Motorists travelling on the main Ballina to Foxford road, the N26, yesterday morning were confronted by a procession of more than 100 tractors moving at a speed of about 15 miles per hour.
Delayed drivers caught behind the large contingent of tractors were not in a position to read the hundreds of placards displayed on frustrated farmers' machines with warnings and messages for the Minister, Mr Walsh, and the Government.
"Farmers are being crucified", "The EU is wiping Farmers and Fishermen Out" and "Wake Up Minister" were among the messages on display as the tractors travelling in convoy pulled out of Ballina, just after 10 a.m. in pleasant sunshine but with air temperatures remaining below 2 degrees for the 40-mile journey.
By lunchtime, north Mayo farmers were joined by their colleagues from the west side of the county. Ninety tractors had left in convoy from Westport at 11 a.m. yesterday and slowed traffic on the N5 from Westport to Castlebar as part of the nationwide action.
The tractor drivers co-operated with local gardaí, and the disruption to motorists in Mayo was not that severe. Along some stretches of the route no traffic could overtake the protesters. At regular intervals and in appropriate locations the convoys pulled in and, assisted by gardaí, backed-up motorists managed to get by.
At 12.30 p.m. yesterday, a half an hour behind schedule, north and west Mayo farmers converged in Castlebar at the Moneen roundabout, just off the N5, and on the outskirts of the county town. Traffic at the busy roundabout was held up for about 10 minutes as both sides met and then continued en masse along the N60, reaching the small village of Balla at 1.30 p.m.
It was a late Christmas bonanza for Balla shopkeepers, publicans and restaurateurs as hungry and cold farmers stopped for lunch before moving on to their final destination yesterday, the town of Claremorris.
The tractor protest will resume in Mayo today, covering the east of the county - Claremorris, Ballyhaunis and on into Castlerea.
A Westport-based participating farmer, Ms June Bourke, said it was not the intention of farmers to cause any serious delay to the public. "We don't want to delay anyone, but we have been given no choice. The price of farm produce is down and our incomes are on the floor. I don't think that Minister Walsh is negotiating well enough for farmers at EU level. Today we have been forced on to the roads because as farmers we are in a desperate situation and we have to highlight our plight if we are to survive.
"We might be out here on the roads with large machinery today and I accept that some people will ask how we can afford such machines if we are in dire straits, but the truth of the matter is that these tractors are owned by the banks and finance companies and many farmers are struggling to make repayments. More action has to be taken for farmers' survival at both government and EU level," she believes.
The vice-chairman of Connacht IFA, Mr Brendan O'Mahony, was delighted with yesterday's turnout of farmers. "There was no begging, the farmers just came out, we were amazed this morning to see more than 100 tractors pulling out of Ballina as we began this week of protest."
Mr Donnacha Quinn, a farmer from Rosurk, Ballina was very clear why he was taking part in the tractor protest.
"Something has to be done. We're out here for our own survival. The Minister, Joe Walsh, and our local TDs need to take on our cause. We're not making money. The price farmers are getting for milk is 16 per cent down on last year."