On Thursday and Friday mornings, up to a metre of snow drifted in from the fields on to the concrete yards, approach roads, stand-off pad and topless cubicles. Additional help was brought to the farm on Friday to support the farm manager and staff in getting cows milked and both cows and calves fed.

It was reported by other media that the cows were not milked for almost two days. This was not correct. The herd was milked on Thursday morning and again on Friday evening once enough snow was removed to allow the herd to walk in for milking. Without the farm staff making a serious effort, this would not have happened. The milking cows were out grazing again on Monday night.

Unfortunately, two cows and six calves from the herd of 365 cows died during the period of the Met Éireann status red weather warning on the farm.

The farm staff are gutted by these losses as the farm’s health track record has been exceptional up to this incident. The weather conditions last Thursday night were unprecedented and caused enormous hardship on many farms, Greenfield included, at one of the most critical times of the year for dairy farms.

Over 270 of the 365 cows due to calve were calved by the start of the red weather warning on Thursday evening.

Milk tanker

There were suggestions from some sources that all calves were exposed and not housed but this is not true. Snow blew into the calf sheds similar to many farmyards. The farm is relatively near the main road and luckily the milk tanker made it into the yard at 11pm on Sunday night.

The lorry got stuck and it was 2pm before it eventually left the farm. Farm staff are very thankful that by Monday most of the snow had melted and yards and passageways are clear once again. What was a very difficult period for the farm has passed, but will live long in the memory for those involved.

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