Moy Hill living classroom: from soil to sustainable farming careers

Moy Hill Farm School

A Living Classroom for Sustainable Farming Practices

Background

Moy Hill Farm is a certified organic and regenerative farm located on the west coast of Ireland, spanning 111 acres of owned and leased land. The farm practices horticulture, animal husbandry, and agroforestry, supplying the local community through a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) vegetable box scheme, farmers’ markets, and a farm shop, while also catering to local cafes and restaurants. Since 2015, Moy Hill Farm has welcomed volunteers and has been a Farming for Nature ambassador since 2018, teaching regenerative farming through its internship program. Utilising Savoury Holistic Management principles of regenerative farming, the farm is accredited by Ecological Outcome Verification (EOV) for soil health monitoring.

Climate mitigation and adaptation, soil protection, biodiversity enhancement, and sustainable practices, including bio-economy and Circular economy, form the core of Moy Hill Farm’s mission. Farm manager Fergal Smith and his team bring substantial experience in organic and regenerative farming, consistently evolving practices, such as implementing Korean Natural Farming methods to enhance soil biodiversity.

Challenges

Many farming practices harm the environment, degrading soil health and biodiversity, resulting in lower-quality crops with low nutritional value, and relying heavily on fossil fuels. Regenerative and organic farming remains a minority of the agricultural industry in Ireland due to misinformation, lack of knowledge, and weak social perception. Furthermore, Ireland's farming population is aging, with the number of new farmers decreasing due to economic factors, land access issues, and social perceptions.

Ireland’s government aims to increase land farmed organically to 10% by 2030, through enhanced state support and information for organic farming and conversion. However, potential organic and regenerative farmers face other challenges - limited knowledge and resources regarding what to do and how to do it is one such. Although some courses teach specific organic practices, there is no comprehensive practical course offering an interconnected approach and support that instructs how to access land, set up, and run a resilient, sustainable organic or regenerative farm in Ireland.

Additional challenges include a weak business case for organic farming, a lack of networking opportunities for farmers, the organic sector's niche and fragmented nature, certification issues, marketing challenges, labour costs, scaling difficulties, and infrastructural needs.

Solution

We aim to address these issues with the creation of the Moy Hill Farm School. This bottom-up solution will provide a comprehensive, on-the-ground example that can be replicated and scaled. Once established, the Centre will focus on training existing and new farmers interested in regenerative, agroecological, and organic farming practices.

The flagship program will be an intensive 7 to 12-month internship, showcasing the entire operations of the farm while utilizing the farm’s produce as part of the training. It will equip participants with the knowledge needed to establish and manage a successful, sustainable, and resilient mixed regenerative operation that directly supplies the local community.

Additional programs of different lengths, covering all aspects of regenerative agriculture, including sustainable agroforestry, livestock management, mixed regenerative farming, marketing for short supply chains, land access strategies, and establishing farm businesses, will also be offered. Additionally, the Centre will host conferences, external courses, and collaborative events, forging partnerships with organizations such as NOTS, Talamh Beo, Farming for Nature, the Korean Natural Farming community, IOA, and Teagasc to create a network for sharing knowledge. The Centre will also serve as a hub for the Savory Institute’s regenerative holistic courses and welcome global advocates for climate change and sustainability, including representatives from Patagonia. A key component of our “living education” model is the continuous mentorship and support provided to participants after completing their training. This will help graduates access land (through leasing or ownership) and launch their own enterprises, ensuring long-term success.

The Moy Hill Farm School building itself will serve as a demonstrator of bio-construction principles. By using locally sourced, natural, low-carbon materials, the building will provide an innovative alternative to conventional construction approaches, emphasizing sustainability in both agriculture and architecture. This initiative supports farm diversification by integrating the production of low-carbon construction materials alongside traditional food crops, challenging the monoculture model and encouraging a holistic approach to land use.

The School will include a commercial kitchen serving both educational purposes and meals for course participants. Additionally, this facility will support on-farm diversification by facilitating the processing and production of value-added products, illustrating practical examples of sustainability, diversification, and short supply chains. These solutions are unique in Ireland and have the potential to transform perceptions of environmentally sustainable farming and land stewardship.

Our programs aim to present sustainable farming as an exciting, economically viable, and important career. The internships and courses are designed to offer high-quality education and practical experience, enhancing community engagement and driving interest in sustainable agriculture. As we produce more quality food and regenerate more land, we anticipate that our model will inspire other farmers to adopt similar sustainable practices, contributing to a broader shift toward environmental sustainability and resilience in the agricultural sector.

Approach

We will exemplify sustainable operations that regenerate land, mitigate climate change, promote short supply chains and the bio-economy, while sharing valuable lessons with others who are looking to care for land. The goal is to run an efficient, productive, and self-sufficient regenerative farm alongside a purpose-built Moy Hill Farm School. This centre will be led by highly skilled, experienced individuals who are passionate and dedicated to education and environmental impact. The Centre will serve as a “living classroom”, allowing students to see what they have been taught in real life and to have a unique, guided, hands-on experience on the farm. The farm’s produce will feed participants in courses and events, emphasizing the interconnectedness of the farm and education centre.

We have partnered with Superposition, an award-winning architectural design and research studio committed to sustainable design, to conceptualise the building, which received planning permission and has been designed to the construction stage. A demonstrator of the build (Phase 1) was completed in summer 2024, laying the groundwork for Phases 2 and 3.