The excitement is palpable! This week’s Ear To the Ground will feature an dairy market analysis with AgriLand columnist Brian Costello, a look at ways to combat rural homeless in Tipperary and a visit to Moyleabbey Farm in Kildare.
Homeless in Tipperary
‘Homelessness’ typically conjures up images of city streets while the issue of rural homelessness often remains completely hidden.
With NGOs reporting a significant rise in the number of people sleeping rough as the government continues to cut state funding. Helen Carroll meets a woman who up until very recently went through this in South Tipperary.
She bravely opens up about how difficult and soul-destroying it was to have no idea where she was going to sleep at night and how, with the help of The Simon Community, she is rebuilding her life.
Living well on five acres
In this week’s Food Journey Darragh McCullough meets Liam Ryan of Moyleabbey Farm in Kildare.
In comparsion to the huge agri-food stories we hear about in Ireland he is a minnow, but the little fish can still swim. Farming on just five acres, selling direct at farmers markets, he has the lifestyle he and his family always dreamed of when they moved from London.
Milk bubble?
Milk, it’s the great white hope of Irish farming. It’s because of this that Irish farmers are taking a leaf out of Cleopatra’s book and diving headfirst into dairy.
But, in the past year there have been a number of farmers who are urging a sense of caution about our plans to expand the dairy herd.
They see uncomfortable similarities between this and the Celtic Tiger. Ella McSweeny asks Roscommon dairy farmer and AgriLand columnist Brian Costello is dairy expansion the next bubble?
Pictured Sinead Cronin Doyle of the Simon Community and Helen Carroll