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Daniel Rundle, dairy farmer, Louth
“It’s a lot drier than normal, I’ve never seen it like this. We have about 10 days left of grass but I’m increasing meal to the cattle from 2kg to 5kg.
We had 23mm of rain in May but we really haven’t had any significant rain since St Patrick’s Day. We’re hoping to get a bit of rain over the weekend but it’s not going to be a whole lot.”
Joseph O’Reilly, dairy farmer, Westmeath
“It’s very dry in comparison to what we get normally at this time of year. We’re getting no rain at all. We’re not as bad as 2018 yet but we’re heading in that direction. At least in 2018 we got first-cut silage reasonably heavy. This year, it’s been very light. Second cut isn’t even growing. We’re feeding 5kg of silage, 6kg of meal and 7kg of grass. The cows are holding well and conception rates seem to be going well so far.”
David Moody, tillage farmer, Donegal
“We got a bit of rain over the last 10 days and it’s welcome, but we could do with a bit more. We’re lucky enough we got most of our spring crops planted into a moist spring bed but the later-sown stuff would be struggling a bit. We’ve not really been in severe drought up here but we could do with a bit of rain over the next two weeks.”
Rose McDonnell, sheep and suckler farmer, Sligo
“I’m putting out slurry this week. Forest fires are the big topic here the past week with us; some are still smouldering a week later.
We got a few days of good rain which has helped everything and we’re expecting some scattered showers this week.
“We’re not too bad for grass at the minute but we’re keeping stock to a minimum in fields. The last bit of rain really helped the grass to come on.”
Tony Francis, dairy farmer, Clare
“We had a deluge in March but things now are very dry, we’re burning up and running out of grass. By day, we’re pre-mowing off the very heavy covers and giving them what grass we have by night. The bit of grass we had is just turning to stem.
“We’ll only start feeding silage as a last resort. We’re feeding 7kg of feed. Grass growth is non-existent. We missed even the bits of rain over the last two weeks. There is some hope for rain this week.”
Tom Burke, sheep and suckler farmer, Carlow
“It’s very dry. Water isn’t an issue at the moment but streams and springs have dried up but farmers still have water. Anyone who has shallow wells could be in bother. Drought could have an impact on cattle prices.
“It’s not a grass year – there was no rain in May. We’re very poor for grass on the farm. We haven’t any silage made yet. We’ve had to graze what we have.”
Paul Moore, tillage farmer, Cork
“I’m 10 miles from the coast in east Cork. Things are just about OK, but if the dry spell continues there will be problems. The beans and malting barley are just starting to suffer and could do with some rain. It hasn’t really rained here since late March. In comparison to the drought in 2018, the dry spell started much earlier this year.”
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