How did Kilkenny farmers cope with the driest summer in 40 years?
RTE show Ear to the Ground talks to Clara farmers
A new season of the RTE show 'Ear To The Ground' is to report on how Kilkenny farmers coped with the driest summer in 40 years.
Farmers around the country have had months of coping with a water shortage. For the new series Ella McSweeney travelled down to a section of the River Nore in Co Kilkenny to see how dairy farmers handled dry wells and burnt fields. She asks if water is the new quota.
Farmers Gerry and James Nolan, a father and son team from Clara, had to draw water from the River Nore in an attempt to survive the drought. The effects are still being seen and they are still struggling with low water pressure.
The show will also take a look at a new regime of water regulation that will commence this November, governing extraction of water from public waterways. Will these limits on water restrict farmers' production?
'Ear to the Ground' will be broadcast on Thursday, October 25, on RTÉ One, starting at 8.30pm.