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00:00Hello and welcome to Ear to the Ground.
00:02This week on the show, Stephen will be in Donegal
00:05to find out who is top dog at the Trials of the Glen.
00:08You'll always have those days.
00:09You're good days and bad at this job.
00:12Dara sees how advances in technology continue to change how we farm.
00:16We can press the button, let it work away and walk away from it
00:20and it'll send a little notification to my phone when it's done.
00:22And I'm here on the River Blackwater in Cork
00:24where experts say the impact of a major fish kill last summer
00:28will last for years to come.
00:30The extent of it and the scale of the dead fish,
00:33we've never seen anything like it.
00:34The state has never seen anything like it.
00:56Sheepdog trails have been a hugely popular rural pastime here
01:00for well over a hundred years.
01:03Last July, although it felt far from it,
01:06I donned my waterproofs to pay a visit
01:08to the annual Trials of the Glens near Letterkenny.
01:12It's a three-day event and I arrived on the morning of day two.
01:16We're going to be following a number of trialers today.
01:19One of them is up here.
01:20Francis Mongan, you were actually competing yesterday
01:22and you're nearly ready to go on today again.
01:25How did you get on?
01:26Yesterday, not too great yesterday,
01:28but I hope things get a wee bit better today.
01:30He's only a young dog.
01:32Who's this?
01:32This is Nap.
01:33Nap's just turned two.
01:35I know he's capable of it,
01:36but whether he does it through the day is a different thing.
01:39Francis was straight into action.
01:43He's off.
01:46The main goal here is to gather the sheep and pen them.
01:52Each contestant has nine minutes to complete the course
01:56and must follow a set route.
02:00Unfortunately for Francis,
02:02Nap's inexperience showed,
02:03with the pair failing to finish.
02:06Did you run out of time there?
02:07Is that what happened at the end?
02:08I couldn't right hear him,
02:10but I knew it wasn't going nowhere like,
02:12so I was only winding the dog up
02:15and maybe winding myself up too in the middle of it.
02:17Francis will have another opportunity later
02:20with his second dog, Chip.
02:23Each competitor is allowed 100 points for the course,
02:26with points deducted for every error made.
02:31Long-time competitor Noel McDevitt
02:33had a decent showing yesterday.
02:36Ended up on 82, so happy enough.
02:4082 points out of 100?
02:42Yeah.
02:42Jeez, that's pretty good, I would have thought.
02:44Well, there's some high scores there yesterday.
02:47I'll need a good run today to make it through,
02:50but I'll give myself a chance, so hopefully.
02:55But things didn't go right for Noel
02:57and his dog, Tim, from the first whistle.
02:59Shot!
03:04And the less said about the penning,
03:06the better.
03:07Back!
03:08Back!
03:08Didn't go to plan, did we?
03:10No, it did not.
03:11No, it did not.
03:12It just didn't play ball.
03:13No, it went wrong at my feet.
03:14He took the wrong command there,
03:16and that was it, so...
03:18Unlucky.
03:19No room for errors like that,
03:20so that was it.
03:21Aye.
03:22Aye.
03:23There are 120 dogs in competition here today,
03:27with only 15 progressing to the final.
03:31Francis and his second dog, Chip,
03:33only scored 69 points yesterday,
03:35so they will have a lot to do.
03:37Come on.
03:38Come on, you know.
03:40Things go better on this run,
03:41but Chip is a little overzealous.
03:44Come on, man!
03:46He's mad to keep going, like,
03:48and he's fast, like, you know.
03:50Yeah.
03:50And he can spook sheep
03:51when you don't want him to spook sheep, you know.
03:53It's a big ass of 120 dogs to get to the top 15, like.
03:57You know, I'm not expecting it,
03:59but anything can happen.
04:00The man doing the judging here today
04:02is Stan Harden,
04:03who has travelled all the way from Wales.
04:06Stan has been very good.
