Rains come as a relief after three weeks of arctic farming conditions

FLOODING became a new threat for farmers this week, after nearly three weeks of sub-zero temperatures throughout the country.

However, rain was a welcome change for many after the weeks of frozen water supplies, slippery farmyards, crops frozen in the fields, livestock outdoors threatened by hunger and snowdrifts, and rural roads difficult to travel on.

Snow and ice have made it difficult for tankers to collect milk, and crops such as potatoes, sprouts and cabbages, cauliflowers, spring greens, and leeks were damaged as harvesting came to a halt.