A farm leader yesterday accused RTÉ of no longer adequately representing Irish farm families by marginalising its regional and rural broadcasting.
Malcolm Thompson, leader of the Irish Cattle and Sheepfarmers' Association, said he would be distressed if Farm News, the evening radio programme, was dropped.
"The new shake-up of the RTÉ Radio 1 schedule has made no mention of Farm News, and its future has not been confirmed, which is distressing.
"Farmers everywhere rely on programmes such as this to get information on beef prices, changes within the industry, and amendments to regulations. It is a vital link in the agri-business sector, and allows non-farming communities to gain an insight into rural life.
"I have noticed myself over the years that regional and rural broadcasting has been confined more and more to the margins, and Irish farm families are no longer adequately represented by their national public service broadcaster," said Mr Thompson.
He urged RTÉ management not to jeopardise its regional audience by any further erosion of agricultural programmes.
Farm News, which celebrated 30 years on air this year, has formed part of the Five Seven Live programme, with a slot on farming at around 6.50pm.
That programme, presented by Rachel English, is being replaced by a programme presented by legal affairs editor Mary Wilson. Her programme is set to run until 6.30pm, when sports commentator Des Cahill is expected to present a programme until 7pm.
Although RTÉ sources yesterday said programming was not yet fully decided, there has been no confirmation if Farm News will form part of the Mary Wilson programme.
It is understood that Damien O'Reilly, former presenter of Farm News, is coming back from sport to present Farm Week, a weekly farm programme.