04:07Exceptional, to be honest, exceptional.
04:09When running in particular,
04:10he was virtually flawless.
04:13That's a big statement now.
04:14Let me tell you.
04:15The man only made one boob,
04:17and to be honest, it's one point, like.
04:18You ready?
04:19Unfortunately, both Francis and Noel
04:21finish well outside the top 15.
04:25That's it.
04:25No good for tomorrow.
04:27Yeah.
04:2882 yesterday, 81 today.
04:29Can't even blame the dog.
04:31I have to blame myself.
04:37It's Saturday,
04:38and the third and final day of the trials,
04:41and neither the weather
04:43nor the competition
04:44is getting any easier.
04:46Unfortunately, Noel or Francis
04:47didn't make it through to the final,
04:49but 15 did,
04:50and very shortly,
04:51they're going to be competing
04:52in a much bigger,
04:53much more challenging course
04:55here in a new location.
04:57The dogs will need to cover
04:58a much greater distance
05:00on mountainous terrain,
05:01at times out of sight
05:03of their handler,
05:04and will have to gather together
05:06two separate groups of sheep.
05:07And I'm talking about
05:08no more than 30 yards.
05:10Stan Harden is being joined today
05:12by fellow judge Andy Corrigan.
05:15This is just not your normal
05:17sheepdog trial.
05:18It's a big, vast area.
05:19Dogs are going to want to be aiming
05:20to look for direction for sheep,
05:22not looking for a boundary to find,
05:25because there is no boundary.
05:26The dog can't be going stupidly wide.
05:28We have a certain amount of time
05:29the dog has to get there,
05:30has to control his sheep.
05:31It'll take a good one to win out there today.
05:33Yeah, it'll take a good one to win out there.
05:34The weather's not going to help either.
05:36So, a really difficult day ahead
05:38for the 15 finalists.
05:40Among them, 16-year-old Noah Callaghan,
05:43the youngest competitor here today.
05:45Do you fancy your chances?
05:46No, I don't know.
05:48Now there's a lot of big hitters here today,
05:49but try your best anyway.
05:51Well, you're one of the big hitters.
05:52You're in the top 15 here.
05:54Maybe.
05:54We'll try you anyway.
05:55There's a competitor's age in it,
05:57and you do it for that.
05:58It's sports.
05:59You get out, you meet the people,
06:01you have the crack.
06:02You run your dog,
06:02some days you're good enough,
06:03some days you're not.
06:04See this kind of terrain here,
06:05this is the top level.
06:07This is what you want.
06:08The actual working sheepdogs
06:09instead of the smaller fields,
06:11it's brilliant.
06:12You'd be a serious competitor?
06:14Try.
06:16As well as qualifying
06:18for the final in fourth place,
06:20Barry Neelis is on the organising committee.
06:22This is our third year up and running now,
06:24and we've tried to improve it year on year.
06:27So this, the final course today,
06:28has probably been the biggest we've had so far.
06:32The competitors struggled.
06:35With points being deducted at every turn.
06:41Even Alistair Lytle,
06:42who had finished first in qualifying
06:44with his dog, Tum,
06:45had a bad day at the office.
06:47It was just tough,
06:48and then the first bag of the sheep
06:49seemed to break it,
06:50the top and come away,
06:52and then the dog kind of lost them
06:53on the first fetch,
06:54and we could all blame something,
06:57but I guess it's just on the day,
06:58and the way it turned out,
07:00like so.
07:01You'll always have those days.
07:02You have good days and bad at this job.
07:07But Noah and Dean,
07:09both of whom I spoke to earlier,
07:10had a good day.
07:12Noah finished in second place,
07:14a great achievement at only 16,
07:17while Dean and his dog Joe
07:19were only deducted 11 points on their run.
07:22Clear winners,
07:23they bagged the cash prize of 1,000 euro.
