CountryWide

Farmers and environmentalists have agreed an ambitious plan to restore nature. The only open question now is will government give it the funding it needs.

A sleepless time of year for sheep farmers, made easier on many farms by taking on students to help. UCD Ag Science students Aoife O’Brien and Sarah Ronayne were in the middle of a difficult breach birth when Suzanne Campbell arrived on Patrick Nuttal’s farm in Wicklow.

Treasa Bhreathnach joined Mountain Meitheal West, in the Galway Clare area a few weeks ago, while they were out clearing hazel from the trails on the Carren Loop in County Clare.

Following the news of the collapse of carrot producers Hughes in Kilkenny last week, Philip talks to another horticulturalist, Kenneth Keavey of Green Earth Organics in Co. Galway about the issues facing procuders like him and possible solutions.

This week, an Israeli registered Livestock carrier left Ireland heading to Israel, with a large shipment of cattle on board. But with the port of Haifa under threat in the current Middle East conflict, it's unclear whether the ship will be able to land and unload these animals. Philip talks to journalist Lilach Laila Ben David in Haifa.

Lorna Siggins attends a demonstration of the search and rescue dogs of the Kerry Mountain Rescue Team in Killarney.

In the current oil crisis, which the International Energy Agency this week called the ‘worst in history’, fluctuating prices on fuel and fertiliser will have a severe impact on farmers. Philip meets farmers and contractors at the forefront of this, including one farmer who has found a way to function without using chemical fertilisers.

Women are very visible throughout the bloodstock and racing industries, except in on role. There are only four female farriers in the country. Suzanne Campbell meets Abby O’Donnell who is training to become the fifth.

Unlike Ireland New Zealand has nearly entirely eradicated Bovine TB. Kiwi veterinary epidemiologist, Dallas New, visited Ireland recently. Back at home she reflects on what we could do differently.

Should we even be using the term female farmer in 2026? Is it naive to not recognise that more women farmers fall by the wayside than men? How a female perspective makes farms more productive, profitable and safe. Aileen Sheahan, Dairy farmer. Ciara Stanley, Beef farmer. Ailbhe Gerrard, mixed farmer.

Agriculture minister, Martin Heydon, announced Carina Roseingrave as Ireland’s Female Farming Ambassador for the International Year Of The Woman Farmer. We visited her on her farm in Crusheen, Co Clare.

Lemanaghan Bog in Offaly, or Manchán’s bog, has been earmarked by Bord Na Mona and SSE Renewables as a site for turbines. Locals like Ciara Egan would prefer if it hadn’t. She tells Philip about the relationship the local people have with the land there.

Della Kilroy meets artist Annie Holland on Abbeyleix Bog to hear about her work which is inspired by the landscape there. Annie is one of 19 artists identified by The Community Wetlands Forum as someone whose work encourages people to look afresh at their local bogs.

Professor John Feehan, Geologist and Botanist, argues that the rewetting of bogs may prove to be a major missed opportunity for nature, and that we need to adjust our timeframes to think like mountains.

Janet Heeran in Cork on the many days of rain this year. Featuring the track ‘Light Rain Blues’ by Sam Amidon. (For copyright reasons the full track used in the background of this piece cannot be made available in the podcast)

At Carbury bog in Kildare, a local community group has cracked the problem of simultaneously protecting nature while allowing people who can’t afford not to – to keep cutting turf to heat their homes. Philip meets Ciara Duggan, Chair of Carbury Bogs.