photo credit: Donagh Heffernan/ Irish Farmer Calendar

How Do Real Farmer's Feel About Their Industry Being Sexed Up?
By Lori Rotenberk, Grist, 4 Jun 2015

Donagh Heffernan was living his life, running a dairy farm in Ireland’s scenic Philipstown Cappawhite County Tipperary, when he got a call informing him that he was sexy. Ciara Ryan, the voice on the other end, had run an ad in search of good-looking, good-natured, and willing agricultural men to pose for the Irish Farmer Calendar, a project she’d hatched to help raise funds for Bothar, a charity dedicated to overcoming world hunger and poverty via livestock production.
Heffernan’s sister, Bird, had nominated her 25-year-old brother, who was at first aghast, but soon fell for the cause. He appeared in the calendar somewhat shirtless, dressed as a scarecrow stuffed with straw, and also as an artiste, bare-chested in a field with an easel.
Ryan sold out the 2,500 copies of the 2010 calendar, and popularity grew each consecutive year. This year’s edition sold more than 5,500 copies for 10 Euro (about $11) apiece, with a quarter of those to the U.S. Entries are now underway for 2016, and Ryan is talking to an American literary agent about a photo book.
“We are a farming nation and the photos include lovely country scenery, showing Ireland at its finest — and Irish men at theirs,” Ryan says, but “these farmers are very shy, so it’s difficult to get them to apply.” Read the full article.