This week MJ chats to Phelim O Neill from the Irish Farmers Journal about the recently published Agri Food Regulator's report about what factories are being paid for beef, a question which farmers have been asking for a long time and with light finally being shed on the financials of the industry what will be uncovered? PJ Lynam and Nikolay Sezonov from the Tullamore Tractor run join MJ in studio to speak about the event taking place this Christmas which has raised over four hundred thousand euro for charity since its inception. With the ICSA presidency up for grabs, Sean McNamara and Dan Lynam go head to head - they give an account of their vision for the role should they be elected. Vincent Griffith from the Irish Grassland Association chats about their annual event which is taking place next month.

On the programme this week Blathnáid Gallagher from the Galway Wool Co - Op chats to MJ about the Galway sheep breed. Blathnáid feels that native

wool needs a direct route to market and that companies selling "so called" Irish products such as Aran and Tweed using southern hemisphere wool need to use Irish wool. Alan Crowe from the Hereford Society chats about an upcoming sale in Tullamore while Adam Woods from the Irish Farmers Journal gives the latest from Brussels on the Mercosur deal which would allow South American beef access to the EU. Dr. Shivani Pathania from Teagasc chats about the recent TV show "10 Things To Know About" which showed the research that is ongoing in relation to food packaging and how apple peel could be a real alternative to plastic as a compostable source of food packaging.

The General Election takes centre stage on Countrylife this week with Pat O Toole from the Irish Farmers Journal giving a rundown on the results with a particular focus on both farming candidates nationwide and victorious candidates from Laois, Offaly and Westmeath. Martin McElearney chats as the newly elected chair of the IFA Dairy Committee where he feels dairy farmers are being unreasonably burdened with extra cost as a result of nitrate rules. Alan Dillon from Teagasc chats about an upcoming Dairy Beef 500 Webinar in advance of the spring calving season just around the corner. Padraig Egan from the forestry group SEEFA speaks about the extremely poor year that 2024 was for planting as a result of the government's rules and regulations, the hope is that the new government will allowing planting in a quicker way with less red tape.

On the programme this week MJ chats to Macra President Elaine Houlihan in advance of this weeks General Election where the organisation are encouraging all candidates to champion the cause of rural Ireland if elected. Nevan McKiernan from the Irish Farmers Journal chats about the recent Winter Fair in Carrick on Shannon which saw a huge turnout and huge prices being paid for stock at the Leitrim venue. Malachy Hand from the West Region Texel Club chats about their upcoming female sale and Michael Flanagan gives a mention to the Athlone Show Christmas Tractor Run taking place this weekend. Denis Drennan from the ICMSA chats about their annual AGM and how a positive end to 2024 will have farmers in good spirits ahead of 2025. Bruce Thompson from Co. Laois speaks about the newly published Farming for Nature Handbook which will make an ideal stocking filler.

On the programme this week MJ chats to a group of TY students from Birr in Co. Offaly who were victorious in the Irish Angus Schools Competition and have been given the opportunity to rear five angus cattle through to beef. MJ spoke to Jack O Meara, Joey McLoughney, Ben Younge and Moya Guinan on the O Meara family farm in Coolderry about the experience so far and their plan with the cattle going forward. Ciara Lynch from Dairy Women Ireland chats about their organisation in advance of their annual conference this weekend. Joe Patton gives an outline of the Teagasc Annual Dairy Conference taking place next week where as always a focus will be on maintaining sustainable and profitable dairy herds. Adam Woods from the Irish Farmers Journal chats about the strong beef trade and how it shows no signs of abating in the near future as well as an update on Tullamore Farm.

Country Life with MJ Clery

Country Life with MJ Clery

Country Life with MJ Clery every Wednesday from 7pm on Midlands 103. Keep up with everything agriculture and beyond.

On the programme this week MJ chats to Nicky Byrne from Teagasc about their recent Dairy Beef Calf Conference where margins of over €500 per acre were displayed from highly stocked early maturing steer systems using Aberdeen Angus calves. John Farrell from the Irish Grassland Association chats about their upcoming event entitled "Proud to be an Irish farmer and food producer". Stuart Rodgers a farmer from Co. Kildare who is presenting at the Bio Farm Conference 2024 chats about biodynamic farming and how this system of organic farming is undergoing a resurgence as farmers look to alternative farming methods. Joe Gorman from Garryhinch Wood Exotic Mushrooms chats about his business and their recent success at the National Organic Awards. The business which started growing traditional white mushrooms had to cease trading as a result of Brexit and have since completely changed their model to growing exotic organic mushrooms.

On the programme this week Aidan Brennan from the Irish Farmers Journal chats to MJ live from Washington DC where election fever is really starting to ramp up with Donald Trump edging the polls at the moment. Seamus McMenamin from Bord Bia chats about the sheep trade where demand is strong currently. He also chats about how one third of sheep farmers are not quality assured and this is having an impact when Bord Bia are selling lamb abroad as European consumers have extremely high standards when purchasing meat. Tom Cushen from Co. Laois is a cancer survivor and he speaks about upcoming free health checks being offered by the IFA around the country. Tom advocates the importance of regular health checks. Michael O Donovan from Teagasc speaks about the Grassland Climate Adaptation Conference where one of the topics of conversation was that our temperature and the amount of rainfall we receive has increased in the last number of decades.