John Ryan, Shannonbridge, Co Offaly
John Ryan.
“I’m a dairy farmer and at the minute we have 70ac under water, 30ac of which would be for essential fodder supplies for the winter and 40ac for grazing.
“The water isn’t going away and it’s going to be there for the next month. At the minute, it looks like this is winter from here in.
“I honestly don’t know where we are going to source fodder. I’ll have to try and sell some cattle off to keep the grazing ground right for the dairy cows.
“I’ll be down about 300 bales of hay off the callows plus the ground that I would usually let up for extra silage is now being grazed because my grazing ground is flooded.
“You’re talking of a financial loss of €6,000 for the bales, plus the loss of the grazing ground and the after-grass I’d usually get after cutting my hay is also gone.”
James Nevin, Clonfert, Go Galway
James Nevin.
“I have 57 sucklers and I rely on the Shannon Callows for a lot of my fodder.
“I’m down 300 bales there and cattle are gone home out of it. They’re gone into second cut grass which I’d normally cut as a backup. When that grass is grazed, I’m going to be feeding first-cut bales.
“I’ll have to weigh up my options and see if it’ll be cheaper to sell stock or buy feed.
“Long-term, I don’t know where I’m going to go. I’m trying to pay for a mortgage and rear a family. I’m lucky I have a job on the side.
“The problem is rectifiable but no one cares. There’s too many bodies involved, no one wants to take responsibility. It’s the farmer taking the brunt of it every year.”
John Curley, Clonown, Athlone, Co Roscommon
John Curley.
“I’ve 75ac of land and I’ve 40ac of it under water at the minute. It’s getting worse every year. I could farm my lands for nine months of the year one time and now it’s down to three months.
“There are about 10 bodies involved in this and one is blaming the other. There should be one.
“We have looked for four things; a single authority, lowering of the water levels, removal of the pinch points and proper maintenance of the river.”
John Ryan, Shannonbridge, Co Offaly
John Ryan.
“I’m a dairy farmer and at the minute we have 70ac under water, 30ac of which would be for essential fodder supplies for the winter and 40ac for grazing.
“The water isn’t going away and it’s going to be there for the next month. At the minute, it looks like this is winter from here in.
“I honestly don’t know where we are going to source fodder. I’ll have to try and sell some cattle off to keep the grazing ground right for the dairy cows.
“I’ll be down about 300 bales of hay off the callows plus the ground that I would usually let up for extra silage is now being grazed because my grazing ground is flooded.
“You’re talking of a financial loss of €6,000 for the bales, plus the loss of the grazing ground and the after-grass I’d usually get after cutting my hay is also gone.”
James Nevin, Clonfert, Go Galway
James Nevin.
“I have 57 sucklers and I rely on the Shannon Callows for a lot of my fodder.
“I’m down 300 bales there and cattle are gone home out of it. They’re gone into second cut grass which I’d normally cut as a backup. When that grass is grazed, I’m going to be feeding first-cut bales.
“I’ll have to weigh up my options and see if it’ll be cheaper to sell stock or buy feed.
“Long-term, I don’t know where I’m going to go. I’m trying to pay for a mortgage and rear a family. I’m lucky I have a job on the side.
“The problem is rectifiable but no one cares. There’s too many bodies involved, no one wants to take responsibility. It’s the farmer taking the brunt of it every year.”
John Curley, Clonown, Athlone, Co Roscommon
John Curley.
“I’ve 75ac of land and I’ve 40ac of it under water at the minute. It’s getting worse every year. I could farm my lands for nine months of the year one time and now it’s down to three months.
“There are about 10 bodies involved in this and one is blaming the other. There should be one.
“We have looked for four things; a single authority, lowering of the water levels, removal of the pinch points and proper maintenance of the river.”
SHARING OPTIONS