An Alternative Approach To Agriculture, Co. Cork, Ireland 1984

A Dutch couple look to create a self sufficient life on their farm in County Cork.

Tony and Hannah Weiner have a farm just outside Fermoy which produces every foodstuff that they need, apart from sugar and wheat.

The cows, goats and fowl that they raise are in demand all over the country, their orchards provide them with apples and pears for their home-brewed cider. They also run a successful boarding kennels for dogs. Hannah also makes yoghurt, butter and cheese in her kitchen.

They even weave their knitwear themselves.

The only product the Weiners have not been able to sell are vegetables eaten on a daily basis on the continent, such as endive, about which Tony is still incredulous,

People don’t even know the vegetables...But it’s a matter of culture I think.

Dutch farmers have a different mentality and that Tony believes is the main difference between farms in Ireland and the Netherlands,

Holland is as big as Munster, and it’s the second agricultural exporter in the world after the United States. So efficiency is the thing.

The approach the Weiners take to agriculture is different, but food for thought especially when,

Milk is in crisis, and beef is in overproduction.

An RTÉ News report broadcast on 9 October 1984. The reporter is Michael Lally.