Crisis mode for county farmers
WHILE the majority of us have been basking in near record heat over the past couple of weeks, not everyone is celebrating the sunshine. For farmers across the county, they are rapidly entering crisis mode as they battle difficult drought conditions just a few months after the worst snow and rain in recent memory.
‘Absolutely this is the worst I’ve ever seen,’ said IFA county secretary Jer O’Mahony. ‘We’re dealing with real Jekyll and Hyde weather here. We’ve had bad winters before in the past, but usually they are followed by a good summer for us and you can recover and get on with it. This year though we are going from a deluge of rain and seven inches of snow to real drought conditions.’
While Irish farmers have already battled a fodder crisis in the wake of the snow earlier this year, Jer says that things are now getting far worse and action needs to be taken.
‘We’re at the stage where every shed, barn and silo in the county is going to be emptied,’ he said. ‘When people are opening up their pits and using them for feeding at this stage in the year, we’re going to be at a serious deficit down the line. After the snow, there was a first cut of silage which was of good quality, but down on quantity. Since then there has been absolutely zero growth. Next winter’s feed is already being used up without a second cut in the offing. We really are in crisis mode. Farmers are spending up to €500 per day on feed, additives and meal just to keep going.’
While some people might not quite realise the extent of the drought conditions, Jer gave examples of streams, traditionally used for irrigation, completely drying up and farmers having to roughen the hooves of their cattle to stop them falling in exceptionally dry conditions.
Jer is now calling on representatives of the Department of Agriculture to sit down with IFA members and discuss potential solutions to the problem.
‘There should be a task force set up within the department to monitor the winter crops and the spring crops and see what kind of percentage loss we’re dealing with compared to previous years,’ he said. ‘We need to act now before it’s too late. If we get an idea of the extent of the problem now, we can formulate solutions for later in the year.’