agri-food educational body, is delighted to welcome Teddy Cashman and Charles Smith to its board of directors.

Teddy a dairy farmer hailing from County Cork joins the board on behalf of IFAC. Teddy has been involved in the sector for many years, serving as current Chairman of the National Dairy Council, a board member of IFAC accountants and he also served as former Liquid Milk Chairman with the Irish Farmers Association.

Commenting on his appointment to the board, Teddy said, “I am delighted to join the board of Agri Aware, the work of organisation has never been more important, as the most essential ingredient in the food chain is "trust" and helping consumers understand where their food comes from, and how it is produced will help build confidence.”
​
“The many initiatives of Agri Aware help bridge the disconnect between consumers and modern agricultural practices,” he continued, “young people are the future and concentrating on them will contribute to a greater understanding of the agri-food sector by society as a whole.” 

Teddy begins his term of office alongside Charles Smith, representing Kepak/ABP. Charles has worked for over 23 years with the  Irish Angus Producer Group, the largest beef producer group in the country. Charles a dairy and beef farmer from Cavan/Meath border, also runs a successful free-range poultry business with his brother John. Commenting on his appointment Charles said “I am delighted that the patrons of Agri Aware have entrusted me to the Board of Directors and I look forward to being involved with the organisation which provides progressive innovative programmes to communicate with the public. Through my work with Certified Irish Angus Beef Schools competition over the past several years I have seen first-hand the passion for agriculture that exists within young people from agricultural and non-agricultural backgrounds and I know this experience will hold me in good steed for the role ahead”

Welcoming the new members to the board, Agri Aware Executive Director Deirdre O’Shea said the individuals bring a wealth of experience which will further strengthen the work of the organisation.
​
“Firstly, I would like to sincerely thank all patron members and candidates for their participation in Agri Aware’s recent patron election. I would like to congratulate Charles Smith (ABP and Kepak) and Teddy Cashman (IFAC) on their election as the new patron elected members following a keenly fought election. I look forward to working with the two new representatives who will be instrumental in helping us to promote the image and understanding of agriculture and the agri-food industry across Ireland. I also want to acknowledge the two outgoing representatives, Dr Edmond Harty (Dairymaster) and Mr Tom Cunniffe (Aurivo Co-op) for their commitment to Agri Aware over the past number of years.”

Ms. O’Shea said she was looking forward to a fresh outlook from the new members in advancing Agri Aware’s programmes.

Agri Aware have joined forces with UCD School of Agriculture and Food Science for this year’s Ploughing Championships and together they are serving up a veritable feast for the senses over the 3 day event! There will be a packed “Shed-ule” of activities for visitors to enjoy including a selfie booth, milk races, cookery demos, experiments, panel discussions and much more. Special guests at the Big Red Shed include comedy duo the 2 Johnnies, celebrity Chef Edward Hayden and many more! Agri Aware’s presence at the Ploughing Championships is part of their yearlong CAP communication campaign “Many hats, one CAP” to help educate people young and old from the city and the country about the benefits of CAP policy through innovative communication tools and to celebrate they’ll be giving out Agri Aware bobble hats to thousands of lucky ploughing attendees! You can visit the big red shed located at Block 3, Row 12, stand no. 266

From cookery demos and butter discos to bee-keeping workshops and milk races, there will be something for all the family to enjoy. Celebrity Chef Edward Hayden will be MC on the day and will be joined by a host of experts on the “farm stage” throughout the event. The Agri Aware Mobile Farm will also be in attendance allowing visitors to meet a host of farm animals. ​

​Agri Aware’s red shed at Tullamore Show is part of a significant campaign entitled ‘Many hats, one CAP’ being delivered by Agri Aware, the independent Irish agri-food educational body. The campaign co-financed by the European Commission aims to communicate the many benefits of the CAP to the general public and farmers, across Ireland. The message to this audience is clear, that CAP delivers a secure supply of safe, quality and traceable food that is affordable for consumers. In addition to producing this food under the highest standards, CAP also ensures sustainable management of our natural resources, our waterways, promotes biodiversity and aids in the development of our rural areas.