Standing atop Clomantagh Hill near Johnstown, Co Kilkenny, on a showery April morning, is to stand between worlds: overhead, skylarks soar and sing, while birds of prey silently hover; below lies a stunning rural panorama of fertile tillage and dairy fields, pockets of forestry, and scores of wind turbines, all framed by distant mountain ranges — the Galtees, Slieve Blooms and Slievenamon.
It’s an invigorating spot, one that farmer William Nicholson loves to head to for a change of scene: this ‘outfarm’ (which he co-owns with his brother Richard) lies four miles away from the busy home farm where William, a third-generation farmer, lives with his wife and two teenage children.
William has been clever in diversifying, and stabilising his income streams in recent years, to now include barley production (28ha), forestry (17ha), contract cattle rearing and, increasingly, environmental stewardship. It was the latter that prompted my visit to Clomantagh (‘hill of the gapped stone’), Kilkenny’s third highest point at 349m.
Taking stock
William is the youngest of four children. He lost his mother when only five, so he grew up working closely with his father who, very sadly, also died prematurely, aged 64, from Leukaemia, thrusting William into the role of farm manager at the tender age of 20. The farm held mostly sheep at the time, and suckler cows, the numbers of which William grew during his early tenure.
Farming life soon took its toll: he had both hips replaced in 2013, and suffered sickening episode where he lost heavily on bull calves, all of which prompted him, in 2016, to lease out the farm for five years, enabling him, belatedly, to ‘take stock’ and regroup.
He didn’t venture far — working on a nearby dairy holding while also tending to some forestry on his own place. This ‘sabbatical’ of sorts, restored his appetite for farming, this time contract rearing dairy calves (a predictable income) and growing barley, as well as turning his attention to the neglected holding on Clomantagh Hill.
It had been ‘breaking his heart’ that the hill wasn’t being farmed right, due to difficulties with access and competing farm priorities. Its recent elevation to a ‘Special Area of Conservation’ (SAC), however, challenged him to up his game, and presented an opportunity get support to do so.
Collaboration for conservation
The local NPWS ranger had spoken to William about joining the Farm Plan Scheme (FPS).
While William was interested, access was a major stumbling block, particularly in winter. In a crucial compromise, William was able to secure permission from NPWS, and from an obliging neighbouring farmer, to build an access track and holding pen, making the FPS a viable option.
While visiting this wonderful sweep of limestone land ‘Kilkenny’s Burren’, William shows me the extensive work he undertook to improve the site.
Building trust sometimes requires an initial leap of faith but, once taken, can reap long-term dividends
He has bolstered the limestone walls using Clipex Fencing and controlled extensive bracken stands by repeatedly rolling them in summer.
He installed solar panels to power both the fence and the water pump which harnesses water from a natural pond to feed a series of concrete troughs.
This work has enabled a return to winter grazing. William contract-stores a herd of 40-50 Dexter cattle to graze the 50ha of rough grassland between October and March, in line with FPS recommendations.
This helps improve species diversity by preventing stronger plants from monopolising, recycling nutrients and creating niches for seedling establishment.
Remarkably the only signs of the (recently removed) herd’s presence are the remnants of a few round hay bales (fed during a week-long white-out last January), with minimal poaching evident.
The herd of Dexter cattle used for conservation grazing on Clomantagh Hill. \ James Owens
Aligned interests
Building trust sometimes requires an initial leap of faith but, once taken, can reap long-term dividends.
As William’s relationship with NPWS evolves, the possibility of further collaboration grows. He would like to introduce some light summer grazing on heavier grassland areas to boost biodiversity, and also tackle encroaching gorse.
William enjoys the extensive farming on the hill, while also relishing the commercial challenge on his more ‘productive’ land.
His environmental earnings, from ACRES (on the home farm) and the FPS form a substantial portion of his overall income, though there is an understandable undercurrent of concern about the longevity of such payments — a key issue for future schemes to address.
As consultations on the new Nature Restoration Plan proceed, examples like William’s grow in significance.
The history of SAC/SPA designations leaves much to be desired, so it’s good to see investment being made in their active management after such a long hiatus, in some cases decades, since the initial designation.
Species-rich grasslands such as those at Clomantagh are a priceless asset, containing rare plants like the ‘green winged orchid’ among an abundance of wildlife.
Clomantagh also provides a heartening case study of what’s possible when agricultural and ecological interests align, which thankfully, isn’t as rare as we are sometimes led to believe.
Name: William Nicholson.Farm type: beef, tillage, forestry, conservation.Farm size: 83ha.Focus: making a living, enjoying his farming and keeping the farm alive for another generation. Schemes: ACRES, NPWS Farm Plan Scheme.Clomantagh Hill features on a beautiful new 68-page publication, The Grasslands Trail, which showcases some ‘Great Irish Grasslands’ – download for free at www.greatirishgrasslands.ie/the-grasslands-trail/
Don’t worry about things that you can’t control, enjoy your farming.
