As part of the REGINA project, SECAD hosted a very successful half-day workshop in the Midleton Park Hotel on Thursday, 4th April 2024. The workshop offered a unique opportunity for researchers, farmers, educators and support agencies to network, learn and discuss Regenerative Agriculture along with our REGINA Erasmus+ European partners from Hungary, Italy, Slovenia and Greece.
With guest speakers from the farming community, academia and support agencies, the workshop aimed to facilitate discussion amongst those who share an interest in farming approaches which are compatible with environmental concerns and the fight against climate change.
While showcasing some of the academic research, the workshop also explored many of the practical challenges and opportunities for the sector. The importance of education, ongoing multi-stakeholder discussions and sharing of positive experiences were highlighted as key to the growth and adoption of regenerative agriculture practices.
Recordings of the panel presentations can be found below. Please click on the links.
The session was opened by SECAD Partnership CEO, Ryan Howard, who welcomed participants to the event. This was followed by a brief introduction by SECAD Development Officer, Katie Kearns, who gave a short presentation on SECAD and its work to support the farming community and the environment.
Patricia Honvári, Széchenyi István University, Hungary
Introduction to REGINA and the project work to date
Patricia Honvari is College Associate Professor of Economics and Environmental Economics at the Budapest Business School (Hungary). As a previous research fellow of the Centre for Economic and Regional Studies, she has more than 10 years of experience of scientific and practical activity in research projects (both national and international, mostly Erasmus, Interreg and Horizon 2020). Patricia holds a PhD in regional studies, with the research topic linked to rural areas, environmental economics, and sustainable development. Also involved in several educational projects, working on the development of digital learning material for different courses. Member of Euracademy Association since 2014, currently the Secretary General.
In her capacity as REGINA Project Lead, Patricia provided an introduction to the REGINA project to the attendees and presented some of the project results to date.
Dermot Forristal, Research Officer, Teagasc
Regenerative Agriculture in Ireland – alternative crop establishment systems in the Irish climate
Dermot is a Research Officer with the Teagasc, the Irish Agriculture and Food Development Authority. Teagasc is the national body providing integrated research, advisory and training services to the agriculture and food industry and rural communities. Dermot’s research area of interest is the mechanisation aspects of crop production and crop production systems, particularly crop establishment and soil cultivation systems.
Robert Coleman, BASE Ireland & Farmer
Regenerative Agriculture in Ireland – The Farmer Perspective
Rob Coleman farms with his father Billy near the village of Castlemagner in North Cork. They manage a mixed tillage and stock farm, with tillage being the main commercial aspect of the farming system. Rob and Billy run a calf-to-beef system and a flock of 150 breeding ewes. Rob and Billy have always been fascinated by soil health and environmental conservation / regeneration and since joining BASE Ireland in 2016, Rob began a journey in adopting numerous conservation agriculture practices on the farm. BASEIreland.ie is part of an International community of farmers, agronomists and agriculture professionals who are committed to advancing the knowledge and practice of Conservation Agriculture.
Dr. Rok Mihelič, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia
Effects of Soil Management on Soil Quality
Rok Mihelic is the Chair of Soil and Environmental Science at the Department of Agronomy, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia. Rok is an internationally recognised and widely published expert on soil management, soil fertility, sustainable agriculutre, agroecosystems and environmental protection. He is also a founding member of the Slovenian Association for Conservation Agriculture and a member of the board of Directors of Euracademy.
Dr. Marco Napoli, University of Florence, Italy
Crop Rotation and Intercropping: Maximising Crop Diversity
Marco Napoli is a Technologist at the Department of Agriculture, Food, Environment and Forestry (DAGRI) of University of Florence, where he lectures in “Biotechnological applications for sustainable crop production” for the MSc “Biotecnologie per la gestione ambientale e l’agricoltura sostenibile”, “Field crops for energy production” for the Msc “Scienze e tecnologie agrarie”. His preferred research fields are soil conservation, growth and development of herbaceous crops, analysis of hydrological-erosive processes, pollution and phyto-remediation of agricultural soils. He is the author of 46 works in Scopus-referenced magazines. He is a member of the American Society of Agronomy; Crop Science Society of America; Order of Agronomists and Forestry Doctors of Florence; National Organization of Wine Tasters; Italian Society of Agronomy; Tuscan Horticultural Society; Soil Science Society of America.
Laura Jayne Foley, Farmer & Business Owner
Irish Case Study – Wild Atlantic Hemp
Laura Jayne Foley and Daniel Lyons, owners of Wild Atlantic Hemp, are farmers and hemp cultivators based in County Clare. They founded their company on the Loop Head peninsula, where they focused on farming with nature. Graduates of the University of Galway with Masters in Agricultural Innovation, they received a start-up award from Enterprise Ireland New Frontiers programme to develop their hemp processing facility in Kilkee. They discovered significant improvements in their crops by using biochar and homemade microbial tea to enhance soil nutrient density. These methods formed the basis of the Hemp4Soil European Innovation Partnership, a Regenerative Farming Experiment which won the national Climate Action Award in the Pride of Place awards in 2023.
Click here for more on SECAD’s Regenerative Agriculture project.
This project is funded through the European Erasmus+ Project. For more information:
