Hynes family to feature on Ear to the Ground

AHERLA’S Hynes family will feature on an upcoming edition of RTÉ’s agricultural affairs programme, Ear to the Ground, on Thursday, December 7th, at 8.30pm.

Presenter Darragh McCullough travelled to Mid Cork to meet the family, who are relative newcomers to farming. Indeed, for Peter Hynes and his wife, Paula, winning the 2017 Farming Independent-Zurich Insurance Farmer of the Year title was a complete surprise. 

Peter took over his stepfather’s dairy farm in 2010 and began by doing an advanced course in dairy farming. Since then he has put theory into practice and trebled the size of the milking herd.

A half-million euro investment in a cow house and milking parlour has cut the time needed to milk the 150-strong herd to 90 minutes, but keen attention to grassland management, breeding and farm safety are hallmarks of the Aherla farm.

Since winning the award, Peter has spoken out about his battle with depression and fundraised for the charity Aware. 

‘It’s important to speak to someone if you are under pressure,’ he says.

A recent open day at the Hynes farm raised a massive €15,000 for Aware and, since then, Peter was a finalist in the Dairy Farmer of the Year category of the West Cork Farming Awards, run by The Southern Star and the Celtic Ross Hotel in Rosscarbery.