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HomeBeef‘Farming can be lonely’ – Rare Breed farmer
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‘Farming can be lonely’ – Rare Breed farmer

Autumn brings a busy time for the Rare Breed farmers in the next episode of the series, which continues on Thursday night (March 30th, 2023) at 8.30 pm on UTV.

It is the September episode, and this one is “full of” livestock, be that calves, heifers, hens, horses, and of course, the ewes.

Byers in Ballinamallard

First up, it’s the Byers from Ballinamallard, Co. Fermanagh, and this week, they are in full swing with brand new calves to tend to.

Vicki ensures to isolate new-borns to cut the risk of infection before the new calves are housed together in groups of five.

It’s a busy time, and she has to fit in the school run as well. Vicki says, “The next few months, it’s calves, calves, calves!”

The Stubingtons from Templepatrick are at an event in Ballymoney, where Lucca is competing.

Her mother, Georgia, and boyfriend, Henry, are on hand to make sure it all runs smoothly.

Whilst Georgia says she misses competing herself, she is “happy to stay on the ground and support Lucca”.

Sale in Meath

Geoffrey Ringland from Katesbridge is at a sale in Meath. He’s eyeing up a new heifer and talks bidding tactics at the auction with a friend. “She’ll not be cheap,” he remarks.

He explains how export testing means that anything he buys can come back over the border with him more or less straight after purchase.

At Streamvale, on the outskirts of Belfast, dairy farmer Tim Morrow is scanning cattle to see how many are in-calf.

It’s a nerve-racking time with over 200 to scan, and he plans to sell any females not in-calf. “There are some good days and bad days in farming,” he says.

Egertons in Rosslea

In the second part of the episode, we are back to Fermanagh, this time to the Egertons in Rosslea.

William Egerton is using the latest technology to weigh and test ewes in order to put them into batches to mate with certain rams.

He is happy to share his knowledge and is a sheep technology demonstration farmer, showing groups of other farmers how to operate the machinery.

He enjoys getting out to meet with other farmers saying, “farming can be lonely”.

Finally, we are in Derrytresk, where newlyweds Shay and Susan are gathering their hens for the factory.

They do it just before dark when the hens are calmer and tired, and it also means they sleep in the van and won’t get a chance to eat before they are processed.

Shay and Susan prefer to do this part of the job themselves.

Information about the series:

UTV’s Mark McFadden narrates the series, which is sponsored by Dromona and continues this Thursday, March 30th, at 8.30 pm on UTV.

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