Standing atop Clomantagh Hill near Johnstown, Co Kilkenny, on a showery April morning, is to stand between worlds: overhead, skylarks soar and sing, while birds of prey silently hover; below lies a stunning rural panorama of fertile tillage and dairy fields, pockets of forestry, and scores of wind turbines, all framed by distant mountain ranges — the Galtees, Slieve Blooms and Slievenamon.
It’s an invigorating spot, one that farmer William Nicholson loves to head to for a change of scene: this ‘outfarm’ (which he co-owns with his brother Richard) lies four miles away from the busy home farm where William, a third-generation farmer, lives with his wife and two teenage children.
William has been clever in diversifying, and stabilising his income streams in recent years, to now include barley production (28ha), forestry (17ha), contract cattle rearing and, increasingly, environmental stewardship. It was the latter that prompted my visit to Clomantagh (‘hill of the gapped stone’), Kilkenny’s third highest point at 349m.
Taking stock
William is the youngest of four children. He lost his mother when only five, so he grew up working closely with his father who, very sadly, also died prematurely, aged 64, from Leukaemia, thrusting William into the role of farm manager at the tender age of 20. The farm held mostly sheep at the time, and suckler cows, the numbers of which William grew during his early tenure.
Farming life soon took its toll: he had both hips replaced in 2013, and suffered sickening episode where he lost heavily on bull calves, all of which prompted him, in 2016, to lease out the farm for five years, enabling him, belatedly, to ‘take stock’ and regroup.
He didn’t venture far — working on a nearby dairy holding while also tending to some forestry on his own place. This ‘sabbatical’ of sorts, restored his appetite for farming, this time contract rearing dairy calves (a predictable income) and growing barley, as well as turning his attention to the neglected holding on Clomantagh Hill.
It had been ‘breaking his heart’ that the hill wasn’t being farmed right, due to difficulties with access and competing farm priorities. Its recent elevation to a ‘Special Area of Conservation’ (SAC), however, challenged him to up his game, and presented an opportunity get support to do so.
Collaboration for conservation
The local NPWS ranger had spoken to William about joining the Farm Plan Scheme (FPS).
While William was interested, access was a major stumbling block, particularly in winter. In a crucial compromise, William was able to secure permission from NPWS, and from an obliging neighbouring farmer, to build an access track and holding pen, making the FPS a viable option.
While visiting this wonderful sweep of limestone land ‘Kilkenny’s Burren’, William shows me the extensive work he undertook to improve the site.
Building trust sometimes requires an initial leap of faith but, once taken, can reap long-term dividends
He has bolstered the limestone walls using Clipex Fencing and controlled extensive bracken stands by repeatedly rolling them in summer.
He installed solar panels to power both the fence and the water pump which harnesses water from a natural pond to feed a series of concrete troughs.
This work has enabled a return to winter grazing. William contract-stores a herd of 40-50 Dexter cattle to graze the 50ha of rough grassland between October and March, in line with FPS recommendations.
This helps improve species diversity by preventing stronger plants from monopolising, recycling nutrients and creating niches for seedling establishment.
Remarkably the only signs of the (recently removed) herd’s presence are the remnants of a few round hay bales (fed during a week-long white-out last January), with minimal poaching evident.
The herd of Dexter cattle used for conservation grazing on Clomantagh Hill. \ James Owens
Aligned interests
Building trust sometimes requires an initial leap of faith but, once taken, can reap long-term dividends.
As William’s relationship with NPWS evolves, the possibility of further collaboration grows. He would like to introduce some light summer grazing on heavier grassland areas to boost biodiversity, and also tackle encroaching gorse.
William enjoys the extensive farming on the hill, while also relishing the commercial challenge on his more ‘productive’ land.
His environmental earnings, from ACRES (on the home farm) and the FPS form a substantial portion of his overall income, though there is an understandable undercurrent of concern about the longevity of such payments — a key issue for future schemes to address.
As consultations on the new Nature Restoration Plan proceed, examples like William’s grow in significance.
The history of SAC/SPA designations leaves much to be desired, so it’s good to see investment being made in their active management after such a long hiatus, in some cases decades, since the initial designation.
Species-rich grasslands such as those at Clomantagh are a priceless asset, containing rare plants like the ‘green winged orchid’ among an abundance of wildlife.
Clomantagh also provides a heartening case study of what’s possible when agricultural and ecological interests align, which thankfully, isn’t as rare as we are sometimes led to believe.
Name: William Nicholson.Farm type: beef, tillage, forestry, conservation.Farm size: 83ha.Focus: making a living, enjoying his farming and keeping the farm alive for another generation. Schemes: ACRES, NPWS Farm Plan Scheme.Clomantagh Hill features on a beautiful new 68-page publication, The Grasslands Trail, which showcases some ‘Great Irish Grasslands’ – download for free at www.greatirishgrasslands.ie/the-grasslands-trail/
Don’t worry about things that you can’t control, enjoy your farming.
SHARING OPTIONS