The Irish Farmers' Association (IFA) said heavy rain in some parts of the country has left its members facing significant additional costs over the winter months.
The organisation has called for increased supports to assist those impacted by flooding, which coincided with Storm Amy.
Torrential rain over north Galway in the days leading to yesterday’s severe weather led to rising water levels on farms around the Grange River, a tributary of the River Clare.
Having previously lost livestock to flooding on his land, Vincent Roche knew the warning signs. He managed to move cattle from pasture to sheds, before the storm reached full force.
But the extent of the flooding on his farm now means the land cannot be used for grazing again until next spring.
That brings headaches.
"Yesterday morning, we just about got all the stock in off the land," he said.
"We were expecting five to six weeks more of grass out there, and we have it, but there’s now about 50 to 60 acres with four foot of water in it. It’s a right blow to get at this time of the year".
Mr Roche said the predicament is devastating and will lead to an uphill battle over the coming months.
"Those cattle are in two months earlier than they should be," he said.
"The sheer volume of rain over the last few days was unreal. Only for we got them in yesterday they would have been trapped on flooded ground".
Now, with the option of having the animals feed from the land gone, Mr Roche has had to turn to his winter silage supply, which he did not anticipate having to use until at least mid November.
The Galway IFA Chairman, Stephen Canavan, said farmers along an eight to ten mile stretch of the River are in the same boat.
"This flood comes up rapidly and causes a lot of issues" he said.
"It’s not unusual over the course of a winter that this happens, but it’s out of the blue for this time of year."
Mr Canavan expects that anyone who has had to move animals indoors as a result of flooding could be adding several hundred euro to their operating costs each week.
"The cattle are in now for the full winter," he said.
"It’s eating into winter reserves and every couple of days a huge financial pressure is added to the farm.
"People in this area plan for a five or six month winter and there is a real possibility they will run short of silage."
The IFA is calling on the Government to assist the "vulnerable sectors of sheep and suckler farming" through the Areas of Natural Constraints (ANC) scheme.
This gives payments to farmers facing hardship from a range of factors, including difficult topography or poor soil.
The organisation contends that current supports do not go far enough and should be increased.
