On the vast scale of events pressing on Ireland this coming year, not many of us would consider the size of a Tipperary field of much importance. But it could well become the template for the ambitions of so many Irish farmers who dream of an unbroken landscape of vast pastures, industrial milking-parlours and stud-fencing.
The field in question is John Magnier’s illegally-created 18.8 hectares at his Coolmore stud in Tipperary. Under EU environmental regulations, anyone seeking to remove over 500 metres of hedgerows or seeking to create fields larger than five hectares (12.4 acres) must inform the Department of Agriculture. Magnier did not do that, though it has been Coolmore’s practice to remove existing hedgerows after acquiring local farms. In all, Coolmore has amassed over 11,000 acres of farmland.
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