Environment

Case study: Weather events cost farmer tens of thousands of euro

John Coughlan, a beef and dairy farmer, dealt with drought, floods and snow in Cork

Farmer John Coughlan: “I would have about 330 cattle at any stage. It cost me €22,000 in extra feed this summer, which is a significant amount.” Photograph: Daragh McSweeney/Provision

Colin Gleeson's face
Colin Gleeson
Mon Dec 31 2018 - 00:28

John Coughlan, a beef and dairy farmer from Co Cork, has had to endure drought, snow, and floods on his farm during the year, costing him tens of thousands of euro between them.

He was particularly badly hit by drought caused by the summer heatwave and the fodder shortage it caused.

“Normally if you have a drought situation in Ireland it happens around August or September, so June was a very early time of year. What that meant was that the best part of the growing season was hampered.

“That drought prolonged up to mid-September, especially in parts of the south from north Cork into south Tipperary, and Waterford was probably one of the worst hit areas. Those farmers lost an awful lot of the growing season for grass.

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“From my own point of view I had to feed an awful lot more meals during the summer. I would have about 330 cattle at any stage. It cost me €22,000 in extra feed this summer, which is a significant amount.

“What it also led to then is that there isn’t as much feed there for the coming winter. I would imagine there are a lot of farms who will have to buy fodder to carry them through these months.”

Coughlan says insurance premiums have gone up “substantially” in recent years, but that storm damage also brings additional costs that are not covered by insurance.

Pressure

“It also created a lot more pressure on farmers from a labour point of view. Most farmers would have their buildings covered for storm damage. But there was a lot of work created by fallen timber.

“There was difficulty as well with electricity, especially dairy farms and pig farms. They are very technical now and there is a lot of equipment that needs electricity to be working right through the day.

“There would have been difficulty in getting cows milked and trying to keep sheds clean. Many farms would have been without power for a week or 10 day, which created an awful a lot of difficulty.

“No farmer can afford that. They had to hire generators, which cost a couple of hundred euro a day, and get electricians in to wire them up because you can’t let a cow go for 24 hours without milking it. Some would have bought a generator, which costs €3,000 to €4,000.”