Episode 4 Home Ground

Hello and welcome to another episode of Home Ground,

a programme giving you a slice of country life.

On tonight's programme, we're here enjoying the Balmoral Show.

Here's what's coming up on tonight's programme.

With the humble spud under threat,

I speak with farmers trying to reverse the trend.

I'm in South Down, but it feels more like South Dakota, as I meet

Northern Ireland's very own horse whisperer.

Sorry, girl, I hope this goes all right. OK.

CLIPPERS WHIR

And Ruth tries her hand at sheep shearing, with mixed results.

-I'll do it.

-I think you'd better finish it!

Later in the programme, we'll have a full weather forecast for you,

but first, there can be few greater prizes in the agricultural world

than winning a rosette here at Balmoral.

But what does it take to spot that prize-winning bull?

Well, I'm here to find out.

For many, the Balmoral Show is a chance to relax

and enjoy the events and exhibitions.

But for these guys, this is serious. It's competition time.

And these cattle are getting the star treatment -

last-minute touchups and even a blow-dry.

It's good for the hair, gives the better shine

and sort of a finishing touch

-to hopefully make the animal look its best in the ring.

-Yeah.

Hopefully impress the judge, is what we're really trying to do.

So he's had the hair mist, now he's getting the hairspray.

Yes, pretty much, yes.

-What age are you?

-I'm 12.

And what are you doing here?

I'm just preparing the cow for it to go into the ring to get judged.

Right, good.

I'm spraying black foam

and just brushing it up to give it a bit of shine

and make the coat stand up.

-Yeah, well, you're doing a fine job.

-Thank you.

-Are you hoping for a winner?

-Hopefully.

And judging the Angus today is this man...called Angus.

Yes, Angus Stovold is a beef farmer from Surrey

who's judged Angus all over the world.

I like to wait until they all walk in

and then I really start looking at them. Looking at them from the side,

the side profile is very important, and then you're looking at walking,

so walking and standing, how they stand -

it's really little intricate things

which actually make a difference.

And then things like bone structure and the structure of the meat

on the animal, and its head and just lots of things.

But this is no easy job.

The standard in this senior heifer class is particularly high.

I don't envy his job at all, they all look very similar to me.

A lot of tummy tickling going on.

Is that how you get a good result? Keep them happy.

So this is crunch time. Just getting them all to line up.

You couldn't accuse him of making a rush decision, that's for sure.

'And today's winner of this class is Alan Morrison from Maguiresbridge.'

Well, that was a difficult job.

-They didn't make it easy for you, very high standard.

-They never do.

The first four when they walked in, they all looked really good cattle.

Size wise, this is a great feminine animal and deserved to win.

-Well, to win today means a lot to these guys, doesn't it?

-Huge.

It's a royal show, you know, this is one of the big ones,

so to win here is...

You know, that's something that they carry for the rest of their lives.

'And now it's time to judge the main event - the overall champion.

'And the prize goes to James Porter from Lisburn.'

-What an animal, eh?

-As soon as I saw him...

-He was the standout?

-Yeah.

Why?

Balance is everything.

And also for a big bull he's got really good legs,

he walks really well.

You know, he's got no fat on him, he's just, you know...

everything about him. There's very few faults about him,

he's got a great head, he's got a lovely eye.

He's got top line all the way through, really good backside.

You know, he's a breeding bull through and through.

You can't fault him.

In fact, it's very rare that you find such a good quality bull,

so he's really good.

It's so nice to come here

and see something that's going to win anywhere in the country,

so, yeah, the Northern Irish breeder must be really proud

of what they produced today, cos all these cattle are just superb,

so I'd take them all home if I could.

Many regard the potato as the national crop,

but an ever-increasing number of us are ditching the spud

for the more convenient carbs like pasta and rice,

and as I've been finding out that isn't good news for producers.

The humble spud - a mainstay of our diet for generations.

Boiled, roasted, chipped or mashed, surely we all love eating spuds?

Well, apparently not.

With stiff competition from pasta and rice,

figures show that we are eating and growing fewer potatoes.

Just outside Comber I've come to meet Richard Orr,

whose family have been producing spuds for generations,

to see if the trend can be reversed.

This is the headquarters, this is where the magic happens?

Yes, this is where we do all the processing of the potatoes.

They come to the yard here

and then that's where they're inspected

and worked with and made ready for sale.

And the boys are doing some really important work here,

cos they're looking for problems, aren't they?

Yes, obviously, as I said earlier, whenever they're graded for size,

obviously they're still dirty,

so you can see these small, little problems here on them,

whenever they're dirty, like this greening.

That's just sunlight in the field,

it's penetrated through the drills and has greened the potato.

And if they make the final cut, down into...

Down into here and, yes, then...

And who wouldn't want to eat that?

It's perfect. But people aren't eating spuds.

