Answering questions by Fianna Fáil TD Anne Rabbitte and independent TD Michael Fitzmaurice on assistance for grain growers hit by the combination of excessive rain in the west and four years of low prices, Minister Creed said the €11.1m due from the latest European aid package could not be used to help the tillage sector.

"Under the terms of the deal approved by the Commission, it’s a scheme that currently excludes the tillage sector. We’re looking at what other alternatives we might be in a position to deliver," he said, adding that the Government was exploring other avenues in the lead up to the tillage forum convened for next Thursday. "I hope that something positive will emerge by then," he said, promising that he would go into the forum with "an open mind" to listen to industry representatives' concerns rather than tell them what the Department wants to do.

Conditions are ferocious in trying to cut corn

Fitzmaurice stressed that "conditions are ferocious in trying to cut corn " in western counties. "You can actually pull the root out of the ground," he said. " There are farmers, I’ve seen them crying because they don’t know what is going to happen with the way things are at the moment," he added. "When they are trying to transfer the grain from the bin of the harvester into the trailer, the gearboxes are busting because the moisture is so high."

Listen to three western IFA chairmen describe the situation in their counties in our podcast below:

Rabbitte warned that farmers unable to bring in their harvest were "panicking" and faced mental health issues as they deal with their banks and suppliers. "There’s a cash crisis with the harvest," she said. "Without a dramatic increase in cereal prices the situation is unlikely to be resolved."

The minister agreed with their assessment of the situation and added: "It’s including outside the tillage sector in respect of cattle that have been in in some areas, particularly on heavy ground where rainfall has been quite high for the months of June, July and August."

Read our full coverage of weather difficulties in the Irish Farmers Journal this Thursday.

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