Paula Hynes: Irish farmers shouldn't need to rely on hardship funds
Nicole Keohane of Datamars Livestock with Becky on the Hynes farm
It feels like Mother Nature has been at war with farmers since last September when the weather turned for the worst. She has held the upper hand ever since delivering six months of extremely wet weather. However, now Mother Nature seems to be battling herself, undecided if the weather should settle and give respite to waterlogged land.
The fishermen might be the saviours as they are convinced the new moon will settle the weather next week, and I truly hope and pray they are right. I hear much talk of dairy farmers needing a hardship bonus when milk prices for March are announced in a week's time, and I would actually be nothing short of insulted if I was paid a hardship bonus because the reality is dairy processors have ample time to calculate the high cost of producing milk in February and March and need to set a base price that reflects those costs instead of just announcing another pitiful bonus idea.
