Two generations of work has been destroyed on the dairy farm of Karol Winters in Taghmon, Co Wexford following heavy snowfall and drifting as a result of Storm Emma.

Speaking on Morning Ireland on RTÉ on Monday, Winters said that he has to keep the show on the road and to keep the business going.

“The kind of snow it was, it just drifted onto sheds and sat on sheds. It was just total destruction here.”

Karol Winters surveys the damage done to his sheds as a result of heavy snowfall from Storm Emma \ Patrick Browne

Karol Winters surveys the damage done to his sheds as a result of heavy snowfall from Storm Emma \ Patrick Browne

Winters lost two sheds – one of them the main calving shed and another shed. The milking parlour is the only thing that is still standing following the storm.

“On Thursday morning those sheds were gone behind us here, the roofs collapsed in on top of the stock. Then we were planning on moving everything over into this newer shed here which we would have been able to manage and Friday morning it collapsed as well.

“It is two generations of work [destroyed]. We’re essentially back in the mid-50s like, that’s where we are now.

“All the stock has to be shipped off the farm except the milking cows they have to be kept here because the milking parlour is the last thing left standing.

“Drystock, young stock, calves, everything will be moved off the farm in the next day or two.”

Snow drifts

Winters said that there was snow drifts up to 10 or 12ft. “We had no idea it was going to be so bad in Wexford, but we were prepared as much as we could be.

“It’s huge stress. When you’re farming, the animal’s welfare is your welfare. You’re depending on the animals solely.

“If it was your own house in the morning it wouldn’t be any worse because at the end of the day, they feel for their stock as much as they feel for their own family.”

Heavy snow brought down farm sheds on Karol Winters farm \ Patrick Browne

Heavy snow brought down farm sheds on Karol Winters' farm \ Patrick Browne

Winters said it’s a “small mercy” that his father isn’t alive to see it because “he put his whole life into it and I’m 15 years here now and it’s heart-breaking for me. We’re back at square one”.

Neighbours

Since Sunday morning, Winters said the farm has been full of people coming to help out.

“The thing about it is, every neighbour has sheds down. So as soon as they fixed up their own situation and fed stock, some of them had to drive four or five miles to feed stock, they were over here dragging cows out, dragging calves out until eight or nine o’clock at night.”

It’s huge stress. When you’re farming, the animal’s welfare is your welfare.

Winters said he has insurance, but that he hasn’t spoken to the insurance company yet.

“We rang them Friday morning, but the company was closed due to the weather. This morning now we’re going to have to get the show on the road and contact the insurance company.

“Within a two-mile radius I’d say there’s 10 to 15 sheds gone. It’s unbelievable. Friday morning not much went, but when the snow started to thaw, coming in to Saturday morning that’s when a lot of the damage was done, with the extra weight on the sheds.

“New sheds, grant-approved sheds, Department-sanctioned sheds, just gone.

“We’re just not used to it (the snow) here. It’s hard to explain, this shed behind us was a grant-aided shed that was built and it was built to the top spec.

“It’s destruction on a massive scale. We’ll have to [get through it]. It’s the welfare of the animals is the main thing. We have to just keep going, there’s not much else we can do.”

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