AN Inishowen farmer has
called on the Government to urgently help small
farmers in the county after one of the worst summers
on record.
Sinn Féin's Cllr Pádraig MacLochlainn said many
small farmers were facing hardship due to incessant
rainfall that has left crop-holders unable to
harvest.
"Due to the adverse weather conditions recently,
many crop farmers are facing tough times as entire
harvests have been wiped out," said Cllr
MacLochlainn.
"Many livestock farmers are also being severely hit
as they are unable to harvest silage etc. This,
along with rising input costs such as "the three fs",
fuel, feed, and fertilser, means many farmers will
soon be in serious financial difficulty. The
hardship will be felt most by those with small and
medium sized farms."
The Buncrana-based representative said he was
regularly hearing stories from around Donegal about
the hardships caused by the recent run of bad
weather.
"It is imperative that the Minister for Agriculture
Brendan Smith brings forward proposals to alleviate
some of the hardships being faced by these farmers
and their families," he said.
Mr Smith last week announced one such measure - a
temporary extension of the period when farmers can
spread slurry. The extension will run from August 31
until October 15. |