07:27And on first place
07:27on the Trail of the Glens champion 2025
07:29was Dean McCauley and Joe.
07:38Dean, congratulations.
07:40You are the Trail of the Glens champion.
07:42Cheers to you.
07:43How do you feel?
07:44Oh, brilliant.
07:45Well, an achievement over the last three days.
07:48This is unreal.
07:49Brilliant.
07:49And what about your companion for the day?
07:52Your dog.
07:52Over the whole fangie
07:53has absolutely run amazing.
07:55I couldn't ask for any more of him.
08:03That's it for part one.
08:04Coming up after the break,
08:05the mystery surrounding
08:07one of the worst fish kills
08:08in recent memory.
08:09There was no smoking gun.
08:11It's as simple as that.
08:13And taking the work
08:13out of weeding in Cork.
08:22In August of last year,
08:24a major pollution incident
08:26took place
08:26in the Blackwater River
08:28here in Cork.
08:29A subsequent multi-agency investigation
08:32failed to find the culprit
08:34or the reason
08:35for the pollution itself.
08:36And it has left
08:37the community here wondering,
08:38could all of this
08:39happen again?
08:41Stretching for
08:42170 kilometers,
08:45the Blackwater is renowned
08:47as one of Ireland's finest rivers
08:48and is a vital waterway
08:51for the locals
08:51who live along it.
08:53But last August,
08:54a major pollution event occurred
08:56and ailing and dead fish
08:59were seen along the river.
09:01Conor Arnold
09:02is a fly casting instructor
09:03and chairperson
09:04of the local angling group
09:06in Killavollan.
09:07The extent of it
09:08and the scale
09:09of the dead fish,
09:11we've never seen
09:12anything like it.
09:13The state has never seen
09:14anything like it.
09:15I was out here
09:16collecting dead fish
09:17out of the river
09:17and we saw everything
09:18from sticklebacks
09:19this size
09:20right the way up
09:21to adult fish.
09:22But that's what
09:23we can collect.
09:24You're looking at
09:25the potential of
09:26hundreds of thousands
09:26of fish
09:27as well as
09:28invertebrate life.
09:32Following reports
09:33of the fish kill,
09:34an interagency
09:35investigation
09:35was launched
09:36under the coordination
09:37of Inland Fisheries Ireland.
09:40The inquiry estimated
09:41that 32,000
09:44salmon and brown trout
09:45may have been killed,
09:46likely the result
09:48of a short-term
09:49pollution event.
09:51But investigators
09:52were unable
09:53to identify
09:54a definite cause.
09:56Sean Long
09:57is Inland Fisheries Ireland's
09:59director
09:59for the southwestern region.
10:01I don't think
10:02anyone was strictly happy
10:03that that was the outcome
10:04of the investigation.
10:05But it wasn't
10:06for the one to try.
10:07Investigations
10:08into fish kills
10:08are very complex.
10:10By the time
10:10the fish kill
10:11was noticed,
10:11it was possibly
10:12a couple of days
10:13from the time
10:14that the actual
10:14incident occurred.
10:15And unless you have
10:17evidence and data,
10:18whether it's from
10:19discharges from
10:20the licensed discharge
10:21points,
10:22or someone saying,
10:23I saw something
10:24coming out of here
10:25on such a day,
10:26it's very difficult
10:26to go back
10:27and identify
10:28the actual cause
10:29of a fish kill.
10:31Nine state agencies
10:32were involved
10:33in the investigation,
10:34each with their own
10:36area of responsibility.
10:37But critics have suggested
10:39that this approach
10:40hampered efforts
10:41to find who
10:42polluted the river.
10:44Inland Fisheries
10:44Island were leading
10:45the investigation.
10:46They should have been
10:47charged with taking
10:48samples,
10:48whereas it stands
10:49it's not in their remit.
10:51That is down
10:51to the county council.
10:52The EPA are charged
10:54with investigating
10:55the discharge points.
