Most-read: look back at the best farming stories of 2020

On 1 January 2020, the word coronavirus was one that few farmers were familiar with, but as the year unfolded, COVID-19 came to dominate our lives and our timelines.

Little wonder then, that there was huge interest in a laboratory study in Australia that a cattle wormer could potentially kill the wretched coronavirus.

Number 1: Cattle wormer Ivermectin can kill coronavirus - Australian study

University of Monash scientists showed that a single dose of the anti-parasitic drug can stop the virus growing in a cell culture within 48 hours.

At a time when the virus was raging around the world at speed, the news that a veterinary medicine could help in the fight against COVID-19 was of great interest.

Number 2: Can I shoot down a drone if it’s surveilling my farm?

Legal advice is always a hot topic for readers of farmersjournal.ie and the suspicion that criminals could use technology to stake out your property raised the hackles of many a landowner.

Aisling Meehan’s column on what you can and can’t do if you see a drone flying over your property proved to be the second-most read article in the last year.

Number 3: ESB recruiting for 60 apprentices

Whether it was the mammies of Ireland pushing to get their offspring into good, solid jobs or a surge in farmers seeking off-farm employment, this story about ESB jobs went down a treat with readers.

Number 4: Cork contractor to sell entire fleet at monster auction

Emmanuel Barry started his Cork contracting business in 1989 at the age of 21, with a Zetor Crystal 8145 and a Landini 7550 to drive a Claas Rollant 44 round baler and a Kverneland wrapper, one of the first in the country at the time.

After 30 years, he sold all his machinery in March 2020, reminiscing about how the contracting business had evolved and changed in that time.

Number 5: Offaly farm of over 1,000ac sells for €11m

There was ferocious interest in the sale of one of Ireland’s biggest land blocks to ever come on the market, Ballinla House and farm.

Weighing in at 1,090ac, the farm consisted of 720ac of quality tillage land, 190ac of good grassland and 180ac of commercial forestry. It was sold in its entirety on the day.

Number 6: Food watchdog warns parents against almond milk

The Food Safety Authority warned parents and guardians not to replace cow’s milk or dairy products with almond or rice alternatives in their children’s diets in June.

It advised them against using beverages such as almond, coconut and rice milks, as they were nutritionally inadequate compared with cows’ milk.

Dairy farmers of Ireland felt better armed against the uninformed wing of the growing vegan trend.

Number 7: ‘Remove that video straight away’ – farmer reports PETA

Cork dairy farmer Peter Hynes hit the headlines in March when he was incensed by the animal activist group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) using a video of his daughter to promote its anti-farming message.

The video, which PETA did not have permission to use, was deleted after a flood of farmers and parents joined Peter in demanding its removal.

Number 8: Cork contractor buys Ireland’s first 925hp Jaguar 990

Well-known Cork-based accountant and agricultural contractor Mark Troy bought the first Claas Jaguar 990 to be sold in Ireland.

The machine was just one of three sold by Claas UK and Ireland for silage and the most powerful forager offering from Claas to date. Pick up your jaw and click on the link for more.

Number 9: World record price paid for Antrim sheepdog pup

All farmers love their dogs, but wouldn’t you love to own this one even more?

The sheepdog pup, named Bess, bred by Susan Venney from Cushendall, Co Antrim, sold for £4,200. The three-month-old pup was purchased by a buyer in Germany.

Number 10: Farmers let down by UK supermarkets selling Polish beef

In early April, amid panic buying by shoppers, it emerged that ABP had supplied 400t of Polish beef to UK supermarkets.

The Ulster Farmers Union blasted UK supermarkets Asda and Sainsbury’s for selling Polish mince in their British stores.

Sam Chesney said that farmers had been “totally let down in a time of crisis. We are told by Prime Minister Boris Johnson that we are all in this together, yet some factories and retailers are going to Poland to get beef.”