Bad weather trying for farmers: Bell

Mr Bell said: “Ensuring water is available to livestock will be one of the top priorities over the next few days. The weather is also putting pressure on fodder supplies. Farmers have already experienced a very difficult second half of 2017 with cattle housed early and tight fodder supplies. This extreme cold snap will add further pressure on those supplies. As we are in the middle of the lambing season, this very cold weather couldn’t have come at a worse time with many ewes either heavily pregnant or rearing young lambs.”

In some cases we have heard of milk tankers struggling to get down farm lanes.

Mr Bell added: “We can only hope that when the storm passes in the next few days that temperatures will begin to rise and that we will soon be able to see the first signs of spring.”