Ken Lyons, Sustainability Manager, CIE Tours, Michael Davoren (Burren Farmer), Sinead Nagle (Burren farmer), Tim O’Connell (ReFarm Burren co-ordinator) and Conor Wall, Head of Product, Contracting, and Sustainability, CIE Tours.
FIFTEEN local farmers in The Burren have been provided with ‘no-fence’ GPS collars which are emitting musical tones and training cows by music.
In what is one of the first projects supported by CIÉ Tours’ Sustainability Action Fund, ReFarm Burren has given an approximate fifteen local farmers with new GPS collars allowing them to manage grazing zones virtually through a mobile app.
When livestock approach a virtual boundary, the collars emit musical tones to alert the animals, followed by a very mild electrical pulse if they continue. The cattle quickly learn to respond to the music following initial training, enabling targeted, low-impact grazing without the need for physical fencing.
Many farmers graze cattle outdoors on winterages from October onwards. Grazing cattle on the winterages ensures that the species-rich grass is grazed down to give the unique flowers such as gentians and orchids, found in the Burren the opportunity to bloom each year. The terrain of the Burren makes traditional fencing difficult and time consuming. The musical ‘fences’ created by the solar powered collars worn by the cattle, gives farmers certainty as to the safety and location of their animals on what are often very remote, inaccessible holdings.
“It’s hard not to smile when you hear about cows trained by music, but this is exactly the kind of forward-thinking, community-rooted project our Sustainability Action Fund was designed to support,” explained Stephen Cotter, Managing Director of CIE Tours. “It’s a perfect example of how small investments in local innovation can have a big impact on preserving the places our guests love to visit”.
The Sustainable Action Fund is part of CIE Tours’ wider commitment to responsible tourism, supporting the communities, cultures, and natural environments that make travel meaningful for its guests. ReFarm Burren exemplifies that mission, using smart technology to strengthen biodiversity, sustainable traditional farming, and preservation of cultural heritage in one of Ireland’s most distinctive regions.
Tim O’Connell who co-ordinates ReFarm Burren explained, “It’s the grazing that makes the Burren amazing and CIE tours funding has allowed local farmers to graze their winterages more efficiently and effectively, helping future proof Burren habitats and farming systems”.
Developed in partnership with Trinity College Dublin, Burrenbeo Trust, and others, ReFarm is part of a growing national effort to promote “farming for nature” practices across Ireland. To date, more than €1.5m has been raised to support biodiversity initiatives such as wildlife ponds, hedgerows, woodlands, and research. The project also addresses challenges facing the agricultural sector in rural Ireland making farming more efficient and appealing to a younger generation through accessible, app-based tools.
