Farmers who are concerned about water supplies for their livestock amid the ongoing severe cold snap are being urged to seek help.
Met Éireann has said that temperatures dropped to as low at 6°C in parts of the country overnight with the freezing conditions expected to last until the weekend.
Uisce Éireann has said that around 4,500 customers – mainly in Tipperary, Limerick and Kerry – currently have no water supply.
Farmers
The Munster Regional chair of the Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA) Conor O’Leary has told Agriland that helplines have been set up to help farmers who are in need of support with water supplies.
He said that some farms have been without a water supply for four days now and may not have a supply restored until Saturday.
O’Leary said that both the IFA and county councils have been getting calls from farmers who are concerned for the livestock as they cannot get access to water.
“What we’re doing from this morning is we’re setting up some helplines where farmers can ring in if they have issues of getting water to stock and we will see if local [IFA] branches can help those farmers get some tanks of water for them,” he said.
If farmers are experiencing difficulties, the IFA Munster regional chair has strongly encouraged them to contact their local IFA office or their local authority helpline, as follows:
- IFA Cork: 021 4545944;
- IFA Kerry: 066 7123279;
- IFA Limerick: 061 314196;
- IFA Tipperary: 067 32213;
- IFA Member Services (phone & broadband) 0818 924 852.
Local authority helplines
- Cork County Council: 021 4800048;
- Kerry County Council: 066 718 3588;
- Limerick County Council: 061 556000;
- Tipperary County Council: 0818 06 5000.
A Status Orange low temperature/ice warning for the majority of the country will remain in place until 10:00a.m today (Wednesday, January 8).
Another Status Orange warning for low temperatures and ice in Leinster, Cavan, Monaghan, Munster, Connacht will come into force from 6:00p.m today until 11:00a.m tomorrow.
While a Status Yellow low temperature/ice warning for Ireland will be in place until midday on Friday (January 10).
ESB Networks said that as at 6:45a.m there were around 4,000 homes, farms and businesses without power supply.
Teagasc has advised farmers to monitor water consumption of animals carefully during the cold conditions.
The most vulnerable groups of animals to water shortage are milking cows, animals on high concentrate diets and animals fed hay, straw or other very dry feeds.
Milking cows must have access to drinking water at all times. A cow producing 30 litres of milk and being fed a silage- based diet requires 75-90 litres (16-20 gallons) of water per day.
Finishing animals on high levels of dry feed, such as high concentrate diets have a big demand for water. An animal consuming 10kg dry matter of dry feed will need 60 litres (13 gallons) of water daily.
Teagasc said that concentrate feeding levels should be reduced and animals put on wet silage fed to appetite, where an adequate water supply cannot be provided.
These animals need to be introduced to meals gradually again once water supply is restored.
Teagasc added that reducing mineral intake may reduce the demand for water, particularly in sheep.
“If access of livestock to water has been restricted and then suddenly made available, over-drinking or water toxicity can cause health problems and even fatalities in extreme cases. Allow gradual access to water initially, when animals are extremely thirsty,” Teagasc said.