Denis Lehane: That was the year farmers spent four months in oilskins
Farming by its nature is critically dependent on weather.
Unstable weather can lead to extra feed costs on farms, and to crop and harvesting difficulties, to name but a few weather-related issues.
The last few months have certainly been difficult, weather-wise.
Earlier this week, IFA National Sheep chairman John Lynskey voiced concern at the impact severe winter weather was having on sheep farmers.
He said: “Sheep farmers are having to feed extra concentrate supplements, which are adding substantially to costs.
“For lambs and hoggets, feeding costs are rising substantially, and farmers can not countenance any reduction in prices at this expensive time of year.”
Looking beyond the financial woes that harsh weather brings, gloomy weather can also take its toll on the farmer.
Last weekend, I met Coachford, Co Cork, farmer, Con Murphy, who spoke candidly about the effect the weather can have on a farmer’s well-being.
Con told me of his own experience. “For me, I suppose it all started in September 2008. I had always looked forward to attending the National Ploughing Championships, as I got a great kick out of the social side of it. However, that particular year, it seemed to fall flat for me.
“I came home and felt exhausted. I had no energy and didn’t want to go out in the morning. In the beginning, my family were putting it down to me being tired after a long year and all the rest of it. But it got worse. It got to the stage where I really didn’t care. I lost interest in the farm, which wasn’t like me at all.
“Back then, I didn’t have depression on my mind as the cause of my problems, and maybe it was that I didn’t want to believe I had it.”
After pressure from his family, Con eventually agreed to go and see his local GP, and it was here that he received the help he needed. Con suffered for six months from depression, with antidepressants finally helping him to overcome the illness.
He is not alone in this battle, with his own doctor estimating that as many as 30% of his patients will come in at some time with a form of depression.
“It’s OK not to feel OK,” says Con. Since his brush with depression, he has spoken openly in the media, including Ear to the Ground, RTÉ1’s main rural programme.
“Talk is the most important preventive measure we have when it comes to fighting depression. My biggest regret is that I didn’t put my hands up sooner and say I felt I was in trouble. Depression feeds on isolation. Depression would prefer that you would not talk. I treat depression now as my enemy.
“And should my enemy appear anytime in the future, I will fight it from the start.”
Con, in partnership with his son Donncha, milks 140 cows. Con is a hardworking, articulate, outgoing man. He is an optimist by nature, and a straight talker who is not afraid to speak his mind, particularly when it comes to mental well-being.
“The pace in farming at the moment is unreal. In dairy farming, it’s ferocious, with many farmers under severe pressure.”
And of course, the bad weather compounds that runaway pace of work.
“When you have to spend four months of the year in oilskins, it cannot be good for you,” says Con.
“I know rain is something we get a lot of in this country, but this year has been exceptional. The bad weather has meant that dairy cows, which in this part of the country would be out since February, are still indoors. They have been locked up now for six months on most farms.
“With expansion being the name of the game, particularly in dairy farming, at the moment some farmers are under fierce pressure, in cases perhaps taking on more than they can handle.
“And then, in the middle of it all, you can have the likes of Teagasc telling us to ‘Get cows out, get slurry out, get fertiliser out.’
For farmers who might be finding it hard enough to get outside their own door this year, such tasks can prove to be impossible.
“Most dairy farmers are totally focused now, and if you listen to farm advice like that, you might start asking yourself, ‘Am I doing something wrong?’ Teagasc are telling me to get the fertiliser out, when I can’t even get my tractor into the field.
“In such a circumstance in farming, particularly if you are on your own, you could start believing that you are a failure.
“You might feel that you can’t keep pace with your peers. What is that, only the beginning of depression? Depression tells you you are a failure, and you believe it.”
Another bone of contention with Con is the talk that surrounds one man milking 100 cows. “The magic number of 100 cows has been bandied about a lot lately. One man, they say, can manage 100 cows. Well, to my mind, he will be a great man if he can do it. There is managing, and there is barely coping, and there can be a subtle difference between the two. If you want to run your dairy business properly, to turn out good calves and milk your cows, one man cannot do it. I feel it’s just another example of farmers being pushed to the limit.”
While passionate about farming life, Con makes more time for himself and his family these days.
And bringing extra joy to the lives of the Con and Mary Murphy in recent times has been the arrival of their first two grandchildren, Anna and Aoife.
Con says: “If I had known my grandchildren would be this enjoyable, I’d have had them first.”
