183: Nature Restoration Law - an Irish Farmer’s Perspective with Bill O’Keeffe

Why was the farming community so opposed to the EU’s Nature Restoration Law? Doesn’t a healthy ecosystem benefit agriculture? Isn’t the availability of additional payments for alternative use of unproductive land a good thing? Aren’t the measures built into the law sufficient to protect the actively used agricultural land? To find answers to those and other questions related to farming and biodiversity I sat down (in his kitchen) with Bill O’Keeffe a dairy farmer from Co. Kilkenny.In case you are wondering, Bill is involved with the Irish Farmers’ Association but he spoke with me very much from his personal perspective. His family has been farming in the area for the past 400 years, so without a doubt, his perspectives on farming are different from those of people who don’t have such a sense of belonging to a place. And so we talk about farming practices and their impacts on the environment, farming communities and the looming changes. We also discuss the important difference between a farmer and a landowner. Besides this podcast episode, I made a video where Bill shows us around his farm and talks about it and how he farms. The video is available on my Conservation and Science YouTube channel, so head over there to watch it.Subscribe to Tommy's Outdoors: Conservation and Science NewsletterSupport the Podcast and Buy Me a Coffee.Recommended Books: tommysoutdoors.com/booksMerch: tommysoutdoors.com/shopFollow Tommy's Outdoors on Bluesky, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and FacebookThe views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the individual participants and do not necessarily reflect any organisation's official policy or position. The participants are expressing their personal opinions and perspectives. Mentioned in this episode:DisclaimerThe views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the individual participants and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of any organisation. The participants are expressing their personal opinions and perspectives.

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