10:57So there is a number
10:59of different agencies
11:01and it becomes
11:01very muddied
11:02in the water.
11:03One agency
11:04should be responsible,
11:05a rapid response
11:05task force set up,
11:06and they should be
11:07charged with doing
11:08the whole thing
11:08from start to finish.
11:10There were so many
11:11agencies involved
11:12in the investigation.
11:14How is it
11:15in any way possible
11:16that the culprit
11:17wasn't found?
11:20There was no
11:20smoking gun.
11:21It's as simple
11:22as that.
11:22The Environmental
11:24Protection Agency
11:25licenses 31 facilities
11:27to discharge
11:28treated effluent
11:30and wastewater
11:30into the Blackwater,
11:33including industrial sites,
11:34wastewater treatment plants
11:36and drinking water plants.
11:38I'd like the public
11:39to realize the volume
11:41of discharge
11:42that goes into this river.
11:43Everybody needs
11:44to be aware of it.
11:45The authorities,
11:45the Environmental Protection Agency,
11:47would say very clearly
11:48we have a very strong
11:49handle over the discharges
11:50that is being licensed
11:51and it's being overseen.
11:52There's a number
11:53of facilities
11:53that were in breach
11:54of their EPA
11:55discharge licenses
11:56when the fish kill
11:57occurred on the river.
11:59So that, to me,
11:59tells its own story.
12:01All the resources
12:02available were brought
12:03to bear in terms
12:04of the investigation,
12:05in terms of the EPA
12:07going back through data,
12:08looking for discharges,
12:10exceedances to discharge
12:12limits and so on,
12:13and nothing was found.
12:14We walked this river
12:16for well over a month
12:18back and forth
12:18looking for any entry
12:20into the river
12:20from anything,
12:21any barrels discarded,
12:23any sign of a chemical
12:25or anything that had come
12:26in at a particular point.
12:27We couldn't find it.
12:28Across the European Union
12:30and the UK,
12:31some rivers are subject
12:33to continuous monitoring.
12:35Electronic sensors,
12:36known as sondays,
12:37are positioned at key points
12:39along a river,
12:40helping to detect pollutants
12:41and trace their source.
12:43Locals are now calling
12:45for them to be put
12:46along the Blackwater.
12:47They should also be paid
12:49for by any facility
12:50that has a discharge license
12:51as part of their licensing fee.
12:53We shouldn't have discharges
12:55into the river anyway,
12:56but if we do,
12:58they should be paying
12:59for these water quality sondas.
13:01Following the publication
13:02of the report
13:03into the Blackwater fish kill,
13:05the Oireachtas Joint Committee
13:06on Climate, Environment
13:07and Energy
13:08issued a series
13:09of recommendations.
13:11They called for a new
13:12rapid response protocol,
13:14stronger cooperation
13:16between agencies
13:17and tougher penalties,
13:19including custodial sentences
13:21for the polluters.
13:23Someone polluted this river
13:24and got away with it.
13:25That's the reality, yeah.
13:27How can we make sure
13:28that doesn't happen again?
13:30I think in the first instance
13:31the deterrent factor
13:33needs to be increased.
13:34Maximum 5,000 euro penalty,
13:37which is not good enough.
13:38So clearly higher sanctions,
13:40higher penalties,
13:41more prosecutions
13:42through the higher courts.
13:43In terms of the agencies
13:44responsible for water quality,
13:46such as the EPA
13:46and the local authorities,
13:48revoking licenses
13:50when there's repeated continuance
13:52to breach the discharge levels.
13:54I think that's key.
13:55The Local Authority Waters Programme,
13:58known as LawPro,
13:59was among the agencies
14:00involved in the investigation.
14:03The programme supports
14:04local authority work
14:05on water pollution
14:06and supports community engagement.
14:09Barry Dean
14:10is LawPro's regional coordinator.
