agriculture

Agriculture

Currach style boats were used to transport cattle, sheep and horses to and from the islands well into the twentieth century. The Little Saltee was farmed up until the end of the Second World War. The brothers White, Richard and William from The Alley, Kilmore Quay, being our last tenants. They farmed corn crops, potatoes and vegetables. The temperate climate favoured production of early ‘new’ potatoes. These were dispatched on a regular basis and feasted upon by Dublin society.

A threshing machine was shipped out in pieces to be reassembled on the island together with other large farm implements too cumbersome for the boats of the day. At harvest time up to twelve people would be housed on the Little Saltee. It is interesting to note that the ‘islanders’ were completely self-sufficient with an abundance of fish supplementing their wide diet of corn, milk, vegetables and meat. Cattle (Kerry and Shorthorn), sheep and pigs provided main and side products. Two Percherons provided the horse power for tillage and granary duties.

One local hazard however, even today, continues to make farming of crops a difficulty. In stormy weather salt spray from the ocean’s mighty waves flies right over the islands depositing its saline solution on everything. Grasses, luckily, do not seem to be too affected thereby providing a numerically strong animal grazing percentage per hectare.

As we move with the new millennium the Little Saltee is once again being farmed. This time by the owners themselves. Livestock of various breeds – Kerry cattle, Soay sheep and Fallow deer can now be seen grazing the forty hectares. The Little Saltee is a REPS farm with registered herd numbers.

Our Increasing Stock Numbers

Having located the rare breed Soay sheep in Ireland in 2003 I achieved one of my ambitions. They are Europe's oldest breed of sheep and were found mostly on the Isles of Hirta and Soay N.W. of Scotland . Today the flock on St. Kilda is regularly visited and monitored. A number of people have bought them for export to England, Ireland and the USA. (See the various Soay web sites on the internet.)

Fallow deer were our next import in 2003. Both John Bland, my agricultural adviser and REPS planner, and I have felt it would be both artistic and beneficial to have a small herd of deer out here. After much research it was decided on Fallow. They will not swim, are pretty and do not become too difficult in the 'rut'. We had great fun in transporting out and releasing them. It took many willing hands, a mighty amount of strength, and a lot of patience. But, as always, we managed it.

I would like to state that both the Soay and Fallow are FERAL herds (flocks) and treated as such. Original foundation stock were tagged but since then have been allowed to "run free"! In due time a culling programme will be put in place and new blood imported.

Above: Working on the habitat site and mowing pastures : left Patrick GB and Richard Schumann. Centre: drilling fence posts. Right: "Our intrepid four", Chas, Sean, Patrick and Dave.