I sat down in front of the telly on Sunday and was reminded of better times, when farming and agriculture were naturally part of our everyday TV shows.

The Riordans was a favourite of mine in my youth and, as the documentary on Sunday night showed, it was also educational, as viewers tuned in to see what Benjy was doing on his farm.

How times have changed. The competitors in Ireland’s Fittest Family might need to tell the race commentator that the bales they are jumping over are straw, not hay.

I’ll be keeping an eye to it all the same. The Allens have been training by lifting sandbags over and under the cow cubicles. Ticie showed his farming strength, sitting for more than nine minutes in the ‘back against the wall’ challenge.