There’s a call on the Department of Agriculture to step down inspections for farmers due to inclement weather.
The Irish Farmers Association says the recent level of rainfall is causing increasing stress for farm owners as bills mount for them.
The IFA is appealing to everyone in the sector to give farm owners whatever support they can, including leniency from banks.
IFA Deputy President, and Carlow Native Alice Doyle says tillage farmers in particular are being hit hard:
“It’s really bad at the moment we have very heavy rain, we’ve had heavy rain now since early last autumn and it has continued right into the spring and it has really hampered farmers in what they’re trying to do, particularly the tillagefarmers who are way behind at the moment. They have sold very little spring corn, if any, and a lot of winter corn has yet to be sown. I believe over 35,000 hectares are not sown yet”