Summer 2016 has seen a huge variation in weather around the country. Western and northern counties have had to deal with higher than average rainfall, while eastern and southern regions have escaped relatively unscathed by the weather woes.

John Daly is a tillage and sheep farmer in Kilconnell, mid-Galway. He says ground has deteriorated in the last 10 days and he has been unable to cut anything since 20 September.

John, like many farmers, is calling for an extension of the 15 October deadline for spreading slurry: “I still have second cut to do and slurry is almost at a full stop, if we spread slurry the way it is at the moment, it will be in the river the following morning.”

Weather in Galway has been particularly bad, with IFA president Joe Healy calling for a plan to help tillage farmers in crisis in the west, which includes an aid package for tillage farmers who have suffered badly due to loss of crops.

John says his corn yields are on the ground and are an absolute disaster this year and he has yet to begin sowing. He predicts around 40% of animals will be housed in his local area by the end of this week and can’t remember the situation ever being as bad. “Everyone is in the same boat around here. This is one of the worst years I’ve ever seen and I’m contracting 27 years.”

Coastal fog causing problems

Similar conditions have been felt along the southern coast, with Clonakilty tillage farmer David O’Brien describing levels of rainfall along the south as “shocking”. He said around 40% of grain has yet to be harvested and fog has been causing huge problems for farmers anywhere up to 30 miles in from the coast. “Coastal fog is causing moist air and the crops are soaking up this moisture. Fellas are taking out crops at any moisture level, just to get them harvested.”

David believes moisture penalties will be serious for tillage farmers and lead to another income crisis. He says slurry is a distant thought, with straw still remaining on the ground and animals unable to graze, all delaying spreading for another while.

Northern Ireland

The continued wet weather is putting pressure on farmers in Northern Ireland, particularly with the closed period for spreading slurry looming at the middle of next month.

Dairy and tillage farmer Alistair Craig from Limavady, Co Derry, hopes the deadline is extended this year as he has nearly 100,000 gallons of slurry still to put out.

Although the northwest is a high-rainfall area, Alistair farms on dry land at the coast. “Our ground can usually carry quite well and we are under pressure at the minute so there will be a lot of other farmers in the same or worse positions,” he said.

He said he has a cut of silage ready to put in and, although all his cereals have been cut, there is still 50 acres of straw left to bale.

Alistair said that the high- and medium-yielding groups of cows are being housed at night and that lameness has been an issue with cows this year as roadways have been in poor condition with the high rainfall.

Even younger stock are damaging certain fields

In Omagh, Co Tyrone, dairy farmer Richard Marshall has housed all his cows day and night from last week and says that they most likely will not be out again. “Even younger stock are damaging certain fields and if conditions get much worse they will have to go in too,” he said.

Richard has most of the third-cut silage still to go in to the pit, with some baled last week for a start. There is slurry to go out as well with a contractor due to come at the end of the week to spread with the umbilical system around the farmyard. “We couldn’t spread with anything else – there is no way a tanker would carry on ground at the minute. Even when it isn’t raining, there is little drying from now on with the nights getting longer too,” he added.

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