Ear to the Ground

This week Maeve visits a farming TikToker in Killarney, Darragh meets a Cork dairy farmer whose herd has tested positive for TB and Ella spends the day with a competitor as he vies for the prize at the All Ireland Hedge Laying Championships.

This week Maeve observes a Dispersal Sale, Darragh visits Freeway Poultry and Ella is in Galway.

Maeve participates in a Moth census in West Cork. Darragh meets farmers from Timoleague with water quality issues and Ella's in Dingle where the sun is helping to produce Sea Salt.

Maeve will be in Wexford with Tillage Farmers who are having a year to forget. Darragh will be in North Dublin finding out about a crop that is still a little unusual for these shores, sweetcorn. And Ella is in Waterford meeting a baker using old Irish grain

Darragh is in Donegal with a Farmer who has found a novel way of harvesting his vegetables, Ella is in Roscommon with a woman who bought land to plant a forest and Maeve is in Kerry with a couple introducing a little bit of Australia onto their farm.

Darragh will be spending a busy day with a hoof trimmer in Co Tipperary, Ella will be in Galway meeting some locals concerned about water quality in the Corrib and Maeve meets a man with a story of addiction and recovery in rural Ireland.

Ella will be meeting a Cork farmer who is trying to completely remove artificial fertiliser from his land. Darragh will be at the Club Championships of Tug of War in Athlone. Maeve will be in an Orchard in Cork with 148 different types of apples.

Maeve will be in Achill at the busiest time of year for oyster farmers, Darragh is in Donegal with a family looking to adopt a donkey and Ella is in Wexford with a Postwoman on her Christmas delivery route.

Darragh is in Cork with a farmer who is saying goodbye to his cows and hello to his pigs. Maeve is getting a taste for allotment life in Dublin and Ella is in Westmeath meeting a woman who has returned to the family farm to set up a new fermentation business.

Maeve is Laois meeting people who are grappling with the thorny issue of who will inherit the farm. Darragh is in Tipperary with a man who looks after the hoofs of some of the world's most valuable horses and Ella is in the Mahrees in Kerry meeting a vegetable farmer unsure if he has a future in the business.

Ella will be in Mayo with a farmer who has learned how to live well with Bipolar Disorder. Maeve will be taking a trip back to last September when she spent the day with a Mexican Woman who is now farming in West Cork. And Darragh will be asking if Whitethorn might be next on the list of our native species to be wiped out with disease

Ella is in Mayo with a sheep Farmer who is also one of Ireland's last Coopers, Maeve is in Meath with a farmer who has introduced a breed of sheep from New Zealand and Darragh spends the day in Cork with a farmer who has changed his farming enterprise after surviving a serious illness.

Maeve is in Kerry with a Beef Farmer who is a key member in his local Community Emergency Response team. Ella is in Armagh with a Farmer mining for Bitcoin

Maeve looks at the challenges of pig farming. Ella meets a couple from Roscommon who are growing willow and making baskets and coffins. Darragh is in Waterford to see some calves being born on a dairy farm and have their DNA registered as part of the new National Genotyping Programme.

Maeve visits Michael O’Leary at his Gigginstown Farm near Delvin in Westmeath. Ella speaks with Brid Torrades who tends to her inherited herd of Dexter cattle near Ballyjamesduff, she incorporates their meat into the menu of the café she owns in Sligo. Darragh heads to Shercock in Cavan to interview dairy farmer Gerry O'Reilly on the opening day of the slurry spreading season.

ELLA is in Longford looking at the issues around domestic violence in rural Ireland. DARRAGH is with a farmer who is growing millions of tulips in Armagh. MAEVE is in Laois finding out how our main farming organisation is planning on navigating challenging times ahead.