I have been interested for some time in a model of food production called Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) so I was delighted to find that a few pioneering souls are getting one going on the Sheep’s Head. Community supported agriculture is a relatively new socio-economic model of food production, sales, and distribution aimed [...]
Archive for the ‘farmers’ Category
Bantry CSA – the Community Solution to Getting Your Oats?
Posted in Community Food, farmers, Food producers, tagged bantry, community supported agriculture, csa, farming, sheeps head on February 11, 2009 | 1 Comment »
Cheese sandwiches for school today
Posted in farmers, Food producers, tagged bacon, dioxins, food safety, irish pork, pigs, pork, recall on December 8, 2008 | 2 Comments »
My 6 year old daughter exclaimed in dismay as I threw the cooked ham in the bin this morning. She hates cheese sandwiches and it being Monday morning I hadn’t the imagination or energy to think of anything else. Something that would pass the lunchbox police at her desk who yuck at anything but ham [...]
What’s happened to apples and nuts?
Posted in farmers, Food producers, tagged farming, food, fruit, nuts, skibbereen on November 6, 2008 | 1 Comment »
I realise that by the time you read this Halloween will be over and you’ll be mentally preparing yourself for Christmas, but indulge my reflections on the gradual erosion of another piece of our food culture. Now I don’t feel old enough yet to say “in my youth”, but you know what I mean, when [...]
A Real Workhorse
Posted in Events, farmers, tagged ballylickey, irish cob, working horses on September 22, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Among the interviews that have really stuck with me in the last year of writing this column, have been those involving a relationship between farmer and farm animals. So when I looked at the programme for the An Sanctóir food event, one talk that really piqued my curiosity was that on Working Horses by Sandra [...]
Spring has Sprung
Posted in farmers, tagged butchers, farming, lamb, sheep, sheepdogs, spring on April 10, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Spring has finally sprung, there is warmth in the sunshine and life in the fields. The liveliest of springing is from lambs, most of which have been born in the last few weeks. Early lambs, born in January are just reaching maturity now and from this week on Spring Lamb should be available in our [...]
Our National Dish?
Posted in farmers, tagged bacon, commercial farming, farming, pigs, rosscarbery on March 13, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
St. Patrick’s Day on the horizon and I’m wondering what we to eat on our national day? What is our national dish? Well, from a radio poll last summer it turns out that Thai Green Curry is the nation’s favorite dish, sorry, but I can’t accept that and it certainly won’t fit the occasion. I [...]
Farming with his eyes and ears
Posted in farmers, Food producers, tagged beef, dunmanway, farming, traditional breeds on February 28, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
With the first stirrings of spring this week I got an urge to meet some of the new calves that have emerged blinking into the light on West Cork farms and are waiting to take to the fields. I paid a visit to Paul and Yvonne Johnson who farm 60 acres at Kinrath, north [...]
What does free range mean?
Posted in farmers, Food producers, tagged bandon, farming, free range eggs, poultry on January 30, 2008 | 2 Comments »
If you’ve been watching Channel 4 lately you can’t have missed the deluge of food programmes that they launched at us with a view to raising awareness and encouraging debate about food production, animal welfare and healthy eating. The strongest point of attack in the Big Food Fight was on intensive poultry production with both [...]
