Farmers in the south, west and midlands bore the brunt of yesterday morning's freak storm which left most of the country under two inches of snow for most of yesterday.
Power breaks in the hardest-hit areas prevented milking taking place and in Roscommon, one of the counties worst affected, farmers began moving their stock to higher ground fearing flooding.
Mr Pat O'Rourke, president of the Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers' Association, said that the sudden fall of snow had come to a great shock to many people in the country.
"While most of the roads are fully open down here in the midlands, and in Westmeath the snow has almost disappeared, we are all asking why the Met Service was unable to predict such a storm," he said late last evening.
Longford-based Mr O'Rourke said proper weather forecasts were vital for farmers who relied so heavily on the weather because it made such an impact on their livelihoods.
"I think we should have known or been told about it because two inches of snow just does not come out of anywhere," he said.
Mr O'Rourke agreed with the Irish Farmers' Association spoke- sman who said that in general yesterday's storm had created difficulties but no major threat to farmers or livestock.
The IFA spokesman said most of the snow on lower ground had melted by early yesterday but there was a danger now of flooding in low-lying areas around Galway, Mayo and parts of Roscommon.It was fortunate that this did not happen later in the year when the main crop of lambs normally arrived.