When Paul and Elizabeth McDonnell moved to Co Laois 10 years ago they needed to find a way to keep the grass down on their acreage.
Unwilling to submit to the bureaucracy of cattle and sheep, they bought a couple of alpacas.
Fast forward 10 years and their flock has expanded to one of the biggest in the country.
In the first episode of Ear to the Ground, which returns to RTÉ One tonight, October 25th, at 8.30pm, the couple tell us all about life with a flock of alpacas.
Alpaca wool is very fine and very valuable but, as there is no processor in Ireland, the couple have set up an Alpaca Owner Association where they market their fleeces as wool, pillows and duvets.
They also run courses for prospective alpaca owners and sell the surplus males to guard sheep flocks, and as pets. Not only that, but alpacas are actually used as therapy animals too.
Watch Helen Carroll speak with the McDonnell family below:
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Elsewhere in the show, Ella McSweeney speaks with dairy farmers in Co. Kilkenny to find out how they handled dry wells and burnt field in Ireland's driest summer in 40 years.
Farmers Gerry and James Nolan, a father and son team from Clara, had to draw water from the River Nore in an attempt to survive the drought. The effects are still being seen and they are still struggling with low water pressure.
Finally, in Co Waterford, Darragh McCullough speaks with farmers Edmond Phelan and Jim Parkinson.
This year, Edmond is reducing the number of cattle he will fatten, now that the long-term viability of the beef sector is in doubt.
With most farmers losing money on cattle, Jim, an award-winning suckler cow producer, is wondering how long he can continue to subsidise his passion.
Watch Ear to the Ground on RTÉ One, October 25th at 8.30pm.
