An Irish film production company are seeking ‘small farmers’ to take part in a new documentary series. This is not covering those who are in small in stature, but rather ‘small farmers’ who are over the age of 65, and running a farm of 25 acres or less.
In rural Ireland, nearly two-fifths of farm holders are over the age of 65, and 45% of holdings are under 25 acres. 36% of farms have a standard output of €8,000 a year, and in a landscape where few small farmers have any plan for inheritance,’a quiet story of resilience and legacy is
playing out’.
The company hope to capture this way of living, once as integral as a black bike and mass on Sunday in this new series, The Small Farmer. These men and women, from West Cork, and from Donegal to Dingle, have formed the social and cultural core of the rural population. The aim of this series is to capture the reality of this life, and to learn more about it firsthand from the people on the ground.
According to series producer Brendan Phelan, a Laois native and from a farming background himself, it’s ‘high time that we heard firsthand from maybe the last examples of a whole class, a whole sector within Irish life that was for many generations probably most responsible for keeping the whole national show on the road.’
‘Small farming families were for many years the bulk of the rural population, and the indispensable element for mass national movements and economic progress’.
‘Now, as we witness the gradual fading out of that mass of Ireland’s rural population, it is finally time to tell their story’. This series will also look at how Irish farming is evolving, and hopes to explore the tension between tradition and progress, and asks what the future holds for those who have dedicated their lives to the land.
The team are looking to interview a number of small farm holders, over the age of 65 with holdings of around 25 acres. Their hope is to meet interesting men and women that represent the overall reality of the small farmer population in Ireland.
If you are a small farmer or know a small farmer that would be interested in taking part, email [email protected] or call Brendan on 087 2925294.
‘We think it’s time that the last generation who had first-hand knowledge of the way of life of Irish small farmers spoke for themselves, about their lived experiences and what formed their attitudes’.
‘That’s the programme we want to make’.
