‘Rare Breed – A Farming Year’ returns on ITV with families from County Derry

The popular television show ‘Rare Breed – A Farming Year’ is set to return for a new season on Thursday, January 18 at 8.30 pm on ITV. It will welcome new faces, farms and stories from the four corners of the North.
This season features three farming families from County Derry, the Diamonds from Garvagh, the Kellys from Limavady and the Hutchinsons from outside Maghera.
In total 12 families will be featured in the show from different sectors of farming life. The season, filmed in 2023, explains the positive and negative aspects of each month, highlighting economic and environmental challenges.
The first episode will follow diverse farmers, including Michael and Kile Diamond, father and son from Garvagh, in the middle of the lambing season. They’re keeping a close eye on their flock and are swift to help a ewe deliver twins. All goes well and they help the twin lambs feed off the mother’s colostrum.
This episode will also feature Jonny Kelly from Limavady, an arable and livestock farmer. He works 800 acres of land cultivating barley, wheat, rye and maize. In the first episode, he attends to his machinery in preparation for the upcoming spring to ensure the busy season goes well.

The February episode will also feature Leanne and Trevor Hutchinson from outside Maghera who are first-time farmers with pigs, hens and turkeys.
“It’s fabulous that our audiences enjoy watching the day-to-day of farming life and hopefully they are learning more about the ‘farm to fork’ journey,” said Tony Curry, Programmes Editor at UTV.
He also said that the show continues to shine a light on the thriving agri-industry in Northern Ireland.
“It’s always a pleasure to meet the families that take part in Rare Breed,” said Managing Director, Kelda Crawford-McCann.
“This series has something for everyone – from families just starting out on their farming journey, to third and fourth generations combining the old with the new, and learning from each other.
“It’s a great reflection of the breadth and depth of farming in Northern Ireland.”
The series is produced for UTV by local independent production company Strident.