14:12What we're hearing more frequently now
14:14is that communities
14:15want to get actively involved
14:16in the protection
14:17and restoration
14:18of their own river.
14:19Up to now,
14:20people are doing it individually
14:21where we see huge value
14:23in them coming together
14:24as a collective
14:24and giving them that voice
14:25to be able to
14:26get directly involved
14:27if they want
14:28in terms of action,
14:29but more importantly,
14:30have a seat at the table
14:32in terms of implementation.
14:33Being directly involved
14:34in implementing
14:35the Water Action Plan,
14:36which is Ireland's plan
14:37to address a lot of the issues
14:39we're seeing
14:39on our rivers,
14:40lakes and streams.
14:43Last week,
14:44LawPro held
14:45a public meeting
14:46in Mallow
14:47to gauge local interest
14:48in setting up
14:49a community-based
14:50Blackwater River
14:51management group.
14:53Filming wasn't allowed
14:54at the meeting,
14:55but after it finished,
14:56locals expressed their hopes
14:58for the future
14:59of the river.
15:00What is your reaction
15:02to what you've just heard
15:03there inside?
15:05Very good initial baby steps.
15:09Unfortunately,
15:10it still doesn't deal
15:11with the issues
15:12of where we came from.
15:15It was devastating
15:16to see the amount
15:16of fish dead,
15:17but it's great
15:19to see everyone here tonight
15:19because nobody's blaring
15:21anybody as such,
15:22and I think that's
15:23very important
15:23to go forward.
15:24I think what is needed
15:26at the moment
15:26is to harmonise
15:27those opinions
15:28and bring it in
15:29to have a united front.
15:32You're a kayaker
15:32on the river.
15:33I'm a kayaker, yeah,
15:33I grew up on the river
15:34and fished it
15:36for years and years.
15:37And your response
15:38to what happened
15:39last August?
15:40Devastated.
15:42Devastated.
15:44Just the whole town
15:45was knocked back from it.
15:47It was just one
15:47of them things.
15:48You never know
15:50what it means to
15:51until something
15:52like that happens.
15:53While no specific
15:55actions emerge
15:55from the meeting,
15:56it's hoped it will
15:57represent a first step
15:59towards the river's
16:00restoration and protection
16:02in the years ahead.
16:07New technology
16:08is changing
16:09the world around us
16:10and farming
16:11is no different
16:12with fresh thinking
16:13moving away
16:14from the old
16:15reliables of
16:15more horsepower,
16:17more chemicals
16:18and hours and hours
16:20of backbreaking labour.
16:22Last September,
16:23I journeyed to
16:24White's Cross
16:24in County Cork
16:25to meet Brian McCarty
16:27who grows organic
16:28vegetables
16:29on 60 acres
16:30of rented land.
16:31Brian is one farmer
16:32who has wholeheartedly
16:34embraced the future.
16:36In 2024,
16:37he became the first
16:38person in Ireland
16:39to purchase a machine
16:40that may well become
16:41a familiar sight
16:42in Irish fields
16:43in the years ahead.
16:44So this is it?
16:46Yeah, this is our
16:47Farm Droid.
16:48Explain to me
16:49what I'm looking at
16:50here now, Brian.
16:51Yeah, so this is
16:52a solar-powered
16:53seeder,
16:55weeder
16:55and sprayer.
16:57The Farm Droid
16:58FT-20
16:59is controlled
17:00using GPS.
17:01It's fully autonomous
17:03and can operate
17:04day and night.
17:06We set out the field
17:08on GPS initially
17:09so we can map out
17:10our field
17:11so it knows
17:11the boundary
17:13of the field.
17:13During the summer months
17:14this will work
17:1524-7.
17:17This morning
17:18the Farm Droid
17:19is set to
17:20weeding mode
17:20in order to tackle
17:22a half-acre field
17:23of beetroot
17:24which was planted
17:25by it a month ago.
17:27And how long
17:28will it take this machine
17:29to weed the half-acre?
