Your Farm and Mine
Your Farm and Mine
BBC Radio Ulster
Eve Blair travels across Northern Ireland, meeting local farmers in every county to hear what matters most to the people who keep the countryside running, while experiencing both the challenges and the joys of life on the farm.She visits farms from Tyrone to Down capturing stories of ingenuity, community and pure determination, all told by the team behind Your Place and Mine on BBC Radio Ulster. Eve will also be joined in the studio by well-known personalities to discuss everything that matters in farming. Warm, funny, grounded and bursting with stories from the fields, Your Farm and Mine celebrates the people who feed us, shape our landscape, and keep rural Northern Ireland moving.
Women in Agriculture, The Value of Wool and Flock Across Waters
Shannon Porter from The Milk Bar in Carrigans, joins Eve Blair in the studio to talk about life in farming, from empowering women in sustainable agriculture to the importance of wool quality and sheep shearing. Plus, Eve takes to the waters of Strangford Lough, hopping aboard a boat to help transport two loads of sheep from Salt Island to the mainland alongside tenant farmer Frankie McCullough.
Jul 11
25 min
Life after Retirement, Sheep Shearing Champion and Shorthorn Beef
David Irwin of Redhouse Holsteins in Dungannon joins Eve Blair in the studio to discuss all things farming, including the challenges facing older farmers and the important work being carried out by Rural Support through its 'Plough On' project. Meanwhile, Helen Mark travels to Macosquin to meet sheep shearing champion Edwin Adam, a pioneer in the use of the electric clipper. Back in 1971, he made history as the first man from Ulster to become British Sheep Shearing Champion. And Eve Blair also heads out to the Glenarm Estate to hear a farming success story first-hand, where she comes up close with their renowned Shorthorn beef cattle.
Jul 4
25 min
The Cost of Fertilizer, Comber Earlies and Hungarian Mangalitza Pigs
David Irwin of Redhouse Holsteins in Dungannon joins Eve Blair in the studio to discuss all things farming, including the impact of weather conditions and rising fertilizer costs on farming production. Eve also catches up with farmer William Gilmore in Newtownards as he prepares to dig his first Comber potato crop of the season. Plus, reporter Julian Fowler gets up close and personal with a herd of rare Hungarian woolly pigs.
Jun 27
24 min
The Cost of Fuel, Silage Season and Dorset Sheep
David Irwin of Redhouse Holsteins in Dungannon, joins Eve Blair in the studio for a lively discussion on all things farming, including how the rising cost of fuel is affecting everyday life on the farm. Eve also catches up with Johnny Boggs from Gorthill Farm Contracting in Eglinton, climbing aboard one of his forage harvesters to see firsthand how the silage season is shaping up on the ground. And she visits sheep farmer Joanne Killen, who has been kept busy during lambing season with her pedigree Dorset flock.
Jun 20
25 min
Miracle Calves and Social Farming
Lorraine Killen joins Eve Blair in the studio for a lively chat about all things farming. Plus, we head to the Moore farm near Castlederg for the once‑in‑several‑million surprise of five newborn calves, and to the Donnelly farm in Swatragh where diversification means wellbeing, inclusion and a whole lot of community spirit.
Feb 27
20 min
Farming for Nature and Luckpenny Traditions
Andrew Wright joins Eve Blair in the studio for a lively chat about all things farming. Plus, Eve visits the local mart in Lisahally to find out how the tradition of giving a luck penny after sealing a deal is being kept alive by farmers across Northern Ireland. And Helen Mark, meets up with Ballykelly farmer, Jonny Blair, on his farm cattle farm where he's made big changes that have cut costs and had huge environmental benefits.
Feb 27
21 min
Breeding Barn Owls and Farm Diversification
Lorraine Killen joins Eve Blair in the studio for a lively chat about all things farming. Plus, at Millbank Farm in County Down, Eve meets sixth generation farmer Emily McGowan, they have farmed the same land in Killinchy since 1889, rearing sheep, broiler chickens and Highland cows. And staying in Co Down, at the Kelly family farm at Ballyalton, Eve learns how a rare owl colony is thriving.
Feb 27
27 min
Training Sheepdogs and Farmhouse Pies
Lorraine Killen joins Eve Blair in the studio for a lively chat about all things farming. In Benbradagh, sheep farmer Alwyn McFarlane shares how vital his sheepdog Moss is to the farm, doing the job of several men all on his own. Plus, County Tyrone farmer Joel Kerr, on how he juggles his work looking after shorthorn cattle, caring for chickens, and working on his pie business.A Your Place and Mine podcast.
Feb 27
29 min
Robotic Milking and Strawberry Picking
Andrew Wright joins Eve Blair in the studio for a lively chat about all things farming. Plus, we head to the Mitchell family farm in Castlederg to hear about the 750-cow dairy farm with an on-site milk processing and packaging business. And from pumpkins to strawberries, how Clayton Fulton's diversification on his farm in Donemana has proven its benefits to the local community.A Your Place and Mine podcast.
Feb 27
25 min
Valais Blacknose Sheep and Farm Safety Awareness
Andrew Wright joins Eve Blair in the studio for a lively chat about all things farming. Plus, Eve visits Jackie O'Shea's farm in Belleek to meet those 'fluffy clouds with button noses' rare sheep and to a farm in Donemana to meet William Sayers who urges caution after losing an arm in a farming accident when he was a child.Listeners may find some details in this podcast upsetting.This is a Your Place and Mine podcast.
Feb 26
28 min