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Trouble in the fields as Donegal
harvest fails
06.10.16
DONEGAL tillage farmers
and their counterparts along the west coast have
seen their crops wiped out due to the wet summer, a
TD has said.
Inishowen-based Deputy Charlie McConalogue said
coastal crop farmers have suffered a "devastating"
season due to the heavy rainfall.
It's estimated tillage farmers will lose an average
of about €14,000 on this year's income due to the
harvest failure.
Deputy McConalogue has now called on Agriculture
Minister Michael Creed to work to secure emergency
EU funding to help those affected.
“Tillage farmers in coastal counties have suffered a
devastating summer with heavy downpours leaving the
land saturated and the harvest at risk. This is the
main source of income for these farm families and
their livelihoods are now seriously jeopardised,"
said Deputy McConalogue, FF's agriculture spokesman. |
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Bale us out: Donegal TD calls for
emergency EU aid for tillage farmers. |
“Tillage incomes have
been decimated over the past number of months –
Teagasc estimates that the average income will have
fallen by €14,000 to €20,000 this year. Any further
losses as a result of a ruined summer harvest would
be disastrous for these families. The Minister must
act to help them.
“Farmers have watched their livelihoods disintegrate
before their eyes – the price that they are getting
for their crops is now substantially below
production costs and many are really struggling to
stay afloat."
Meanwhile, Deputy McConalogue also called for an
extension to the deadline for spreading slurry -
also badly hit by the summer rainfall.
“There are fewer than 10 days to go until the (Oct
15) deadline for slurry spreading kicks in, but many
farmers across the country need more time. The bad
weather over the past couple of months has left
large areas of farmland completely waterlogged and
farmers have been unable to spread." |
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