Excellent turnout of delegates welcomed to County Antrim for CAFRE-Teagasc Uplands Symposium 2025
Opening the Uplands Symposium held on Tuesday 2 September 2025 Albert Johnston, Head of the Knowledge Advisory Service at the College of Agriculture, Food and Rural Enterprise (CAFRE), remarked: “I am delighted to welcome you to the third Teagasc and CAFRE joint Uplands Livestock and Habitat Management Symposium. It’s a pleasure to welcome attendees this year to Northern Ireland. Today we bring together farmers, researchers, and industry experts. Hills and uplands represent a significant proportion of land across the island. We are keen to transfer knowledge on how uplands can contribute to the delivery of ecosystem services for wider society.”
CAFRE-Teagasc joint Symposium organising committee: Mark Scott (CAFRE), Ivan Kelly (Teagasc), Orla Kelly (CAFRE), Nicola Warden (CAFRE), Dr Catherine Keena (Teagasc), Dr Saorla Kavanagh (Teagasc), Dr Eileen McCloskey (CAFRE), Niamh Woods (CAFRE) and Michael Gottstein (Teagasc).
Welcoming the 195 delegates, DAERA Deputy Secretary, Martin McKendry highlighted the important role of upland agricultural systems in the delivery of multiple outcomes including carbon sequestration and biodiversity in addition to the production of food. He stressed the importance of partnerships like the one between CAFRE and Teagasc in helping upland farmers deliver on these outcomes and pointed out the key role of the CAFRE Hill Farm platform in demonstrating innovation in this area.
Professor Frank O’Mara, Director of Teagasc, emphasised the event was a platform for showcasing the diverse initiatives underway both within Teagasc and among various other organisations. Frank said: “This event aims to deepen understanding of upland farming systems and explore future policy opportunities to advance education, advisory services, and research.”
Paul McHenry, CAFRE Director, Martin McKendry, DAERA Deputy Secretary and Professor Frank O’Mara, Teagasc Director pictured at the CAFRE-Teagasc Uplands Symposium 2025.
Mark Scott, Head of Sustainable Land Management at CAFRE provided a strategic overview of the CAFRE Hill Farm Centre. The farm at Glenwherry provides a demonstration platform for the delivery of Education and Knowledge Transfer programmes. Mark said: “In Northern Ireland almost a quarter of the land type is classified as peat, and over 10,000 farms comprise mainly of severely disadvantaged land. The Hill Farm enables CAFRE to showcases innovative systems and technologies to help deliver profitable, sustainable enterprises.” Mark explained CAFRE’s Farm Centres are working towards objectives within the College Estate Strategy to deliver on outcomes for carbon reduction, water quality, soil health and habitats to name a few. “Ultimately, we want to keep carbon in the hill and add to the storage of it whilst creating a habitat for a diverse range of plant, insect and animal species. Efficient, productive livestock are key to helping deliver this,” concluded Mark.
Dr Catherine Keena, Countryside Management Specialist with Teagasc delivered a comprehensive overview of a range of Irish Upland programmes led by Teagasc. A notable highlight was the Sheep 2025 event deepening the understanding of hill sheep grazing patterns. The introduction of the BETTER Farm Sheep Programme aims to move the industry forward through business, environment and technology applications through training, education and research.
Ulster University’s Dr Sanjeev Dasari provided a detailed look at the research being carried out on the CAFRE Hill Farm, examining peatland carbon emissions. Sanjeev explained how results from the last two years show that part of the Creeve Moor in Glenwherry is sequestering carbon rather than emitting, clearly highlighting the need for further research in this area across the island of Ireland. While this research is very positive news, it is important to remember that many studies and more data will be required to influence widely accepted emission factors.
Professor Davy McCracken from Scotland’s Rural University College (SRUC) joined the presentation line-up to share experiences from our neighbouring uplands in Scotland. Davy discussed how changing weather conditions are impacting land and reducing bird populations across the region. SRUC are keen to test and use the remote collection of data whether that be in the form of GPS monitoring of sheep grazing behaviour on various habits or gathering metrics from peatland characteristics. This data all helps to inform decision making to better manage habitats for multiple positive outcomes including carbon sequestration and flood alleviation. Biodiversity management, peatland restoration, woodlands and scrub all play their part alongside upland livestock.
Dr Declan O’Mahony from Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute (AFBI) was welcomed to the stage to deliver the final presentation. Declan, as a member of the Glenwherry Hill Regeneration Partnership Project Board presented habitat mapping and condition data based on the CAFRE Hill Farm. Declan identified: “The 960 hectares of the Glenwherry Farm site comprise of five main habitat types with a further ten subtypes. The peatlands offer a diverse habitat to over 70 plant species.” The CAFRE Hill Farm is a typical representation of upland environments and has a tremendous potential to further inform sustainable farming, upland management, habitat recovery and nature conservation.
Following the five informative presentations Dr Saorla Kavanagh, Biodiversity Research Officer with Teagasc chaired a thought-provoking panel discussion. Thanking everyone for their contribution and attendance at the Uplands Symposium 2025, Dr Stan Lalor, Director of Knowledge Transfer, Teagasc drew the event to a close.
For further information on the presentations delivered at the Sustainable Uplands Livestock and Habitat Management Symposium, visit the Business Support area of the CAFRE website: www.cafre.ac.uk