Introduction
Over the past two decades, major and rapid changes have taken place in an effort to make farming more environmentally friendly, and to move away from traditional farming methods to new methods or alternative farming enterprises. The Internet is once again a useful tool as it can provide current and relevant information in what is a rapidly changing area.
As many developments in this area are EU driven, an especially useful site detailing present and possible future developments is www.europa.eu.int. Clicking on the Agriculture link and we get the website illustrated here:
The Teagasc site at www.teagasc.ie is also good in this area, giving details of various environmental initiatives as well as alternatives to current farming practices.
An aspect of environmental farming mentioned in the site above of special interest to Irish farmers would be the Rural Environment Protection Scheme (REPS).
Two sites which show details of conservation aspects of this scheme are www.ipcc.ie, the website of The Irish Peatland Conservation Council and www.heritagecouncil.ie, the website of The Heritage Council. In addition to providing information on the REPS, both sites also provide information on environmentally friendly farming in general.
www.agriculture.gov.ie contains a vast wealth of information on this area.
Again, this site gives an opportunity to download official application forms and circulars.
