The first port of call for machinery correspondent Darren Bailey in June this year was

The two school friends have built up their company, Lakeview Energy, in just a few years to become one of the main players in the ethanol business in both America and on the global stage.

Patrick also visited

Specht has 1,000 acres made up of corn, beans, wheat and alfalfa, with the cows housed all year-round. His cows average 30,700lb (13,925kg) of milk per year.

Fracking proved to be a divisive issue in the US just as it is in Ireland.

However, suckler farmer Vernon Cummings told of the positive impact fracking had on his farm and what it enabled him to do.

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