Chinook brought in to feed farm animals.

GlynD

The MOD have sent a Chinook helicopter to the Province to help feed animals on farms cut off in the snow. A Chinook is one of those huge transport helicopters with two rotors.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-21935734

Sitting here without a snowflake in sight it's hard to imagine what people in the Glens are going through at the moment, cut off since last Friday behind drifts up to 18 feet deep.

Hundreds, maybe thousands of farm animals, mostly sheep, have died during the lambing season. It'll probably finish off some local farmers.

NAR

I was moved watching the news stories last night watching the farmers trying to rescue some of their flocks. The emotion was so obvious in the farmers' faces, as they face the enormity of their losses.
Hopefully change some people's perceptions about farmers and their way of life.

GlynD

It just seems to be one thing after another for farmers in recent times. Perhaps now people can see how hard they have to work and in what conditions.

mezza101

totally agree, its heartbreaking but why werent they moved into barns, plenty of warning the snow was coming

GlynD

mezza101 wrote: »

totally agree, its heartbreaking but why werent they moved into barns, plenty of warning the snow was coming

One farmer did manage to get his lambing ewes into a barn but the snow collapsed the roof and killed many of the sheep and newborn lambs.

mezza101

GlynD wrote: »

One farmer did manage to get his lambing ewes into a barn but the snow collapsed the roof and killed many of the sheep and newborn lambs.

saw that on news, was terrible but most of the animals would have a better chance of surviving the blizzard in barns than out in the fields

GlynD

mezza101 wrote: »

saw that on news, was terrible but most of the animals would have a better chance of surviving the blizzard in barns than out in the fields

Sheep are hardy though and it would be normal to leave them out in snow. I don't think anyone could have predicted it would get this bad, preventing farmers from rounding the sheep up and removing them to safety - no easy job, certainly not in a blizzard.

Would your average farmer even have enough barn space for ALL his animals?

mezza101

GlynD wrote: »

Sheep are hardy though and it would be normal to leave them out in snow. I don't think anyone could have predicted it would get this bad, preventing farmers from rounding the sheep up and removing them to safety - no easy job, certainly not in a blizzard.

Would your average farmer even have enough barn space for ALL his animals?

erm, is it farmer noah yeah lambs are hardy for snow, weather warning was for heavy snow and strong winds = blizzard

Artofdookie

What got me yesterday was noone could get in or out of the areas yet the tv crew got there

rolo1_2

The farmers should be praised for their efforts in clearing the roads and towing cars that got stuck............I for one was towed out of a drift by a farmer and tractor late on Friday night.
The rural areas appear pretty much left to their own devices. It's only now the MLA's are getting involved hoping to pick up a few Brownie points -A tad to late.
No-one could have predicted the extent of the snow drifts
The loss for the farmers is far more than just financial especially as its lambing season.

Mr_Bun

I work quite near Aldergrove where the Chinook is based.Saw and heard it fly over back and forth about ten times this afternoon,was very heartwarming knowing something was actually being done:)