Agroforestry Walks

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.