A bridge between rivals

Intersecting the counties of Westmeath and Meath, the Kinnegad River is more than the county bounds, its overlying bridges are the meeting places of rivals – in a football sense at least – of the communities straddling either side.

Sharing his story and running a beef farming enterprise in partnership with his father Patrick, mother Margaret and brother Colm in Kinnegad, Co. Westmeath, Kevin Dardis reflects on his family’s connection to the land, childhood memories and his responsibility to protect the farm and its waterways for the next generation in this instalment of the From the Fields to the Boyne video series, filmed and edited by Matthew Walker.

“When you grow up on a farm, you develop a love of working on the land,” Kevin explained when reflecting on memories from yesteryear and outlining the same shared experiences his children will experience.

 “Working on the farm, you see it as a really important resource, you appreciate it. Both growing up and now, I can appreciate it as a vital resource to our current farming system,” Kevin added.

To protect this vital resource and the water quality within, Kevin has taken and will take actions to facilitate the protection of water quality in the river adjoining his farm.

“One of the measures we have implemented is a riparian zone, where we have planted trees to safeguard the rivers on the farm,” he added. Slurry is also spread via a trailing shoe and a 1,000m of fencing will be installed, along with the addition of solar water pumps, to keep livestock out of the river.

As to the reasoning for this investment, Kevin explained: “As farmers, I believe we are just custodians of the land for our time and then we hand it on to the next generation. My goal, and certainly Dad’s goal, has been to hand it on a little better than you received it in the past.

“My hope for the future for the Kinnegad River, and the Boyne, is that it continues to be a really important resource, both for farmers who depend on it, and people who live alongside it that they continue to enjoy it as a local amenity.

“We are all responsible and we all need to play our part in ensuring we hand it over a little bit better for the next generation,” he said.

For more watch the full video from the From the Fields to the Boyne video series below:

Also read: Farmers’ experiences front and centre in new water quality video series

Also read: ‘It’s a privilege to be farming’

Also read: ‘Keeping cows out of the river is a brilliant job’

For more on the Teagasc Better Farming for Water Campaign, visit here.