The president of the Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers’ Association (ICMSA), Pat McCormack, believes that it may have been “wiser” to cancel day two of the ‘Ploughing’ earlier than it was.

Day two of the 82nd National Ploughing Championships in Screggan, Tullamore, Co. Offaly, was cancelled due to unsafe weather conditions in recent hours.

The decision was taken yesterday evening (Tuesday, September 18) to delay the start of the event until 11:00am. But the start time was delayed by a further hour as Storm Ali swept across the country.

Following a number of meetings, confirmation emerged shortly before midday that the entire day was to be cancelled.

Also Read: Day 2 of ‘Ploughing 2018’ cancelled

In a statement released to AgriLand, McCormack said: “We’re all obviously disappointed. In the first place, we all enjoy the event and the sense of ‘get-together’.

“Secondly, there’s a considerable outlay involved; the logistics of getting our team up here and operating for the three days is substantial.

“But safety considerations should always have the last word and we completely understand and agree that that has to be paramount.

In hindsight, maybe a decision to cancel it earlier might have been wiser – just in the context of the official weather warning and to save the time and hassle for those families with young children who were up very early and on the road converging on Tullamore.

Meanwhile, the ICMSA president also noted that farmers will have to be careful where there are downed power lines or trees on their land following the storm.

He urged all farmers to exercise caution when faced with such obstacles.