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EAR TO THE GROUND

Ear to the Ground, Thursday December 13th, programme seven. Presenter Ella McSweeney with Seán O'Farrell. Cloncannon Bio Farm story Image Name: Ear to the Ground, Thursday December 13th, programme seven. Presenter Ella McSweeney with Seán O'Farrell. Cloncannon Bio Farm story
Ear to the Ground, programme seven, Thursday December 13th. Presenter Helen Carroll with Kevin and Gerry Collins. Molaga Honey story Image Name: Ear to the Ground, programme seven, Thursday December 13th. Presenter Helen Carroll with Kevin and Gerry Collins. Molaga Honey story
Ear to the Ground, programme seven, Thursday, December 13th. Presenter Darragh McCullough with Cannabis farm owner. Lilach Power in Phoenix. Cannabis Control story Image Name: Ear to the Ground, programme seven, Thursday, December 13th. Presenter Darragh McCullough with Cannabis farm owner. Lilach Power in Phoenix. Cannabis Control story

Ear to the Ground, Series 26, Programme 7, Thursday 13th December 2018,  8:30 PM, RTÉ One

CANNABIS CONTROL

As calls to legalise medical marijuana in Ireland intensify, Darragh McCullough visits a cannabis farm in Phoenix, Arizona. The drug was legalised there in 2010, but is very tightly controlled and is only available on prescription from licensed dispensaries.

The growing facility extends over 15,000 square feet and horticulturists tend the tens of thousands of plants. Temperature, water and nutrients are carefully controlled, and the flowers are processed on site to produce various grades of medical marijuana. These are then dispensed in the pharmacy attached to the growing facility.

He talks to proprietor, Lilach Power, about the challenges of pharmaceutical farming. He meets Health Minister Simon Harris and asks could Irish growers soon have an opportunity to grow cannabis legally.

MOLAGA HONEY

In the middle of Ireland’s glorious summer Helen Carroll travelled to the land of milk and honey – that is West Cork, or in this case the 230 acre farm of Kevin Collins just outside Timoleague.

When not looking after his 200 dairy herd, Kevin and his 85 year old father Gerry are kept busy looking after their 300 bee hives which produce over 2 tonnes of honey every year which goes into their Molaga brand of honey.

CLONCANNON BIO FARM

Nestled deep in the heart of the Devil’s Bit Mountain in North Tipperary is the farm of Seán O’Farrell. Over the last 18 years, Seán has completely transformed the way this 60 acre holding is run. Today this mixed farm is an organic operation where Seán keeps beef, poultry and pigs as well as growing veg which he supplies to local restaurants and markets.  Ella McSweeney went to spend the day with Seán in Moneygall to see how his farm works but also to look at the educational aspect of what he’s doing here.

Ear to the Ground broadcasts on RTÉ One, Thursdays at 8.30 pm. Repeat 13.10pm Sunday. Produced by Indiepics for RTÉ.