After a weekend of heavy rainfall reaching from 30mm to as high as 50mm in some areas, Maeve Regan spoke to farmers in some of the worst affected areas of the north, west and east to gauge the mood.
Dairy farmer Kieran McDermott with his father Jim on the farm at Clones, Co. Monaghan.
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Co Monaghan dairy farmer Kieran McDermott said he is having to adapt to manage the wet weather, with some parts of the farm worse affected than others. McDermott has said that dry ground has been able to soak up most of the excess water, but softer paddocks are finding it harder to deal with the level of rainfall, leading to sticky ground conditions. “The weekend's rain means we are now trying to juggle paddocks, trying to avoid any wet areas. It has set things back slightly; farmers can’t plan ahead, and just have to wait day by day on how the weather pans out.”
Further west, Co Mayo beef farmer Michael Biggins has said that his area did not receive as much rain as expected over the weekend, only receiving a lot of rain Saturday night. "A lot of farmers in the west are suffering from poor ground conditions after the weekend, with some farmers faced with the idea of re-housing," he said.
Moving to the southeast, Wexford tillage farmer John Murphy said the weekend rain did not disrupt the harvest any more than it has done so already.
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Forecast
The forecast remains unsettled for the week ahead. Tuesday will start bright for all the country although heavy showers are expected to move across the country from the southwest before clearing tonight. Wednesday will be wet and breezy, with most of the country expected to see rain at some stage. The outlook for after that is a continuation of unsettled conditions, with temperatures struggling to get above 16°C.
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Co Monaghan dairy farmer Kieran McDermott said he is having to adapt to manage the wet weather, with some parts of the farm worse affected than others. McDermott has said that dry ground has been able to soak up most of the excess water, but softer paddocks are finding it harder to deal with the level of rainfall, leading to sticky ground conditions. “The weekend's rain means we are now trying to juggle paddocks, trying to avoid any wet areas. It has set things back slightly; farmers can’t plan ahead, and just have to wait day by day on how the weather pans out.”
Further west, Co Mayo beef farmer Michael Biggins has said that his area did not receive as much rain as expected over the weekend, only receiving a lot of rain Saturday night. "A lot of farmers in the west are suffering from poor ground conditions after the weekend, with some farmers faced with the idea of re-housing," he said.
Moving to the southeast, Wexford tillage farmer John Murphy said the weekend rain did not disrupt the harvest any more than it has done so already.
Forecast
The forecast remains unsettled for the week ahead. Tuesday will start bright for all the country although heavy showers are expected to move across the country from the southwest before clearing tonight. Wednesday will be wet and breezy, with most of the country expected to see rain at some stage. The outlook for after that is a continuation of unsettled conditions, with temperatures struggling to get above 16°C.
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