Des McHugh, Ballinamore, Co Leitrim

“We are all living in hope of dry weather. Some 190.8mm has fallen in the last 30 days, with nearly no dry days during the whole month.

“Farmers across the country are finding it difficult to get grain and silage done. Some up this country have got a small bit done in the last 10 days or so, but it is going to take a full dry week for ground to dry up again.

“I know of some suckler farmers who have stock put back into the shed. It’s all going to have a knock-on effect and will affect the farmers’ incomes.

“The quality of silage, if it has been got, has been poor. There is little to no after-grass and farmers are having to compromise.

"I think once we get into late August, it will be difficult for the land to dry up and will take much longer. Many farmers in Leitrim run smaller lots of cows together, which helps with poaching, but all we can do is hope it improves.”

Jim Mulhall, Kilkenny IFA chair

“Poor weather is creating problems for us; grazing conditions are very difficult. Grass growth is good, but the challenge is to manage grass.

"We are lucky to have relatively dry land, so we are keeping cattle moving. We are leaving grass behind us to avoid poaching, but it’s what we have to do.

"We cut second-cut silage last week, it was a smash and grab kind of thing. People are picking silage up straight after the mower.

"Looking forward, we should be okay, we have a fodder budget done before winter arrives. All in all, it could be a lot worse.”

Stephen Canavan, Corofin, Galway IFA chair

“This wet weather is a serious issue. There has been a lot of second cut that has not been taken out and barley crops locally have all lodged.

"Farmers that are not highly stocked have not put cows in, but if this continues, they will be going into the shed much earlier than normal.

"Some farmers around north Galway can’t get cows into some of the heavy low-lying fields even to get them grazed. I have been hearing of ones that would normally cut hay, but that won’t happen this year.

“The concerning question is have farmers enough fodder got. I think you will see a large number of cattle coming into marts earlier than normal this year, but with payments coming late this year, farmers might not have the ability to be buying.”

Joe Sweeney, Donegal IFA chair

“Conditions are tough enough. I’m farming sucklers and sheep in Donegal. Soil is saturated, many farmers have second-cut silage to cut yet.

"It hasn’t been the year for grass we hoped for. We use strip fencing to graze and we’re seeing some poaching behind fences. I know some heavier stocked farms are putting livestock in at night.

"We’re hoping for a dry, friendly August and September - land needs time to dry. We won’t see much golden straw around the country this year; crops have taken an awful battering.”

Mary Fleming, Kerry IFA second chair

“July was a wash-out. Land around Kerry is very wet. I know people who have housed cattle as a resort. We’re also feeding cattle meal at the minute too.

"As a result of the poor weather, we haven’t yet cut second-cut silage. We need to wait for the weather to clear up before we do.

"This year in particular has been a tough year for the family farm. We’re hoping for good weather going forward so things activity can resume.”

Michael O’Dowd, Tubbercurry, Sligo IFA chair

“It has been atrocious. There were only two days last week that were dry and some farmers did manage to cut one day and make bales the next.

"The ground conditions are making it very difficult to get the silage gathered. The heavy rain is causing big problems in fields, but I haven’t seen a July like this year’s, even the ACRES land can’t be cut.

"Suckler farmers have cattle in the shed, but not too many of them yet. The cows are eating into the winter supply of fodder, which is not plentiful and unless the weather changes, there will be problems.

“I am trying to manage the grazing myself and moving the stock around, so they don’t poach the fields to much. The cows are taking shelter under trees and hedges more often now, so there is damage being done.

“The sun could really do with coming back out even for the farmers' health. Shows are getting cancelled and, overall, it’s not looking good as the summer jobs are not done yet.”