Opening the farm gate to social farmers

Purpose, togetherness and good craic. That’s a few of the words that have been pinned to social farming following chats with Robert Davis, Laurelview Equestrian Centre and Farm, and Jacqui Magennis, Magennis Farm. They are among 15 active social farms in Northern Ireland. An extremely small number against the 24,000 – 26,000 farms recorded in the region.

“The north of Ireland needs far more social farms, it almost seems like a wee niche in a corner instead of being mainstream,” says Jacqui.

Rural Support is the driving force behind the initiative, with a team dedicated to training and supporting social farms. It has enabled families to open their farm to a variety of people, taking a therapeutic and social approach which also enables the participants to contribute to the daily running of the farm business.

Getting involved

The journey into social farming differs from family to family. For Robert, it was working with others that enticed him.

“I like working with children and adults with learning disabilities. I think it’s very rewarding, not only for themselves, but their family members get so much (from it), a sense of achievement out of the little things. They appreciate the small things. This is where a lot of people go wrong. They expect too much from everybody. That’s why I like it because progress is seen by those that matter,” said Robert.

‘It’s not a job, it’s a way of life’, is a familiar phrase often used when talking about agriculture. But sometimes, the daily grind can taint the blessed life we live.

“My kids went to an urban school. They were the only farm family at the school, so we were quite involved through nursey and primary school, bringing in lambs and ducklings and seeing all the children who didn’t get those opportunities growing up on a farm. It instilled in me how privileged we are on a farm,” said Robert.

Participants

Jaqui’s three social farmers are local men, who she says, bring life and warmth to the farm. With diverse needs and abilities, they each bring something to the table.

“We’ve developed a good strong working team. It’s such a wonderful experience on both sides. It’s amazing the jobs and projects that we can tackle and achieve.

“When you start social farming you think, ‘oh my goodness, how am I going to deal with three people who are so different?’ They find their own path. They all prefer to do different things. I have one who is really into growing and flower production, one who is into animals and one who is obsessed with machinery, and yet they gel. We cater our days so everybody gets a little bit of what they like.

“It’s amazing how they develop. It raises their esteem. I think too it’s the fact that the four of us are equal, and we have to help one another,” says Jacqui.

Robert has participants from Muckamore and Antrim Adult Centre. At their own pace, they have embraced life on the farm.

“There is a participant who lambed sheep this year. She was on her knees with long rubber gloves, and she just loved it and talked about it for weeks after. She had never got a chance to lamb a sheep and thought she never would.

“They love to be involved in something positive and then they go home and talk it over with their family members. They get so much out of it. It’s such a buzz,” said Robert.

Part of the farming community

Agriculture is renowned for its togetherness and the farming community has taken the social farming participants under their wing.

“I like to involve them outside of social farming as well as those goals for Antrim Show or Balmoral, to help out at that. In the past we’ve done other shows, Down and Gosford, the rare breed show. Muckamore participants came and showed, they would take the calf and I would take the cow. They get a real buzz at taking part. The Irish Moiled Show scene is very welcoming to them,” said Robert.

Delivering for everyone

Robert loves to hear the participants referring to Laurelview as “our farm” and at Magennis Farm, changes cannot be made without asking, “what would the boys think?” The social farmers have become an asset to their farm businesses and have helped to tackle one of the biggest issues in agriculture.

“It helps my mental health so that’s an extra bonus. I never come away feeling down after a social farming session,” said Robert.

If you would like to find out more about social farming, visit Rural Support online or contact them directly, (028) 8676 0040 (t) / [email protected] (e).

You can also listen to the full UFU podcast on social farming by visiting Spotify or Amazon music and searching, UFU podcast Farming 24/7.