Agroforestry Farm Walk Clare

August 14th

This walk is part-funded by forestry promotion funding provided by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine.

Join us for an Agroforestry Farm Walk in Co Clare on Friday, August 14th. Start time 11am. We are visiting the Earls’ Family Farm. This is an organic beef farm with native woodland, ACRES tree planting, Agroforestry FT8 and commercial forestry. Plans for a sheep enterprise with agroforestry. The family will share their reasons for planting agroforestry on the farm, environmental and financial. They will also share their experience of the application process, farm payments and how they have managed their forestry and agroforestry within the farm succession plan.

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Farm Walks

These walks are part-funded by Forestry Promotion Funding provided by the Department of Agriculture Food and the Marine.

Galway July 22nd 2026

Agroforestry Walks Galway

July 22nd

Date: Wednesday, July 22nd, 2026

Time: 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM

Locations: Co. Galway (Fergal Keaveney's Farm & Mad Yolk Farm)

Cost: Free (Booking Required)

Join us two agroforestry farm walks showcasing FT8 agroforestry. Whether you are a farmer, landowner, forester or simply curious about the benefits of trees on farms, this day offers a firsthand look at how integrating trees with livestock can boost biodiversity, improve animal welfare, and help mitigate climate change.

🕒 Stop 1: Fergal Keaveney’s Farm

Start Time: 10:00 AM

Fergal’s 1.26-hectare agroforestry plot is cleverly designed across two triangular fields running alongside the railway line, featuring 420 trees planted at 7-metre row spacing and 3-metre spacing within rows.

What You’ll See:

  • The Agroforestry Mix: Pedunculate Oak (~48%), supported by Sweet Chestnut, Red Oak, Birch, and Alder.

  • Fruit & Nut: Around 60 fruit and nut trees (cooking/eating apples, pears, cherries, plums, walnuts, almonds, and hazel) carefully selected for canopy heights that won't interfere with machinery.

  • Silvopastoral Benefits: Currently grazed by sheep, with future plans for cattle. Fergal will share how the developing canopy is designed to shelter livestock and improve ground conditions, with the ultimate long-term ambition of animal overwintering to reduce housing and input costs.

  • The 14-Hectare Wider Forest: Visit to adjacent diverse plots, including a rich native broadleaf woodland (FT1 mix), a beech woodland, a productive mixed conifer block, and an oak-dominant plot—all integrated with accessible walkways and creative landscape designs.

🧺 Lunch Break & Travel to Farm 2

(transport is not provided)

Time: 12 PM – 1:00 PM

Please bring a packed lunch to enjoy on-site!

🕒 Stop 2: Brian Dilleen’s Mad Yolk Farm

Start Time: 1:00 PM

Step into a bustling, multi-enterprise farm holding. Mad Yolk Farm is a shining example of how agroforestry can support and benefit commercial poultry, market gardening, and community-driven enterprises. Last winter alone, the farm added 10 hectares of new agroforestry.

What You’ll See:

  • Poultry in the Trees: Brian will share his plans 2,000 pasture-raised hens and 6 mobile hen houses utilising 10-metre-wide alleyways with 2-metre tree spacing.

    The Tree Species Breakdown:

  • Fruit & Nut: Apple, Pear, Plum, Cobnut, and Hazelnut.

  • Mix: Aspen, Poplar, Alder, Birch, Hazel, Eucalyptus, and Lime, alongside a long-term canopy of Sweet Chestnut, Heartnut, Walnut, and Oak.

  • Diversified Enterprises: Explore the 1-acre market garden, the unique community event space, the commercial Finnish sauna, and the on-site Honesty Farm Shop.

🥾 Event Details & Registration

What to Bring: Wellies/sturdy walking boots, waterproof clothing, and a packed lunch.

Don't miss this unique opportunity to see two different, highly innovative agroforestry systems in a single day. Meet the farmers, share and learn peer to peer.

Event Over