FARMER Roger Corrigan from Churchhill has warned that depression is “the real enemy” as farmers like him face a long winter of despair. 
His comments come as Ulster Farmers’ Union president, Barclay Bell, says many farmers are facing cash flow implications because of poor prices and bad weather.
“The real enemy is depression, you have to try and avoid that,” Mr. Corrigan told this newspaper.
“It’s a very worrying situation. When you are dealing with cattle, that’s a living thing. It’s not like a load of timber or a load of blocks. They have to be looked after. Half the cattle of the country are in eating silage that is supposed to get them through the winter. There will be a shortfall somewhere.”
The main thing for any farmer, says Mr. Corrigan, is to “keep the sunny side up and keep focused.”
“It’s very hard to keep focused with the weather the way it has been. You can really do nothing. It is a known fact that farming is one of the more stressful things. Early CAP payments would be a shot in the right direction. 
“I am not qualified to give messages to anybody, but I suppose having a good community life, that’s very important for a farmer. There’s the old saying on the television: it’s good to talk. That’s a very true statement. There are a lot of people in the same boat with the weather. It is good to know that you are not on your own,” he said. 
Speaking after meeting farmers in Fermanagh, Tyrone, North Derry and North Antrim, the UFU President said that some had faced unexpected bad weather conditions for September, with high levels of rain making field operations impossible and forcing cattle indoors. 
“In some cases cattle have already been housed for two weeks and this is only the middle of September. While the weather may improve between now and the end of October, it is doubtful, given ground conditions, that it will be possible to get livestock out to grass again. That has big cash flow implications, since it means higher feed bills are starting early, with many farmers now looking at what could again be a eight month winter,” said Mr. Bell.
The UFU president said farmers in the west were no strangers to difficult conditions, but this is a big blow given there were hopes that better prices for some commodities might ease financial pressure in the final months of 2016.
“Once again we are having to appeal to the banks to recognise that cash flow pressures remain acute. Early CAP payments will help, but when this funding hits bank accounts next month, it’s important banks understand that a lot of this is already ear-marked for paying bills.  It cannot be used solely for paying down bank borrowings,” he said.