Most farmers in the west, northwest and midlands remain under severe pressures due to continued wet weather, saturated land and the emotional stress this brings.Co Leitrim farmer Des McHugh said farmers in his area are feeling the brunt of the weather, with over a foot of rain falling since the start of June.
Most farmers in the west, northwest and midlands remain under severe pressures due to continued wet weather, saturated land and the emotional stress this brings.
Co Leitrim farmer Des McHugh said farmers in his area are feeling the brunt of the weather, with over a foot of rain falling since the start of June.
“The situation is at crisis level here in Leitrim. In the last 113 days there has been over 15in of rain which has saturated soils. There has only been seven dry days in Ballinamore since 5 June. The matter is very serious among Leitrim farmers and many are worrying if they will have enough silage in order to meet winter feed requirements.”
For McHugh, the impending slurry deadline of 15 October looms large, with tanks not yet fully emptied.
“Farmers in the west have a shorter spreading period and are struggling with slurry capacity storage. The IFA will be taking every step possible to ensure the deadline for slurry spreading is extended to a point in time where the soils are much more favourable in order to spread slurry,” he added.
Listen to three western IFA chairmen describe the situation in their counties in our podcast below:
Father and son John and Graeme Taylor are dairy farmers in Cloonboygher, near Newtowngore, Co Leitrim, and have been particularly badly affected by the consistent wet weather.
The Taylor family milk 100 pedigree Holstein Friesian cows all year round and have been bearing the brunt of the horrendous weather.
Last week, the Taylors were forced to house their cows full-time in order to prevent poaching and uphold grass quality for the spring.
“The awful weather over the summer meant the cows had to be brought in every night to stop poaching. With no signs of weather improving, my father and I had no other choice but to bring the cows in or risk the animals destroying the land. We are hoping for a fine spell in the near future but if that doesn’t happen, the cows may have to be housed until next spring,” said Graeme.
The Taylors are also hoping for a slurry extension.
John Daly is a tillage and sheep farmer in Kilconnell, mid-Galway. He says ground has deteriorated in the last 10 days and he has been unable to cut anything since 20 September.
“I still have second cut to do and slurry is almost at a full stop, if we spread slurry the way it is at the moment, it will be in the river the following morning.”
September rain
Most Met Éireann weather stations across the country are reporting increases in rainfall amounts for the month of September in comparison with September 2015. Newport in Mayo had rainfall amounts for the first 27 days of September of 184.2mm (7in). Weather stations in Mount Dillion, Co Roscommon, and Finner, Co Donegal, reported an increase in rainfall of 179% and 144% respectively for the first 27 days of September 2016 in comparison with September 2015. However, areas in the east such as Dublin had less rainfall for September in comparison with September 2015 and reported rainfall amounts of 51.3mm for the first 27 days of September 2016.
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