Local farmers are warning of saturated ground and cattle being rehoused because of the continuous rainfall of the last six weeks.
Speaking on this morning's Joe Finnegan Show, Tydavnet diary farmer, Gerard Sherlock highlighted how when rainfall levels are compared at the Ballyhaise weather station for July 2022 and July 2023, the indications are that 160mm of rain has fallen this month compared with just 40mm last July.
He highlighted how some farmers have resorted to rehousing heavy cattle over the last three weeks because the ground is too wet for them. Mr Sherlock also pointed to the plight of tillage farmers across the country who are currently unable to harvest their crops.
The Co Monaghan farmers says the next 10 days are vital in terms of planning but he fears that land will become so wet, it won't get a chance to dry out fully this year. He added that climate change is to the fore in the industry and solar panels will be the next big investment that farmers will have to face.
"The climate change; you know farmers are the ideal group of people to put in solar panels and avail of solar energy. But yet there is a reluctance there; it's still a huge investment that has to be made on farms.
"The payback and everything else is just not straight forward and I think that more work has to be done to encourage farmers to go down the solar route," Mr Sherlock said.
