CountryWide

If any of you have an apple tree in a park near you, on your farm or garden, you’ll notice how early the apples have appeared - very early. Con Traas's parents, Willem and Ali, came from Holland in 1967 looking for land to grow fruit. They found a farm with an old orchard in Tipperary, and the family has been growing apples there ever since. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week, five secondary schools, from Donegal to Cork, were presented with an Aberdeen Angus calf to bring home and rear. It's all part of the Certified Irish Angus schools' competition, which asks students to do a research project on farming. 180 schools entered this year, and the finalists collected their calves at the Ploughing. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The All-Ireland Lamb Shearing Championships took place at the Ploughing this week when Ireland’s fastest and most skilled sheep shearers - ranging from juniors upwards - were put to the test.   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

At the National Ploughing Championships, young agri start-ups had a chance to pitch for Enterprise Ireland awards, and Suzanne Campbell met three of these companies as they tried to catch the judges' attention, each trying to win one of the overall prizes.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ireland sends its plan for restoring nature to Brussels, so how much public money will be allocated to it, and what will it ask? Minister for Nature, Heritage and Biodiversity Christopher O’Sullivan joined us to discuss. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.