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August has seen no improvement in the weather, with heavy rains again on Tuesday.
Yet again, the northwest in particular is on the receiving end of the worst conditions. Land is saturated, cattle are being housed and silage is being fed.
The latest figures from Met Éireann show that rainfall levels for June and July were well up on normal, with the weather station in Newport, Co Mayo, recording 330mm compared to an average of 190mm.
The station at Finner, Co Donegal, recorded 294mm of rain compared to 163mm in the same period last year, while Ballyhaise, Co Cavan, was up at 216mm compared to 141mm last year.
The number of very wet days, as recorded by Met Éireann, ranged from one day at Oak Park, Co Carlow, to nine days at both Athenry, Co Galway, and Valentia Observatory, Co Kerry
July’s wettest day was recorded at Valentia Observatory, Co Kerry, when 54.5mm (more than 2in) of rain fell on Wednesday 29 July. That was the wettest July day recorded at Valentia since 1940.
The number of wet days recorded last month ranged from 11 days at Roche’s Point, Co Cork, to 22 days at Finner, Co Donegal. The number of very wet days, as recorded by Met Éireann, ranged from one day at Oak Park, Co Carlow, to nine days at both Athenry, Co Galway, and Valentia Observatory, Co Kerry.
In addition to Valentia, three other stations recorded rainfall more than twice their long-term July average. These included Dunsany, Co Meath, with 130.9mm, Athenry, Co Galway, with 174.3mm and Casement Aerodrome, Co Dublin, with 114.4mm.
Carrickmacross, Co Monaghan
Drystock farmer Eamon Meade said. “Thrive is down, it’s getting fairly guttery.
“There was great heat when the sun got out on Tuesday, but we had a very wet night.”
There’s nothing going on in the fields, except for little bits of baling, he reported.
He noted a huge turnout in Carnaross Mart on Monday.
“There were 600 lots on Monday compared to 250 lots the same week last year. The weather has to be part of the reason. Dairy farmers are saying grass dry matter is down from 16% to 12%.”
Cloone, Co Leitrim
“We’re not housing yet, but there has been a lot of rain in the last few days,” the Cloone farmer told the Irish Farmers Journal. He said a lot of farmers still need to make silage. “First cuts were great quality but small in quantity. Some people held off and there’s been few chances to cut since the weather broke in June. There was a reprieve a fortnight ago. A lot of work was done then, but there’s plenty left still to be done.”
Last year’s bad autumn is still fresh in farmers’ minds.
“It started to rain in August, and never stopped until Christmas,” recalled Kelly.
Claremorris, Co Mayo
Dairy farmer Timmy Quinn was hoping for a few dry days in Claremorris when he spoke to the Irish Farmers Journal.
“We had half an inch (13mm) rain on Tuesday. Everywhere’s fairly wet. There was some drying over the weekend, but we really need a couple of dry weeks. There’s loads of grass but usability is an issue.”
He said the great weather from April to mid-June was now a distant memory.
“We had a great couple of months, perfect weather for the land around here, but we are now heading for two wet months.”
Burnfoot, Co Donegal
Donegal suckler farmer James Strain relayed a similar tale.
“We had torrential rain the weekend before last, got a bit of drying, but now more heavy rain has things back to square one.
“We’re not in dire straits yet, but I’m strongly thinking of weaning the winter calves.”
While he hasn’t housed on the Inishowen peninsula, down in Killygordon near Ballybofey, Patrick Kelly was housing yearlings.
“We hope it’s only for a couple of days, but underfoot conditions are poor enough,” he said.
Broken weather will continue on Thursday and heavy rain is forecast for the southwest on Friday. However, the weekend looks more promising. High pressure will build over Ireland on Saturday and as a result it will be a mostly dry and bright day with clear spells. Sunday will be another mostly dry and calm day with clear conditions at first.
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