What's happening, Richard?

Oh, definitely now the consumption of potatoes

locally here has been going down.

Is it not fashionable any more?

Well, that's the question, isn't it?

I suppose, traditionally here,

there's always been a history of eating potatoes and plenty of them,

and maybe over the generations that has started to die a bit.

Certainly they're not perceived as convenient as some other products.

And with consumption down, it continues to be a difficult market.

Potatoes this year are a better price

than they've been in the two years previously.

However, these past two years

they were about 20%, 30% below the cost of production.

So people are saying,

"Yes, the potato farmer is getting more for his produce."

But genuinely,

he's only getting roughly speaking what pays for his crop.

So...

it is a very competitive environment

and it's all down to growing good quality and good yield.

Because the costs of production are so high.

It's about informing the consumers about the produce,

selling produce which is of good quality and has great flavour,

and that will make people want to come back and eat more.

And being sensible and smart, even, about your marketing.

These potatoes are Comber Earlies,

just waiting to be planted as soon as the ground heats up.

In 2012, they were awarded the PGI status by the European Union.

Local farmers hoped it would increase consumption and revenue.

These Earlies have PGI status. Tell us what that is.

Yes, PGI status is Protected Geographical Indication.

And that's pretty exclusive. You're talking champagne, Parma ham...

Yes, yes. And various other products, yeah.

Well, there are three PGIs in Northern Ireland.

Comber Earlies, Lough Neagh eels and Armagh Bramley apples.

So, yes, there are only three PGI products in northern Ireland.

Something we received in 2012.

So we formed a co-operative of the growers within the area

to market the Comber Earlies.

And I just thought I'd show you this.

This is the new branding

which all the growers are marketing their produce in.

This is a tool and a platform for us

to use to market the Comber Earlies.

And over time, you think this is going to reverse

the trend for the potato, eh?

Well, certainly initiatives like this can only help.

Certainly this last couple of seasons,

since we've come together to market them

and have had the PGI on the front of the bag,

there has been a slow growth in their consumption.

But for some, it's come too late.

Robin McKee runs the Comber Potato Company.

His potatoes sell for £1 a kilo in the shops.

But he only gets 14 pence.

And at those prices, he can no longer continue.

-Robin, this is a beautiful part of the world. This is your land.

-Yeah.

You've chosen to sell up. Why?

Well, I've been lucky farming here since I left school, basically.

And it's been very heartbreaking to come to this stage, but...

..the financial situation of farming and the way the market is...

..we can't see any future in it.

Have you noticed prices just being forced down and down over the years?

Yeah, these last ten, 15 years,

sort of since the start of the 2000s,

an awful pressure on prices downward.

And our costs have been escalating at the same time.

Last year prices were abominable.

You know, we were way down to selling at £80 a tonne for potatoes

that cost £148 a tonne to produce.

Now, certainly this year they've been a bit better.

But you're still only up to production costs,

you're not making any money still.

And people not eating as many potatoes, as well.

People are not eating potatoes.

There's a potato promotion going on at the minute,

and farmers paid in to do a bit of promotion work.

But...the same thing, it's a bit like a PGI.

It's hard to work a miracle and get people to eat potatoes again.

Is it hard almost to admit defeat

against the torrent of everything coming your way

and you've been working so hard for years?

Very difficult. You feel...

It makes you feel inadequate that you haven't been able to master it.

Farming has been in the doldrums lots of times in my working life,

but you'd always come out of it again and you seem to get going.

But this time, it doesn't seem to be going to do that

for a long, long time.

The sheep shearing event here at Balmoral is always popular.

But the skills aren't just required for the competition.

Ruth's been to meet one champion

who's sheared his way through 45,000 sheep in a single year.

Deep in the heart of the Sperrins lives a champion.

This is Jack Robinson, the Northern Irish Sheep Shearing Champion.

And he's getting ready to defend his title at the Balmoral Show.

I went to meet him just outside Claudy,

on the sheep farm he looks after with his family.

That was fairly well done.

So one down, how many to go, then, Jack?

-Too many.

-Too many!

How quickly can you shear a sheep in competition?

Well, it mostly depends on the sheep.

Sheep vary in size and breeds.

But if you're doing them in 45 seconds

and keeping them reasonably clean, you've a good chance of winning.

But you have been the Northern Irish winner twice in a row.

Yes, I won it last year and the year before.

-So no pressure for this year.

-No, no pressure.

'Jack has travelled the world sheep shearing,

'which means he's had some serious practice.'

Whenever I was travelling all year round,

I would say I was doing roughly 45,000 sheep a year.

-No way!

-Whenever I was shearing in New Zealand and Estonia,

Latvia, Finland and then here.

Will you talk me through sort of how you do it, to see...?

-How hard can it be?

-Simple.

-Well, you always start off on the belly.

-Uh-huh.

