LOCAL FARMERS WILL benefit as Shannon Airport will cut the grass around its 400-acre site.

The silage will be given to local farms in an attempt to alleviate the fodder crisis.

The airport made the offer to cut the grass when it met with farmers’ representatives last week and have been in ongoing conversations since. A decision was made earlier this week to, weather permitting, press ahead with the grass cutting and in light of tomorrow’s positive forecast, it will commence in the morning.

The airport’s grass husbandry programme is not due to see any grass inside the airport perimeter cut until later in the summer, but in light of the shortages, the airport is offering to bring it forward to support local farmers. Five years ago, in late April, farmers received 1,600 bales of silage from the airport in what was then the most severe fodder crisis in living memory.

Airport Operations Director Niall Maloney said:

“Farmers were in difficulty back then and, having seen just how important our intervention was, we have been watching the situation closely over the past few weeks and [are] be making the same offer to farmers’ representatives again.”

The offer comes as the government lost a Dáil motion on the crisis. The Fianna Fáil motion calls for the establishment of a hardship fund, a meal voucher scheme and low-cost loans as well as the issuing of balancing payments for outstanding schemes.

Charlie McConalogue, the Fianna Fáil agriculture spokesperson, said Agriculture Minister Michael Creed “now needs to listen and deliver the necessary supports for farmers”.