10 November 2009

By Patrick McGurn, Countryside Management Delivery Branch, DARD

Prior to the introduction of silage in Ireland, the winning of hay as a fodder source for the winter months was common on farms throughout the country.  Since the middle of the last century, government policies have led to an intensification of agriculture with a switch from hay to silage making.  The unpredictability of our summers also hastened this change and as a result, species rich hay meadows have declined since 1950 with most of the decline being in the last two decades.  Fermanagh is now the main stronghold of the hay meadow resource in Northern Ireland.  

One excellent area of species rich traditional hay meadows exists in the village of Garrison where the fields around the graveyard and church are a mosaic of colour in the spring and early summer thanks to the wide range of plants that make up this unique and rare habitat.  Plants such as meadow thistle, common spotted orchid, eyebright, ragged robin and devil’s bit scabious grow along with quaking grass and star sedge.  Over 30 different plants can be found in a square metre plot within the meadow, which compares with around five different plants per square metre in an equivalent silage field. This wide range of plants is why traditional hay meadows are so important, as associated with these plants are other wildlife such as butterflies.  Orange-tip, meadow brown, speckled wood, green-veined white and ringlet are all some of the butterflies commonly seen in such meadows.  Despite the heavy soil of the Garrison Church meadows, one plant absent is soft rush, a plant which usually dominates the landscape throughout Fermanagh.  

This diverse range of plants is down to the management of the habitat.  Locals say it has been a hay meadow for as long as anyone remembers. The meadows are owned by the nearby church, who rent the land to a local farmer.  Every year the farmer does his best to make hay and even in this difficult summer the crop was won in September.  Only one year in the past 30 years has the tenant failed to save the hay crop.  Despite bad ground conditions this year there are no tyre ruts in the field, the crop cut clean, tedded, rowed and baled.  Hedges around the meadow are kept trimmed to help drying conditions.  Fertility is kept low which helps retain the plant variety and a lower yield makes the crop easier to win.

The Garrison Church meadows reflect the past management of once common hay meadows.  The combination of the farmer’s intent to make hay every year,  the willingness of the church to maintain the traditional management of the fields and the use of agri-environment schemes, have ensured the survival of a dwindling resource, so unique to Fermanagh.

Notes to Editors

1. All media enquiries to DARD Press Office, tel: 028 9052 4619.

2. A copy of the photo that issued with this article is available on request from the Press Office.