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EAR TO THE GROUND

Ear to the ground ELLA PIC MG_5390 Image Name: Ear to the ground ELLA PIC MG_5390
ear to the ground (08)Ear to the Ground presenter Darragh McCullough with Mairead McGuinness Tuesday 21st Feb(Brexit story) Image Name: ear to the ground (08)Ear to the Ground presenter Darragh McCullough with Mairead McGuinness Tuesday 21st Feb(Brexit story)
ear to the ground (08)Ear to the Ground presenter Helen Carroll with John Taaffe of J & A Taaffe contracting and Farmer John Carroll (Green Diesel story Tuesday 21st Feb) Image Name: ear to the ground (08)Ear to the Ground presenter Helen Carroll with John Taaffe of J & A Taaffe contracting and Farmer John Carroll (Green Diesel story Tuesday 21st Feb)
ear to the ground(08)Ear to the Ground programme 16( presenter Ella McSweeney with John Carslake - NARGC Gamekeeper) Image Name: ear to the ground(08)Ear to the Ground programme 16( presenter Ella McSweeney with John Carslake - NARGC Gamekeeper)

(08)Ear To The Ground (Series 24, Programme 16)
Tuesday 21st February 2017
RTÉ One
8.30pm

Getting Rid of Green Diesel?
This week Helen Carroll reports from the Louth/Monaghan border. She joins customs officers as they go diesel dipping in search of drivers using cheaper agricultural diesel on the road. As criminals exploit the price difference by washing the dye from the green diesel, environmental campaigners argue that the government should abolish the tax gap and refund the farmers afterwards.
Farmers and contractors say that this would inflate their costs and increase red tape, while Revenue argues that the problem of illegal laundering has been largely eradicated by a new marker.

Goat Meat in Co. Galway
Goat meat is the fastest growing meat market in the US and Australia, so why not Ireland? This week on Ear to the Ground, Ella McSweeney travels to Dunmore, Co. Galway to meet Paul and Ami Davis of Goat Ireland. They hope their goat farming enterprise will change the attitude of Irish meat eaters.
Paul is cross breeding a meat producing Boer Buck goat with the standard milk producing dairy goat – and the result is an animal that produces high qualify milk and meat.

Paul was in the middle of his busy spring kidding during Ella’s visit.

Brexit’s Big Bang
As Theresa May prepares to trigger Article 50 next month, Darragh McCullough looks at the implications for Ireland’s agrifood industry.
The beef sector, dependent as it is on the UK market, faces significant disruption with potential tariffs and competition from low cost competitors like Argentina.
With 32,000 tankers of fresh milk crossing the border every year, the dairy sector faces delays and extra costs that could cut the farm gate price of milk.
Mairead McGuinness, Phelim O Neill and Aaron Forde give their views on the biggest change to Irish agriculture in 40 years.

Ear to the Ground is produced for RTÉ by Independent Pictures.
Series Producer – John Cummins
Presenters – Darragh McCullough, Helen Carroll, Ella McSweeney
Directors – Paula Williams, Liam Lavelle
Executive Producer for RTÉ – Michael Hughes