Tirlán, the largest Dairy Co-Op in the country, has been working on its response to the possible loss of a derogation from the EU Nitrates Directive. Countrywide speaks to Alan and Cheryl Poole, dairy farmers with a very light footprint.

Recently, Alanagh Ní Chongaile Ní Ghríofa has been spending a lot of time drinking tea and recording conversations with two ninety-something gentlemen in East Galway. Lorna Siggins took a lift with Alanagh to Sean O'Murchada's home, where she met the man himself, his daughter Breeda, and his dog Tess.

There has been record hospitality growth in The Netherlands, and there's a new vegan cafe, run by an Irishwoman, enjoying the boom. Colette Kinsella visited Kitty's Kitchen in The Hague.

Philips speaks to the outgoing Tirlán chief executive about the co-op's response to the possible loss of the derogation under the EU Nitrates Directive.

Returning to the issue of Ireland's pursuit of a derogation from the EU Nitrates Directive, we hear from Alan Matthews, Professor Emeritus of European Agricultural Policy in the Department of Economics, School of Social Sciences and Philosophy at Trinity College.

West Wicklow farmers Mervyn and Dorothy Fairbrother built up a herd of dairy cows over the past thirty years. But the past few years have been so challenging, that they have decided to see the house, farm and beloved herd.

Nathan Carter gives us his take on Beyoncé's new album Cowboy Carter.

Countrywide Full 06/04/24

Down in Vicarstown in County Laois, the Scully family are busy on Merry Mill Farm where they grow and mill their own certified, gluten-free organic oats.

Five years ago, the EU asked member states to each establish an office to ensure fair practices in food supply chains and transparency in how they operate. Four month since the creation of that body, we speak to the first Irish Agri-Food regulator Niamh Lenehan.

Smokey and Sally are two adorable dogs, one a little black terrier, the other a wheaten terrier mix. In the past week, they have put their owner through the wringer when they went missing.

Countrywide Full 30/03/24

As the demand for lamb rises, partly fueled by the end of Ramadan falling so close to Easter Sunday, sheep farmers have been enjoying a price spike.

In the not too distant past, eggs were stored through Lent for an egg feast on Easter Sunday morning. Down on their 100 acre organic farm in Tipperary, Ollie and Esther O'Brien produce and sell their own eggs directly into shops.

As the combination of climate change and El Nino is making farming more and more difficult, we go to Kilkenny Mart to speak to farmers. Also joining us is Mike Magan, chairperson of the National Fodder and Food Security Committee, who met yesterday as a response to the pressures that the weather is placing on farmers.

Philip was joined in studio by Waseem Saeed of the award-winning Daata restaurants, who continues to be inspired by his late grandmother's cooking and how she might prepare lamb for Eid.

We speak to farmers who are trying to get better prices for their products by selling directly to the public through their own farm shops.

The European Commission has proposed making farms across Europe smaller than ten hectares exempt from CAP inspections and payment penalties. This could impact up to 28,000 mostly beef and sheep farmers in the west of the country.

Countrywide Full 23/03/24

Some weather stations have measured the rainfall since last August as the wettest eight months since Irish meteorological records began. The water table is right below, and in many cases above the surface, which has been disruptive to farming.

In county Limerick, the Bank Holiday Kilmallock Mart was buzzing this week. As well as the buying and selling in the mart ring, there is a market outside and plenty of people out to meet and greet each other at the end of winter.

The Hare's Corner is an old farming expression for an awkward corner of a field or an area of rough ground that was hard to farm, and so left to nature. Participants in the Burrenbeo Trust's Hare's Corner project have dug ponds, planted native trees or traditional orchards, or taken advice on how to manage their land for nature.

The Countrywide team takes us on a riverside journey along the Boyne, navigating its catchment from river head to coast.

Countrywide Full 16/03/24