Ballynahinch farming family feature on BBC documentary

Ballynahinch farming family feature on BBC documentary

13 February 2019

THE trials of farming will be shown through the eyes of a Ballynahinch family as they are featured tonight in the BBC Two series, This Farming Life. 

Top beef cattle breeder Geoff Rodgers allowed a film crew to capture him and his family work their 280-acre farm between Ballynahinch and Dromara for most of last year.

Geoff inherited the farm when his father died Martin and runs it with his wife, Lizzie, who is a special needs classroom assistant at Spa Primary School,  with their three children, Emma (21), Martin (18), and 14 year-old Lucy.

He admitted that he had turned down previous offers to take part in other farming shows but finally agreed to take part as he was a real fan of the show.

The result is a moving insight into what it takes to care for 267 animals 24 hours a day and what happens when it all goes wrong. 

“I think some viewers will be reduced to tears. Well, that’s what happened when all of the farmers featured watched the programme a few weeks ago,” said 49 year-old Geoff.

“It will show that there is a real connection between the family and the animals and it’s not all just about sales or winning competitions.”

Two months before the crew started filming last January, the family were hit with terrible news — Bovine TB was discovered in their pedigree herd and 20 animals had to be slaughtered.  

A movement restriction then had to put on the herd which meant that no animals could enter or leave the farm until two consecutive TB tests prove negative.

The programme catches up with the family on the day a vet calls to carry to do the next test and to determine whether any more of the herd will have to be slaughtered.

“It just happened that the crew came to us in one of the most challenging times for the farm,” said Geoff.

“And while I won’t gave too much away, what happens not only affects me but also my children as they all get involved, especially the youngest Lucy, to help me get the animals ready for the likes of Balmoral Show.

“We not only lost some of the animals but you also lose years of breeding, particularly with some of the animals my father had bred them, which was hard, and then of course, there’s a knock-on loss of new calves.

“It was particularly hard as I had buyers waiting to buy bulls and cattle of me but we couldn’t do anything until we got the all-clear.”

The tension builds over the next few episodes of the show as the deadline looms to Balmoral Show — the highlight of the farming calendar in Northern Ireland and the major sales day for Geoff.

Viewers will see that the Rodgers family’s hopes of further success at Balmoral are pinned on bull Mario, who Geoff described “as a real character” and his young half-sister, Nadia. 

This Farming Life starts tonight at 8pm on BBC 2.