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Maura Ryan-Kavanagh, and Martin Kavanagh, Cashel, Co Tipperary
“The Suir burst its banks after never flooding all winter. There is about 20ac under water and another 20ac waterlogged. The water is flowing under the gate.
“Last Saturday was D-Day for us. I was going to let out some yearlings but the rain that fell was dreadful. By Friday I knew there wasn’t a hope. Everywhere is sodden, even on the drier fields you are squelching along.
“I was hoping to get the factory cattle out before St Patrick’s Day but everything is knocked back now. The cattle won’t eat the grass after being flooded.”
Francie Collins, Tournafulla, Co Limerick
“Everything is still in the shed but that’s not unusual in this area. If we can get out at any stage in March it will be a bonus.
“Dates don’t mean an awful lot around here. We have black soil that if you damage it early in the year you will suffer the whole year for it.
“I’d like to have cows out to grass as they calve but we can’t.”
Winston Ashmore, Ballycarney, Co Wexford.
“We had a fair amount of rain, about an inch or more in a couple of days. The land is very wet so work is at a standstill. The winter wheat needs to be dressed but you won’t travel the land.
“The winter barley is looking good but winter wheat is looking hungry now.
“I would like to be sowing beans before 17 March but that depends on the weather. This week is definitely out but a few good days in March can turn it around very quickly.”
Padraig Barron, New Ross, Co Wexford.
“The cows are going out for a few hours nearly every day, we just allocate enough grass for two or three hours. I would like to go out full time but they would only mark the ground and hit the regrowth for when we need it most.”
Eddie McQuinn, agricultural
adviser, Tralee, Co Kerry
“I haven’t seen land as wet for a long number of years. After the weekend rain, there is a river of water flowing out every gap, a film of water on every field.
“The big plus is that there are tremendous covers of grass in fields, we just need a couple of dry days to get a chance. There is plenty of grass but efficient grazing is impossible at the moment.
“Silage is getting quite tight in yards. It’s no crisis but they are keeping it under close observation.”
Ed Payne, Tulsk, Co Roscommon
“The turlough was dry all winter but the rain that fell on Friday and Saturday filled it up. It takes a lot of rain to fill it that quickly. But it had to come at some stage, on the law of averages.
“The cows are out on drier parts of the farm on/off grazing. If it stops raining, the turlough will go away inside a week.”
Brian Nicholson, Johnstown, Co Kilkenny
“We had torrential rain Thursday, Friday and Saturday. My dry fields are sodden, the quad was putting tracks in the field. I had a group from UCD visit on Friday and the fields were marked by people just walking on them.
“I held ewes and lambs in the shed until the lambs were strong and hardy. Last Wednesday’s lambs went out on Sunday.”
Brian Treanor, Emyvale, Co Monaghan
“We didn’t get as much rain as the lads in the south but ground conditions have deteriorated significantly. Land is wetter now than it was in January.
“Conditions all throughout January were suitable for slurry but we couldn’t go out until 1 February. It has rained since. There was a small window in early February alright when lads got a fair bit of emergency-type slurry out.There is very little stock out around here, bar a few outliers.”
Aidan McCarthy, Schull, Co Cork
“We got lashed with rain and the cows are inside since Friday. We had been on/off grazing for a few hours every day since 11 February but it’s really miserable down here now.
“There is no point putting them out, they would do way too much damage. There are really heavy covers to graze once the weather turns again.”
Raphoe, Co Donegal, farmer PJ McMonagle has escaped the worst rain to have his cows out on grass by the middle of February.
Henry Burns says space is becoming an issue in his yard at Mountmellick, Co Laois, as ewes with lambs are being kept inside during the worst weather. He would not expect cattle to go out until after St Patrick’s Day in his area.
Read more
Torrential rain halts play in the south and west
Unharvested oats being grazed with sheep
Beef management: paddock grazing and shed issues
Dairy management: weather and meal feeding
Sheep management: wet weather
Tillage management: wet continues to prevent field activity
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