And you have your two knees wrapped around the sheep,

because it opens up that brisket. So you have to start high.

You have four blows down the belly.

-So that's four strips.

-We call them blows.

-Blows, right.

And you step forward onto their undermount.

And the first blow comes to here.

And then your second blow comes right to here.

And every time you do a blow, you're turning the sheep.

And then, after you have that done, you're stepping up the neck.

And this is the trickiest part of the sheep.

You come straight up and finish underneath the chin,

clean off the cheek.

The more you can rock the sheep, the less it'll kick.

And then, whenever you drop it down,

you've gone on to your three short blows.

The longest blow on the sheep starts from the bottom,

it comes right up behind the head.

This is your home straight down - they call it the money side.

-The money side?

-This is what they call the money side.

And you clean out, and then you're keeping your legs dead straight

and the head high.

Hopefully, by the time you get to here,

you've all the fleece off in one piece.

So what does the sheep make of it all?

-I mean, this one's been very calm.

-Well...

But you're holding her right. You're holding her properly.

It's all about the way you hold a sheep, so it is.

If you can hold a sheep without it being agitated,

that's half the battle.

'So - could Jack make a champion shearer out of ME?'

We'll get another sheep to start with.

A sheep is a handy thing to have.

See, Jack, this one seems very unkeen.

She must know I'm going to have a go.

I'll take off the belly and all first.

-I'll give you the easy part of the sheep.

-I think that's wise.

You go ahead.

Hold your hand piece with your thumb here to control it.

Yes. Like this.

-I want you to go straight down.

-Straight down. Just straight.

-Just straight down.

-I'm sorry, girl, I hope this goes all right. OK.

-Keep it on the skin.

-Yes.

-Like, I don't think I'm very good at it.

-I'll tidy it up.

You're keeping it is as flat on the skin as possible

-So you're taking it off clean.

-So you go with the curve?

You go with the curve.

OK. Right. Here we go again. Sorry, sheep.

Ooh, it's very...

Like that?

Right, I think you'd better take over.

I don't think I'm going to make a shearer.

That is tough.

Unbelievable. You make it look so easy.

That's your first attempt. A few more and we'll get there.

That was rubbish! I am not going to be a sheep shearer.

Do you know what? I thought it would be like doing your legs.

-But that is tricky.

-It's a different ball game.

You are right, it is!

I think it's fair to say I won't be a threat to the international

sheep-shearing community.

But it isn't just about competition,

wool is one of the oldest traded commodities in the world.

And it all ends up here, at the wool depot in Muckamore,

around 1.5 million kilos per season.

From here, it gets graded, auctioned and shipped all over the world.

So, Ian, where is this wool going to end up?

This wool could end up in so many places, all over the world.

It could go to China, it could just go to Bradford and then come

back to Northern Ireland and the carpet manufacturing.

So Bradford is the big wool hub in the UK, isn't it?

Bradford is the only location within the UK that has

a scouring facility, and scouring is washing the wool

and putting it into a shape

that can be used for weaving and spun yarn.

Currently, the price of this type of wool here would be

£2-£3 per fleece.

-Is that all?

-That is all.

£2-£3 per fleece. The big thing that does affect it is global currency.

Last year, the New Zealand dollar weakened so much

and as sterling strengthened, it left an 18% difference

compared to the year before,

so that's how you can go down 18% very easily in the price of wool.

That's why farmers don't breed for the wool as much,

they breed for the number of lambs.

But historically farmers did breed for the wool,

-it was the main enterprise.

-No doubt about it.

People used to cherish wool and wear wool.

So it's all about the money at the end result.

It's about making a decision as a consumer, really.

It's encouraging people to do that.

But often people don't want to spend more money.

People want wooden floors.

Don't spend any more money, just spend it properly.

-And wear more wool.

-And wear more wool, of course.

And after shearing his way through quite a few sheep

at Balmoral, Jack was crowned the champion and will now captain

team NI at the World Championships in New Zealand next year.

Now, the weather has been lovely over the last few days,

let's see if it's set to continue.

Here's a full weather forecast for the week ahead.

Well, the effort and expertise

involved in training these horses is intense.

But what do you do

if you can't even get your hand on the horse in the first place?

Well, you call the horse whisperer of course.

Meet Patch, he's a four-year-old cob

and he's had a difficult start in life.

Abandoned by a roadside in Belfast,

he was rescued by the folks at Crosskennan Lane Animal Sanctuary.

He looks quite traumatised there, he's pretty wild, isn't he?

He has never been handled, he's actually a pleasant pony in that he

wants to be friends, but he just doesn't understand anything at all.

And what's happening here at the moment is he's out

in the paddock having a look around to see if there's any friends about

because horses are a herd animal.

He's a beautiful looking horse,

it's hard to imagine anyone would abandon him.

