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A lorryload of hay pictured at Dairygold in Fermoy on Saturday last. The hay was imported from the south east of England by Dairygold, the first Co-op in the country to do so, to help alleviate the fodder crisis.

Farmers are in 'pure desperation, Mike English, Dairygold's co-ordinator of the distribution of imported fodder, said this week as he and his team worked around the clock to get the hay out to those in greatest need.

"We've had hundreds of phone calls at this stage, we're working 24/7 to meet demand. I took calls up to midnight last night," Mike told The Avondhu. Already under pressure to meet demand since the hay arrived at the weekend, news of Agriculture Minister Simon Coveney's €1M import fodder transport scheme on Tuesday led to a further upsurge in calls requesting bales.

With preferential treatment being given to those in most need, it is being distributed one bale at a time to farmers to make it stretch as far as possible. The area being covered by Dairygold is Mitchelstown-Fermoy-Ballyhooly and outlying areas. While farmers turned up at Dairygold in Mitchelstown on Saturday last to collect the hay, this week Dairygold was dispatching it to farmers in the worst affected areas. We're sending it out to Ballyhooly and Araglin in the next couple of days. They were hit very hard," Mike explained.

Dairygold is importing 180 loads, between what has already arrived and what is due in coming days.

"In fairness to Dairygold they did source the fodder. The individual farmer would find it very had to do that on their own," Clondulane farmer John O'Sullivan said. He's got some of the bales and says he's 'delighted to have them'. John who has a dairy and suckler herd, thankfully hasn't lost any animals himself but he's aware of just how serious the problem is.

"Some of the hay farmers managed to save last year was very poor quality. Others couldn't save any at all because of the weather. With no reserves left and growing conditions poor, the grass is not growing - they were in a bad way."

John is quick to point out the tremendous goodwill and assistance that has been seen over the past couple of months with farmers sharing their fodder resources where they could spare them with those who needed help.

He welcomed news of the imported fodder transport scheme announced on Tuesday, saying that reducing the €150 cost of a bale of imported hay by up to a third would be of great benefit.

The Mitchelstown branch of the IFA has asked us to carry the following list of phone numbers for any farmers in difficulty:

Farm and Rural Stress Helpline: 1800 742645;

The Samaritans: 1850 609090;

Teagasc office: 025 42244;

Cork IFA: 021 4545944.

People can also contact their local IFA chairperson.

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