The hugely successful Rare Breed – A Farming Year is to return to screens tomorrow night (January 12) with the new series featuring an inside view of the ups and downs of a Fermanagh farming family's year in 2020.

Rare Breed is the ground-breaking year-in-the-life documentary series charting the reality of farming in Northern Ireland. The series, in its ninth year, features several people including three families whose daughters are stepping up to look after the family business along with a new community farm in County Antrim. And in Fermanagh, the series also meets a young couple running a dairy enterprise.

In the first episode audiences are to be introduced to five of the seven families in the series, including Andrew and Margaret Little from Tempo, where they run a progressive dairy enterprise. Andrew is a second generation farmer working alongside his Dad, Raymond. Former nurse Margaret is busy rearing calves in the farm’s ‘maternity’ unit, driving during silage season, and vaccinating among many other jobs. She also has several Simmental cattle and later in the series we see her and Andrew’s Mum, Katherine developing the vegetable garden for the family.

Tony Curry, Programmes Editor at UTV said, “Rare Breed – A Farming Year has become a firm favourite amongst UTV viewers, and once again, each of the 12 episodes take us through the year, and this year more than most, we see the realities of modern farming and get an armchair view into the lives of the people who carry on this vital tradition and industry. I’m sure the series will entertain, educate and delight in equal measure.”

The series is produced for UTV by Belfast’s Strident Media. Producer Cara Dinsmore said, said, “Rare Breed is a wonderful series to film. It is fascinating to see how different farmers work and how they handle the inevitable highs and lows that the weather and life throw at them”.

Strident Media MD, Kelda Crawford-McCann said, “We really enjoy producing Rare Breed. It’s a pleasure to make, there are so many big characters running farms here. They are always full of enthusiasm for what they do and have genuine interest and passion for their work. We are delighted that every year UTV viewers support the series, watching in their tens of thousands”.

UTV’s Mark McFadden once again narrates the series. Sponsored by Moy Park, Rare Breed – A Farming Year starts on Tuesday, January 12 at 7.30pm on UTV.