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EAR TO THE GROUND

Ear to the Ground - Series 27 _Presenters - Helen Carroll, Darragh McCullough & Ella McSweeney Image Name: Ear to the Ground - Series 27 _Presenters - Helen Carroll, Darragh McCullough & Ella McSweeney
Ella McSweeney with Kevin MaGuire - Ear to the Ground - Skidoo ETTG27_TX5_8_Skidoo Image Name: Ella McSweeney with Kevin MaGuire - Ear to the Ground - Skidoo ETTG27_TX5_8_Skidoo
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Series 27, Episode 5

Potato Harvest

A rough Autumn of downpours has left almost half of the national potato crop still in the ground. Underfoot conditions are exceptionally mucky and with more wet weather forecast, tillage farmers could be facing a heavy loss. Helen Carroll travelled to Meath on a rare dry day to meet one of Ireland’s largest potato farmers, Ivan Curran. Ivan and his team were throwing every resource they had into saving the remaining 80 acres of potatoes still stuck in the ground.

Going… going… gone

In 1966 one of the first herds of Charolais cattle arrived in Ireland and Skidoo Farm in North Co. Dublin was their home for over 50 years. This herd became the bedrock of the breed in this country, helping to make the farm an internationally renowned breeding hub. September marked the end of an era when the herd was auctioned off in its entirety. Ella Mc Sweeney spent auction day on the farm with Manager, Donal Callery, to find out why Skidoo was selling off its most prized possessions, what plans were being made for the future and what prices could be reached for this most majestic of cattle breeds.

IFA Elections

This December, 72,000 farmers will choose the 16th president of the Irish Farmers Association, one of the most powerful lobby groups in the country. But the organisation’s reputation has suffered in recent years with a pay scandal and several splinter groups like Beef Plan, Hill Farmers and Grain Growers forming to campaign for different sectors. Can the new leader unite Irish farmers to face the challenges of Brexit, climate change and CAP reform? Darragh McCullough meets the three farmers who are contesting the top job in farm politics.