Floods ruin crops at a cost of €1,000 an acre

A SKIBBEREEN farmer believes the town’s flood defence system has contributed to his land being flooded and the destruction of his crop.

Three years ago, Donal Bohane said he grew maize on the 18-acre parcel of land at Coolnagurrane, which is located at the edge of Skibbereen town, and by August, it was 11ft tall.

But it was a very different picture on Tuesday morning. After Monday’s deluge, the crop that he set in June was covered in water for the third time in two weeks after the Ilen River burst its banks.

‘This is as bad as I’ve seen it since 2009,’ said Donal Bohane, who suggested, ‘the flooding seems to be worse here.

‘It is as if the water has been pushed back up since the Skibbereen Flood Defence scheme was put in place.’

Donal believes, ‘the surface water (from the catchment area) is backing up, which means my crop has been ruined at a cost of about €1,000 an acre.’

As a farmer, he said he has no recourse to grants or compensation.

‘There is no way the crop will survive that flood,’ he told The Southern Star.

‘It might have had a chance with one flood, but water has come into this field for the third time in the last two weeks.

‘Now, I don’t know if I will have any other option but to plough it in. It’s devastating.’