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Private Notes
January's cold and wet weather keeps most livestock indoors, providing the farmers with the perfect opportunity to prepare for the coming months and seasons. Aware that any decisions could ultimately mean the difference between success and failure, they are careful when making crucial business plans for the year ahead.
Northern Irish livestock is in demand across the world, which attracts the attention of Dutch breeders to a local farmer. Meanwhile, there are a few surprise additions to the goat and sheep farms, and it's time for the calves of Downpatrick to be tagged and de-horned.
Severe blizzards and Arctic temperatures plunge many of the farms into crisis, with thousands of sheep caught in snowdrifts and other livestock forced to spend weeks indoors. As feed prices continue to rise, the situation is considered a financial disaster and livelihoods are at stake.
The spring blizzards have brought many farms to breaking point and the subsequent thaw reveals a new crisis - the ground is too sodden for livestock and silage is running out at several locations. For arable farmers, the typical calendar has been thrown into chaos, with some of them already a month behind sowing the year's crop.
Many of the farmers attend the Balmoral Show at the former Maze prison site near Lisburn, Co Antrim, where they present livestock, sell produce and catch up with friends. With more than 80,000 visitors and around 500 exhibitors, the three-day agricultural event provides an ideal opportunity to do business with buyers from across the UK and Ireland.
After a wet start to June, the warm weather returns and the farms burst into life with plenty of new arrivals. The animals are finally let out to graze, winter cabbages and sprouts are planted, and silage silos across Northern Ireland start to fill up.
It's July and the record temperatures provide ideal weather for cutting silage across Northern Ireland, but the heatwave soon comes to a stormy end. Meanwhile, some of the farmers embark on new ventures as the spring lambs go to market.
Cameras catch up with the farmers during August, when many of the farms are finally ready to harvest, calves are being born, and sheep are being sheared. Planning ahead never stops, and preparations for the following year are already in full swing, with grass sowing and drainage work being undertaken.
The record-breaking summer weather continues in September, with many of the farmers working extensively in the fields harvesting potatoes, barley, silage and apples. Meanwhile, breeding season is about to start at the sheep and goat farms.
As the weather takes a turn in October, many farmers race to complete harvests and preparations are under way to ensure barns are ready to house animals for the coming winter months. Meanwhile, in Co Fermanagh, 11-year-old Robbie Savage begins his own venture - a new flock of Suffolk sheep.
Winter approaches and the farms' pigs, cattle and turkeys are ready to send to the marketplace. It is also a crucial time for extra maintenance for the farmers, with an exciting result in store for James Alexander at a prestigious show.
The farmers manage a greater workload in the run-up to Christmas, and as the year draws to a close, they look back on the highs and lows of the past 12 months, from record-breaking summer weather to blizzards and Arctic temperatures.
