Ear to the Ground discusses Mayo farmer concerns about nature restoration law

MAYO will feature on this week's edition of Ear to the Ground, screening on Thursday, January 12, on RTÉ One at 7 p.m.

Throughout Ireland, peatlands have been drained for agricultural purposes so they can be turned into grassland. But now a new nature restoration law proposed by the European Commission could see the legally binding rewetting of this farmed land, turning it back into its original state.

In Thursday's programme, Helen Caroll visits one farmer in Mayo to find out why some farmers are so concerned about the impact this proposed new law will have on their livelihoods.

WELL DRILL

It's hard to imagine that in Ireland, we could ever find ourselves short of water. But as our climate changes, and we experience more drought during the summer months, we can no longer depend on having limitless access to water.

For farmers with livestock, that's an even bigger problem and many are seeing once reliable old wells now running dry.

Last summer Darragh McCullough met Wexford dairy farmer Arthur Sweetman on the day he decided to have a new well drilled in the hope of solving his water supply issues, but as the day rolled on and the drill went deeper, both came to realise that maybe this was an expensive and hopeless endeavour.

SUAS

Farming on commonage or grazing the uplands can be challenging for farmers but also for these fragile habitats.

Ella McSweeney joins the members of SUAS in the Wicklow Mountains. SUAS is a partnership EIP project involving farmers and the National Parks and Wildlife Service, to work together to maintain and improve biodiversity and habitat on farmed uplands.

Ella joins them for a days work blocking drains and planting trees to improve the shared landscape.