Hello! Hoping to get some helpful suggestions for an upcoming trip to Ireland in October. We are flying into Dublin and spending a night or two before heading out to see the sights of Ireland. My group and I are looking for possible farm tours; three of the four of us going are farmers and would love to see some farming operations. The group is very flexible on where we are going and are just looking for a good starting point. I look forward to reading everyone’s suggestions! Thank you!!
Posted by
Lincolnshire, UK
2713 posts
Have a look at Farm Tours Ireland
https://www.farmtoursireland.com
This description is taken from the Discover Ireland website...
Farm Tours Ireland is a premier agri tourism provider offering a unique access to Ireland’s leading agricultural enterprises, countryside and culture.
Farm Tours Ireland offers bespoke agricultural and rural tours with access to Ireland's leading agricultural enterprises. Whether you’re a tourist, college student, farmer, vet or a group of food industry experts, Farm Tours Ireland can cater for you. Their tours offer a first-hand insight into Irish agricultural production systems.
The company was established in 2011 upon the realisation that many farmers that travel overseas have a desire to get on-farm and talk to local farmers as well as visiting famous cultural sights. Farm Tours Ireland Ltd. provide a wide range of farm tours across all sectors of Irish agriculture from beef, dairy, sheep, tillage, pig, poultry and equine.
All farms visited are commercial working farms, therefore visitors get to witness the successes, challenges and on-the-ground issues experienced by the farmers within a specific industry.
Farm Tours Ireland are very flexible on tour group sizes and can cater from couples right up to large groups. Most of the tours include some cultural attractions but if a group is on a strict timetable or technical study, tours can be designed so that as much time is spent looking at the technical aspects of Irish agriculture.
They get very positive reviews on Trip Advisor.
You might also want to check out the following two websites.
https://www.agritours.ie/farm-tourism/open-farms.php
https://www.discoverirelandtours.com/special-interest-tours/agri-tours/index.php
There are many farms offering sheep dog experiences but those are geared at visitors rather than farmers, which may not be what you want...
Posted by
Nova Scotia
12 posts
I have no suggestions for farm tours, but if you're interested in agricultural shows or livestock markets, here are a couple of links:
https://www.irishshows.org/irishshowdirectory
https://www.farmersforum.ie/marts-in-ireland/
I have no experience with these in Ireland but I've been to farm shows in England and Scotland and visited a couple of local auction marts on sale day. Both add a nice bit of agricultural content to your trip.