Kilkenny presenter returns with new series of Ear to the Ground

RTÉ’s popular farming and rural affairs programme, Ear to the Ground, continues its groundbreaking 30th Season on Thursday, November 10, at 7pm on RTÉ One. Kilkenny presenter Helen Carroll, returns with the team for this 30th series.

In the episode Darragh goes to Meath for the start of this year’s Beet Harvest. Helen visits Killua Castle Farm to see how the Irish moiled herd are taking to their spectacular surroundings and Ella visits two farming women in Limerick who are challenging the status quo.

Beet

Darragh Mc Cullough travelled to Meath for the start of this year’s Beet Harvest.

A crop that once used to grow for sugar, is now produced exclusively for feeding to animals. But since we need to reduce our reliance on imported feeds, is there potential to grow more of this crop, both for animal feed and also in the future for feeding Anaerobic Digesters?

Kilkenny weather guru explains how local weather is changing due to to global warming

A conversation about why we have had such a wet and mild October

Rare native breeds on the spectacular Killua Castle Farm

In 2006 Allen and Lorena Krause began restoring the ruined Killua castle and its 340 acre demesne. With an interest in regenerative farming they started a native rare breeds farm on the grounds five years ago. Under the watchful eye of farm manager Anthony Gilsenen they are producing Irish moiled beef, red deer venison, jacob sheep and wild boar. Helen Carroll visits the Killua Castle Farm to see how the Irish moiled herd are taking to their spectacular surroundings.

Gender Inequality in Farming

On paper, farming in Ireland is very much a male dominated world. Over 70,000 women work on Irish family farms yet only less than 1300 farms cite women as official partners. Ella McSweeney visits two farming women in Limerick who are challenging the status quo - Catherine Quinn and her grand-daughter Hannah-Quinn Mulligan. Catherine grew up the eldest of nine children yet was not considered to inherit the family farm. Journalist and farmer Hannah founded the Women in Agriculture Stakeholders Group to try to redress this gender imbalance.

‘Breaking through the grass ceiling’

Rural counties like Kilkenny should highlight International Day of Rural Women on October 15

This season Era to the Ground continues to explore the issues, challenges and opportunities facing Irish farmers and rural dwellers. Ear to the Ground is broadcast from the 7th of November, 2022 through until March 2023.