17:31Take a couple of hours.
17:32It's not a speedy machine.
17:34It's more slow
17:35and steady
17:35but we can literally
17:37press the button
17:38and let it work away
17:38and walk away from it
17:40and it'll send a little
17:40notification to my phone
17:41when it's done.
17:45Because it records
17:46the exact GPS coordinates
17:48of every seed
17:49during planting
17:50the Farm Droid
17:51knows precisely
17:52where to weed.
17:57Brian doesn't come
17:58from a farming background.
18:00After graduating
18:00from university
18:01with a computer science degree
18:03he joined a family
18:04wholesale flower business
18:05in Cork City.
18:08During the COVID lockdown
18:10the business was forced
18:11to temporarily close
18:12leaving Brian
18:13with time on his hands.
18:16he thought he might
18:17grow some veg
18:17and decided to use
18:18the only space
18:19he had available
18:20a warehouse rooftop
18:21near the Coal Quay.
18:23I had no preconceived notions
18:25of what I wanted to achieve
18:26just really it was something
18:28to occupy my time.
18:30My mother was quite ill
18:31at the time with cancer
18:32so it was also
18:33an important thing
18:35to have some positive outlet
18:36to put me in a good headspace.
18:38His hobby became a business
18:40selling the produce
18:42at farmers markets
18:43and supplying local restaurants.
18:45In 2021
18:46he was awarded
18:47a scholarship
18:48to study urban agriculture
18:49and farming systems
18:51across Europe,
18:52Asia
18:52and North America.
18:54It was actually
18:55on my study tour
18:57in Canada
18:57that I saw
18:58the Farm Droid first
18:59and that was
19:01my first glimmer
19:02of robotics
19:03being used
19:03on a large scale.
19:05At the beginning
19:06of 2024
19:07Brian took out
19:08a 15 year lease
19:09on these 60 acres.
19:12He employs
19:13two full time
19:14and two part time staff
19:15but felt that
19:16the Farm Droid
19:17would take away
19:18a lot of the drudgery
19:19that's part and parcel
19:20of growing veg organically.
19:23It comes with
19:24a hefty price tag though
19:26€100,000
19:27but government grants
19:29to support organic farming
19:30really helped.
19:32We got 40% funding
19:34for the Farm Droid
19:35which made it
19:36more affordable.
19:37It's still
19:38incredibly expensive
19:42and it needs
19:43to pay for itself.
19:45These are the things
19:45that we're trying to use
19:47to try and
19:48I suppose box clever
19:49and get the most
19:50out of our time
19:51because no one here
19:53wants to be
19:53face down in weeds
19:54picking them out
19:55all day.
19:56That doesn't
19:57excite anybody.
19:59But getting to grips
20:00with the Farm Droid
20:01has been a steep
20:02learning curve.
20:03We've had
20:05I suppose
20:05mixed results
20:06and we've had
20:07great successes
20:07and we've had
20:08great failures
20:09and from all of them
20:11we've learnt
20:12the whole way through.
20:13I believe in it
20:14as a technology.
20:15I firmly believe
20:16that in order
20:17for farming
20:19to progress
20:20we need to
20:21adopt these technologies
20:23we need to
20:24work with them.
20:26Brian grows
20:27a broad range
20:27of field vegetables
20:29and has polytunnels
20:30where he grows
20:30mainly cucumbers
20:31and tomatoes.
20:33It's here that he's
20:34also using the latest
20:36technology to maximise
20:37quality.
20:38When we see a problem
20:39on a plant
20:40it's usually a bit late
20:41then for treating
20:42the root cause.
20:43So what we've been
20:44with our tomato crop
20:46for the first time
20:46is sap analysis.
