'The supplies have run out so this hay is a lifesaver’

Dan Hallissey has been farming full time in Ballymakeera, Co Cork, for 26 years, and this has been the longest winter housing period for livestock that he has had to deal with.

Mr Hallissey, who has 65 cows and 70 dry cattle, said the animals have been on silage since October.

After resorting last week to sourcing fodder locally, yesterday he collected an emergency batch from the Co-op Stores in Ballymakeera

“The cows had a very long winter,” he said. “The supplies have run out so this hay is a lifesaver altogether.

“It has been continuous bad weather. Growth is at a standstill and it is very hard to travel the land. We would normally have the cows out there from March 1.”

He said the cattle were outside for a few hours yesterday but, given the heavy rainfall expected for today and the heavy showers predicted for much of the weekend, they would be inside for the rest of this week.

Mr Hallissey said the two big bales of hay he got yesterday could easily be eaten in a day by his herd.

“I have a bit of silage so I will just mix it up,” he said. “Hopefully the weather will improve next week and the growth will pick up. It will take a few days to dry out.”

He also revealed the financial impact of the prolonged bad weather.

“The milking is down, the solids are down,” he said. “Its making a big difference.

It’s a hard time for farmers, very stressful putting up with all of this.”