Series 33
Programme 1 – 7:00pm Thursday 30th October, 2025
RTÉ One – 1:10pm Repeated Sunday 2nd November 2025
Millstreet Dairy Show
13 year old Gearóid Long from Kilbrittain in Cork does not come from a farming background but that doesn’t stop him being obsessed with all things agriculture – and he has a special grá for working with dairy cows…. especially the prize winning kind.
Any spare minute he has, Gearóid spends on the farm of a relative – milking, feeding calves & helping out. He has a special passion for working with animals and has been competing at shows from an early age. Recently he qualified for the Axa National Dairy Show in Millstreet – one of the biggest shows on the calendar. Darragh McCullough joins Gearóid what could be one of the most important days of his young life.
Blackgrass
Blackgrass is a highly aggressive weed which has become a massive problem for tillage farmers in the UK. Up until recently it seemed that Ireland had managed to keep it out …but now it can be found growing in every county. This is a potentially huge problem for Irish farmers.
The long term costs of this to Irish farming is impossible to predict, and many farmers are reluctant to speak publicly about it. Stephen Robb did get permission to film at one secret location where the crop was overrun with Blackgrass – before heading to Kildare to meet Adam and Frank Goodwin who have been battling to prevent blackgrass getting a hold on their land.
Pumpkins
In North county Dublin, Donnelly Farms grow vegetables, brassicas, salads & squashes on over 1000 acres. However Ella McSweeney is only interested in one, and that’s the mighty pumpkin, which luckily for her is one of the major crops ripening at this time of year. Indeed it’s been a great growing year for gourds and now there are over 400,000 pumpkins just waiting to be harvested. It’s time for Ella to roll up her sleeves and get busy.
Ear to the Ground is produced by indiepics for RTÉ.
