While conditions have eased considerably since the hurricane force winds that battered large parts of the country last week, farmers in many areas are continuing to feel the after-effects of the weather. Charles Darwin’s theory speaks of natural selection and survival of the strongest. And, as the theory goes, only the strongest structures on farms survived.

While Limerick was one of the victims, the battering was not limited to Shannonside, with excessive damage reported all along the south, south west, south east and east of the country.

Last Wednesday saw the most ferocious conditions of the recent storms. Winds raged up to 177kph. Trees were uprooted. Roofs were blown from sheds. Power lines were knocked. All types of farms have been victims of the storms. Poultry, dairy and beef farms have all reported some level of damage.

“It was the worst bit of damage I ever have seen on farms,” Tom Cooke from Hospital in Limerick said.

While power has been restored to most farms, there are still in the region of 5,000 homes and businesses without electricity. At its worst, there were close to 300,000 without electricity. The absence of power left milking conditions difficult for those affected.

With many farmers in the middle of calving, the need to keep cows milked was great. Being unable to milk a cow that has recently calved for a day or two would have enormous consequences.

“I was without power for two days,” Martin Carew, who milks 180 cows in Holycross, explained. “I went in to make tea on the Wednesday about a quarter to two because I thought it was too harsh to be out in it. The power was then gone for the next couple of days. I had to milk using an old vacuum pump. It was slow, very slow, but I got there. Others struggled for a couple of days,” Carew said.

Doon farmer Martin Crowe became somewhat of local hero as a result of a generator and a decades old Ford 7000 tractor. When the power went on Wednesday afternoon, he hooked up the PTO-driven generator to milk his 90 cows. His neighbours too needed help.

“I got word from a neighbour that their uncle hadn’t been able to milk so I brought the generator to his farm and we did the milking for him there. There was also a couple of other farmers with five and eight cows that needed to be milked so we took care of that as well. It was a blessing for the area here. It’s great to see neighbours pulling together through a bit of adversity,” Crowe said.

Insurance, or the lack thereof, will be problem for some if not all of those who have been affected by the storm.

Ross McEnery is a poultry and beef farmer from near Newcastle West. He was alerted by a neighbour that the canopy of his 12,000 capacity free-range bird house was blown off.

When he arrived at the house he saw the damage was much more severe. As a result of the high winds, the entire house has shifted 6in to the right and FBD has declared it unsafe. He is urging insurance companies to protect farmers.

“The insurance assessor was in the place on Monday. He took one look at it and condemned the shed. It’s a huge loss. The insurance companies need to step up and help every farmer who has been affected by the storms. They were happy enough to take my money for the premiums last October so they need to take responsibility now too,” he said.

Martin Carew too will be affected. “I don’t have insurance on the sheds at all. I’ll rebuild what damage is done and take it from there. The wind came in, lifted the roof back about 30ft and hit the corner of another shed. The cows are usually feeding there but I hadn’t put anything out because of the weather. If the cows had been there, 20 of them could be dead now. It was fair scary but could’ve been a lot worse at the same time,” Carew said.

At the time of going to print, Met Eireann is forecasting an easing off of rain in the coming days. The storm force conditions which battered the country would appear to be over.