The forecast for the next few days gives a mix of rain, sleet, snow and arctic temperatures for all parts of Ireland – winter has arrived.
Cold weather at this time of the year is a good news story for winter crops. It will kill off disease pressure and many of the pests that have built up over the recent weeks of very mild weather. But after that, everything goes downhill.
The only time of the year when livestock are likely to come under pressure due to thirst is during an extremely cold spell with all the water pipes around the farm yard frozen over.
So, it makes sense to have appropriate plans in place to prevent this from happening in the first place.
Health and safety issues also predominate during periods of extremely cold weather. Icy conditions around yards and buildings can lead to falls and serious injury.
There is also the associated risk for people coming on the farm for any reason – business or simply a private visit.
Winter
The insurance implications of a meal delivery driver or milk tanker operator slipping on ice are several fold. So, it would be best to have all relevant yard surfaces gritted.
And, of course, the same principle holds when it comes to moving stock from one shed to another during a cold snap. So, it makes absolute sense to have all yard surfaces thoroughly gritted.
Prevention is always better than coming to grips with a problem once it has happened.
One thing that Ireland’s farming community can always be proud of, is the way that older people living on their own in isolated areas are always catered for during cold snaps.
Simply checking in with neighbours who are not able to get out when lanes surrounding roads are impassable is an invaluable service, as is the role that many farmers undertake in clearing roads during periods of heavy snow.
In almost all cases, this work is undertaken on a totally voluntary basis.
Let’s hope that the cold snap that is now with us quickly moves on. Coping with a big freeze causes nothing but unwanted headaches and challenges.
But, irrespective of what the weather throws at us over the coming days, there is one consolation; we are now in the month of January.
The days are getting that little bit longer with the expectation that spring is not that far away – in theory, at least.