Is he quite nervous, is this typical behaviour of a nervous horse?

Yes, he's anxious, he would like to be friends with you,

but, so far, nobody has ever handled him.

He has never had a head collar on him,

we've never actually had a hand on him.

Why do people abandon them?

It's this crazy notion that people run mares

and stallions together and the next thing they have foals.

Then they can't cope with the number.

This is happening all around Northern Ireland.

In recent years, Lyn and her colleagues have noticed

a steep increase in the number of abandoned horses as the cost

of looking after them becomes too much for many to bear.

Re-homing them is difficult,

especially for horses like Patch who need a lot of work.

But today, things are looking brighter for Patch as he'll begin

a different sort of training in the hope of finding him a new home.

He seems a little bit reluctant.

This is John trying to bring Patch up to get him into the horsebox.

Rather him than me. I think I'm going to get out of the way.

After a bit of careful persuasion,

Patch is loaded onto the horsebox and we're ready to go.

We're on our way to meet this man -

John McAleavey,

Northern Ireland's very own horse whisperer.

John's been working and training horses all of his life,

but for the past 16 years

he's been specialising in natural horsemanship,

or horse whispering -

the idea of developing a rapport with the horses,

rather than using force to train or break a horse.

And it doesn't take long for John to begin his first assessment of Patch.

Just checking out...

'The first thing I wanted to do was to see

'where did he fit into this little miniature herd that we had -

'we had a gelding and a mare that I use in the riding school.

'And I just wanted to see, was he was an alpha type?'

And the good news from my point of view is he's not a strong alpha,

because ultimately I want to be his alpha.

So what does that mean, will it make it easier to train him?

Slightly easier for him to respect me.

My first job is to get his respect, and THEN I can get his trust.

So I'm going to work on moving his feet,

because I'm a great believer in moving the feet -

the brains are actually in the feet of the horse.

Then I control the feet,

I control the body and then I control the mind of the horse.

Cynics would say - load of nonsense, brute force, go for it,

get the horse trained that way.

Yes, but I'm kind of getting a bit old now

to get bucked off too many times.

And this is more tuning into the horse,

learning the language of the horse.

I'm always learning about the behaviour of the horse.

And it makes a better life for the horse.

I'm fascinated by his techniques,

and I'm even starting to see progress already -

I can't wait to see how he gets on with that.

Something tells me it's not going to be straightforward.

'Just a few weeks later, I've come back to see

'if there's been any change in Patch's behaviour.'

Oh, my goodness! Patch!

-You're riding him.

-Oh, yes.

-That is incredible, John!

It's hard to believe it's the same horse.

-Now, don't get to like him, because I like him a lot.

-Oh, come on!

What have you done with him? That's amazing.

Well, we start by teaching him to respect me

-because I'm the one who can... I control his feet basically.

-Yeah...

And gradually after about four hours he started to trust me.

And then we start the training.

We start with desensitising...

I was a bit surprised with this horse, Jo,

because your traditional cob would be a bit slow-legged, but he's not.

He's very...

He's very forward-going, you just have to cluck,

and he's a lovely little stop on him

and that's only after about two hours' training.

While, my goodness. When you think back to the wild horse that

that was skidding around that field. Patch, you're something else.

-Och, he just wants love.

-Yeah, he does, he does like that.

-Doesn't he?

-And he's started to drop his head, he's releasing tension.

-Oh, Pat.

You're just like all of us, you just need a bit of a cuddle.

-Yeah, he does like that.

-Isn't that just incredible?

-I can show you...

Yeah, show us some stuff...

'John's keen to show me just how well-behaved Patch has become.'

Now, for a lot of young horses this can be just too much to handle.

But with Patch, he's handled this pretty well for a good while now.

We can even do the helicopter exercise...

Now, most horses just couldn't handle this.

I'm talking about a lot of riding horses around the countryside.

But I like my horses to be able to think inside of their brain,

chill out...

And look, his head's coming down.

He's actually quite bored with this right now...

Quite incredible, isn't it?

And Lyn, whose colleagues rescued Patch from the side of the road,

is also back today, to see the progress.

It's amazing, John has done a wonderful job with him

in the space of a few weeks, from a pony that has never been handled

to a pony that he's riding round, trotting, cantering...

What we call that is getting him to go forwards.

-Yeah.

-And that's difficult enough in that short period of time,

and he's done a really good job with it.

To see it is to believe it,

and we are thrilled.

It's been an incredible turnaround in Patch's behaviour,

and that means the Crosskennan Animal Sanctuary

will be able to find Patch a new home.

That guy was incredible,

but I was a wee bit disappointed we didn't get to see you in the saddle.

No, I'll leave that to the experts.

We've had a great time here at Balmoral, haven't we?

It's been brilliant. And another excellent event.

-We'll see you next week at 7.30.

-Bye-bye.