Veterinary Advice: Farmers must reach out for help in this time of hardship

'It is now April, I for one certainly didn’t think I would still be liming twice a day, it is however a necessity.'

Last week I spoke with Claire Byrne on RTÉ about the hardship of farming in this unsettled weather. My main objective was to highlight the pressures of keeping the animals healthy whilst indoors at the moment. I also spoke about the mental pressures that farmers are under at the moment and how important it is for farmers to reach out for help.

Farm vets are usually on the farm when things are not going well and we meet farmers on their worst days, and many times we are that person that the farmer opens up to. For this reason, I have signed up for “On Feirm ground” on April 17 in Carlow. It is a new programme open to all agricultural professionals including all farm vets and vet nurses. It is a joint initiative between the DAFM and the HSE to equip us with the skill and knowledge to engage with farmers on health and well-being matters on the farm. More information is available on Engagetraining.ie for anyone who may be interested.