Rare Breed: A Farming Year

A brand new year begins but on farms across the Country it's just the beginning of another working day. The usual cold and wet weather means most livestock are indoors, providing an opportunity to plan and prepare for the year ahead.

Stormy weather causes havoc on our farmers as they struggle to find storage space for slurry supplies, while Michael Fennelly is busy clipping and vaccinating his cattle in County Laois.

With Lambing season underway it means on some farms the whole family is involved and for others they should be gearing up for the warm spring weather, but instead the wet conditions are proving problematic for harvesting.

UTV's popular agriculture series returns to look at the month of April when the farms begin to burst into life as warm and dry weather finally arrives.

Competitions and agricultural exhibitions mean it is a busy time for all the Rare Breed farmers participating.

The Summer weather finally arrives bringing warm bursts of sunshine. While this is good news for most of the farmers, it spells trouble for others.

With a summer heat wave to contend with, the farmers race to bring in their harvest well ahead of schedule following rising temperatures.

The farmers work tirelessly to complete all essential harvesting requirements while they can during the bright summer evenings.

With record dry weather causing water shortages for some farmers, others complete sowing for the year ahead.

Documentary series. Several farmers prepare for new arrivals on the pig, cattle and sheep farms.

Documentary series. As the colder weather begins to set in, the farmers trim their cattle as they are moved indoors while Christmas trees finally get chopped down.

In the final episode of the series, the farmers are under pressure to the meet the Christmas demand for trees, cheese, beef, leeks and potatoes. They also take a look back over the farming year.