The fodder crisis is far from over, farm leaders in the west said yesterday. Hundreds of farmers are on waiting lists for feedstuffs at marts across the region as supplies continue to make their way from British and other European ports.

At Elphin in Co Roscommon, 150 farmers were anxiously awaiting fodder from the Netherlands and England, but the demand was greater than supply.

Chairman of Elphin Mart Committee Cyril McDermott said that even his own cattle on his farm in Mantua were malnourished. "Some of them are abnormally thin now and I gave them meal all winter and looked after them," he said. "But I had to sell some of my cows, just to carry on.

“But I have virtually no fodder and I have cows out and I’m even giving them a bit of hay outside. That fodder [supply] needs to continue,” Mr McDermott said.

Adrian Leddy, the regional development officer with Roscommon Irish Farmers Association, said the association was doing its utmost to get supplies into the region.

“Bringing in loads like this from abroad is a logistical nightmare, with the problems of getting hay on to ships and so on. Then you’re looking at trying to get co-operation on the ground to distribute it out to farmers,” he said.