Cows, birds and boats: Farming with nature on Hare Island

Recent rain has subsided, making way for clear skies and a gentle, cool breeze.

Amid calm waters, the distant call of the curlew can be heard, interrupted only by the slow, sure plodding of hoofs on a nearby jetty.

This morning, farmer Mark Thompson is changing over four cows to pastures anew.

The cattle have no problems boarding the cot for their two-minute journey across the Lough. Their destination: Hare Island.

The boat's engine starts, and the cot begins to move. Cattle stand contently as if they are on a livestock trailer, undisturbed by the water on either side.

"For as long as I can mind, we have used a cot of some description," said Mark, looking toward the fast-approaching island.

"Before this, the cattle would have been ‘swam’ over. I have seen them swimming once, years and years ago, but my uncle could tell you more about it.

"In those days, I have been told, they would have caught a cow with a rope and led it out to the water. Once one cow went in, the rest would surely follow!"

The boat slowly comes to a stop at its destination. The gates of the cot are swung open, and the cattle are free to graze the wild and rich terrains of the island.

"The cattle love it out here,” Mark said, as his livestock plod to their new pasture.

“There's not a thing to bother them. It's the place where they are most content."

Hare Island is now classified as an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI), and the Thompson family have a long and rich history of farming it.

Mark is the third generation on these shores, and he now farms alongside the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB).

It is a sound arrangement for both livestock and birds: Mark benefits from lush pastures that enable his cattle and sheep to thrive, while proper grazing practices have kept the habitat healthy for some 60 pairs of breeding waders.

It's no surprise that the island is one of the key habitats for these birds in Northern Ireland.

"It's different farming an island than farming inland," remarked Mark, as his cattle began to graze.

“We have been working with the RSPB for more than 20 years, and use their cot to transport cattle back and forth. It's a win-win for us as farmers, for the livestock and for the wildlife."

Mark explained that Hare Island was first acquired by his grandfather, before being passed down to his father, the late Stanley Thompson.

In 1990, the decision was made to sell the island to the RSPB to raise funds to purchase another farm just a stone's throw away.

But the tradition of farming the island continued as the family then took on a long-term lease from the RSPB.

"It's worked out well, without a doubt," said Mark, who keeps around 30 suck cows and 100 ewes across Hare Island and his home farm nearby.

"The island isn't far away from my home place, as the crow flies, so it suits well. It's that close by, I could check the cattle on Hare Island from the house with a set of binoculars.”

Mark has lived on these shores all his life. It's the place he calls home, and a place he has reared his family in.

His wife, Janice, enjoys a trip over to the island, while their children - Ross, Oliver and Martha - like nothing more than a journey across on the cot.

“It’s a way of life for us, and my late father taught me everything I know.

"I was with him rowing a boat along the water since I was skitter of a cub.

"You can't go into an island 'blind', he used to say. You almost need to have been brought up with it."

Now aged 47, Mark has witnessed many changes on the islands of Lower Lough Erne over the years.

"Nowadays, we don't sow fertiliser or put put slurry on Hare Islandl it's whatever nature does itself," he said, referencing the RSPB's environmental farming model, which helps the birds.

"Before we started working with the RSPB, I remember  loading up bags of fertiliser onto a cot, transporting them over, and then coming back for a wee tractor and spreader.

"I mind heading over with a wee tractor and mower in the winter months.

"Back in the day, Eddie Armstrong was the man you needed to know. He had an old cot that used to serve all the islands.

"It was basically wire on a floating cot and two gates, but it done the job!

"Cattle would have been loaded on a Tudor Farm [a nearby jetty] and brought back and forth with the help of an army of relatives.

"There weren't as many cars on the road then, and we would have walked the cows a mile across the road, a mile home.

"Sure, it's like everything - things change and move. That’s life; you have to embrace progress.”

As with any type of farming, Mark's unique set-up isn't without its challenges.

For one, accessing the island for usual farming tasks requires an added element of planning.

"Whenever we are using the cot, I always try and have two or three jobs to do that day to save the RSPB any hassle," he explained.

"It's more cost-effective for them, and it's better for the environment in terms of emissions.

"Sure, it’s a bit of extra hassle, but it’s all worthwhile. I drive a school bus during the day, so I am well used to working the farm alongside other commitments.

"That said, no matter how well you plan something, in farming something is always sure to go askew!"

Meanwhile, other issues such as rising costs and falling prices are presenting new challenges for the farm.

"Back 30 years ago, the pound was worth something, but these days, not so much," he remarked.

"With the price of things now, it's hard to think about expansion or buying ground. The money isn't in it any more, so we have to work with what we have.

"These days, the small- and part-time farmer is being squeezed more and more. There's a lot of uncertainty at present, especially with agricultural funding.

"The traditional Single Farm Payment is being reduced. Who knows what way it will be within the next ten years?"

Despite this, farming remains a treasured vocation for Mark, and it is one that he is keen to pass his knowledge down to the next generation.

"I have two cubs and a cuddy, and they are at the stage where they are starting to take an interest," he said.

"They love putting the lifejackets on and getting out onto the cot. I am getting them used to rowing the boat, and working with the stock, much the same way I was taught.

"However, I always tell them, go and get an education, as the farm will always be here regardless.

"If they want to farm it, that’s great, and I will show them how to do it responsibly, and with nature in mind.”

Farming an island is by no means straightforward, especially in the current climate, but Mark said that keeping a positive attitude is key within this particular industry.

"I always say, you can either be sad, or you can start your day thanking the good man above that you are able to get up in the morning," he said.

"Farming is a tough old job, but whatever is going to happen, is going to happen.

"You could calf ten cows with no problems at all, and you could calf ten where everything goes wrong. You just have to manage it the best you can.

"I will always mind years ago, when we had an awful bad run of felon [mastitis]. It was that bad, the local vet, Cormac McKervey, told my father that he was only going to charge for the medicine he was using, not for a call-out.

"My father's response will always stay with me:  ‘As long as the sickness doesn't come into our house, things will be all right’. That's the way I have looked at things since.

“I'd be whistling around the yard, and people will say, 'Why are you so happy today?’ I will always respond: ‘Sure, what's the point in being sad?'

"Whether it's farming, or life, whatever will be, will be. It's out of our hands."