Irish farms are facing a crisis of historic proportions as a relentless drought decimates crops and drains resources, threatening the livelihoods of farmers and foreshadowing increased food prices for consumers. Farms that have been in families for generations are now struggling to produce even basic vegetables, with some yielding less than half of their typical output.
Anthony Moore, whose family has operated Moore Produce in Naul, Co. Dublin, for four generations, described the current situation as a combination of the worst drought and the highest input costs the business has ever faced. "It's just failure," Moore stated, surveying empty wooden crates that should have been filled with potatoes by late August. The potatoes that are harvested are often smaller than marbles, a stark contrast to the golf-ball sized produce expected.
"You're either in it big or you're not in it at all," Moore explained, highlighting the increased risk associated with large-scale operations needed to meet supermarket demands. "If you're not in it big, it's not viable, you need another job. And if you are in it big, there's high pressure, there's deadlines, there's weather windows."
The farm, which supplies major supermarkets like Tesco, SuperValu, Dunnes, Aldi, and Lidl, has invested at least €1 million in this year's crop. To combat the drought, two generator pumps have been running continuously, drawing water from rivers, while six men work in shifts irrigating the fields. The farm's diesel bill for July alone reached €27,000, with the summer total nearing €35,000. Despite these efforts, crops meant to last into spring are being depleted now, creating a potential shortfall from March to July next year.
Moore detailed how the farm has been forced to harvest crops earlier and in greater acreage than usual to maintain supermarket supplies. Even with concessions from retailers like Tesco, which has agreed to accept smaller produce and promote triple packs of swede, the financial strain is immense. SuperValu has also increased prices paid to the farm to cover irrigation costs, but Moore acknowledged that consumers will ultimately bear the brunt.
"I have two kids and a family, and I wouldn’t expect people to pay double the price for something, but it’s going to have to happen, unfortunately," he said, adding that the situation is mentally frustrating and that even a heavy downpour would not save much of the current crop.
The drought's impact extends to the dairy sector as well. Darragh McCullough, who runs a mixed operation with 540 dairy cows, has been forced to feed his herd winter silage and meal for nearly four weeks, an expense costing him around €14,000 per week. This reliance on stored feed, rather than fresh grass, could fundamentally alter Irish dairy farming practices.
Niall McCormack, representing fruit and vegetable growers within the Irish Farmers’ Association, warned of grim consequences for the supply chain and predicted that consumers would inevitably face higher prices for fruits and vegetables. He called for government support commensurate with the scale of the losses and urged consumers to understand the reasons behind the rising costs.
The persistent high pressure system causing the dry spell is believed by McCormack to be exacerbated by climate change, with temperatures being two to four degrees higher than they would otherwise be. Soil moisture deficits across the south and east of Ireland have reached critical levels, requiring hundreds of thousands of litres of water per hectare to return to normal conditions.
Farmers are already planning for future droughts, exploring options like building water lagoons and storing water from natural streams. However, for farmers like Anthony Moore, the immediate concern is the viability of the next generation. "You want to keep what they built going for the next generation," he stated, reflecting on the four generations of family labor invested in the farm.