20:48So that's a process
20:49whereby we take
20:5030 of the youngest
20:52leaf nodes
20:53and 30 of the oldest
20:54and we send them away
20:55to a lab
20:57in the Netherlands
20:57where they analyse
20:59the sap
21:00in those leaves
21:01and give us
21:03an analysis
21:03of the nutrients
21:04in the plant
21:05and tell us
21:06how the health
21:07of the plant
21:07is at that moment.
21:09Brian then brings
21:11in artificial intelligence
21:12to help him
21:13remedy any deficiency.
21:14But AI is also
21:16providing vital help
21:17across almost
21:18every aspect
21:19of the farm.
21:21The last three years
21:22we've been using
21:22a tool
21:23to create
21:24our crop plan
21:25which would have
21:25usually been a three
21:26or a four week process.
21:27Instead this year
21:28I fed it into an AI
21:29it had it spit out
21:30to me in 15 minutes.
21:32Those are the types
21:33of monumental changes
21:34that really save
21:36measurable amounts
21:38of time.
21:39This entire farm
21:41is driven by data.
21:42Data that is
21:43constantly being fed
21:45into AI tools
21:46that can provide
21:47answers on everything
21:48from the best
21:49crop rotation strategy
21:51to how much
21:52Brian can expect
21:53to make in profit
21:54based on yield projections.
21:56You can check
21:57that data based
21:58on what it sees
21:59available on online stores
22:00and then deduce back
22:02based on margins
22:03that these companies
22:03work off
22:04what a wholesale rate
22:05might be.
22:06I can feed it in
22:07my labour costs
22:08and it can work out
22:09roughly what the
22:10profit margins will be.
22:12That is some advisor.
22:13It is handy.
22:14On call 24-7.
22:16Yeah.
22:16Do you ever choose
22:17to ignore it and go
22:18until there's
22:20humanoid robots
22:21coming over
22:22telling me
22:22no you have
22:23to grow that
22:23we can still
22:24make the decisions
22:25ourselves.
22:26It's important
22:27that the farmer
22:28element is still
22:29not taken away.
22:30What this is
22:31is a tool.
22:32It's not
22:32the decision maker.
22:34Brian is something
22:35of a phenomenon
22:36in recent years.
22:38Someone who's
22:38actively decided
22:39to try to make
22:40money out of
22:41growing vegetables.
22:42To date
22:43he's spent
22:44well over
22:44350,000 euros
22:46on this business.
22:47But his investment
22:48is more than financial.
22:50he wants to help
22:51reinvigorate
22:52a sector
22:53that's at a low
22:54ebb.
22:55It's been the most
22:56exciting and rewarding
22:58thing I've ever done
22:58in my life
22:59and also the most
23:00challenging.
23:00I really feel
23:02that we're building
23:03something quite exciting
23:05and different here.
23:06We're approaching
23:07things from a
23:08different standpoint.
23:10I'm absolutely
23:11committed and
23:12determined and
23:13as enthusiastic
23:15as the day I
23:15started.
23:16so we'll
23:17keep driving on.
23:23That's it for
23:24this week's show.
23:25Coming up for you
23:25next week on
23:26Air to the Crowd.
23:27With flooding
23:28barely out of the
23:29news since
23:29Storm Chandra
23:30Stephen finds out
23:32how farmers
23:32have been coping
23:33in Wexford.
23:35And Dara spends
23:36the day in a
23:36wildlife rescue
23:37centre in Kildare.
23:39And you can let
23:40go now.
23:41Alright dude
23:41have a nice life.
23:43Look at that.
23:44Don't forget that
23:45this programme will
23:46be repeated on
23:47Sunday at lunchtime
23:49after the farming
23:49weather.
23:50You can follow us
23:51and contact us
23:52on social media
23:53and you can hear
23:54more farming stories
23:55on Countrywide
23:56this Saturday
23:57morning on
23:58RTE Radio 1.
24:15RTE Radio 1.
24:18RTE Radio 1.
24:22RTE Radio 1.
24:24RTE Radio 1.
24:24You
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