JUSTIN Ryan is leaving the land he inherited from his father, turning his back on a farm which has been in the family for over 200 years. But the Co Limerick farmer says he had no choice - "if we stayed we would have starved".
His move, scheduled for this weekend, brings to an end a five year nightmare for the Askeaton farmer.
Since 1990 he has seen his animals die of mysterious disease, his children suffer inexplicable skin complaints and his family driven to despair by silence and indifference.
He is moving with his wife Suzanne and their four children to an isolated village in north Tipperary where they know no one. But the move, he hopes, will finally bring them peace of mind.
The tiny rural village of Lorrha between Birr and Portumna will be their new home. With the £1 million from a deal done with the Department of Agriculture they bought a 170 acre dairy farm.
In the coming year they hope to build a new house, rebuild the farm's derelict buildings and farm dry stock. By 1997, Justin hopes to be back doing what he knows best dairy farming on disease free land.
Justin Ryan's troubles began over five years ago, when like many of his neighbours, he noticed an increase in animal disease on his land.
"You would always have a few problems with a herd of 60 cows. During the spring, when cows are calving there would be some difficulties. But after April you would never lose an animal," he explains.
Last spring he lost 19 cattle, 15 of them over a two week period. In all, over 100 animals have been struck down with the mysterious illness on the 85 acre farm.
He was not alone. A neighbour, Liam Somers, has lost over 100 cattle since 1989. He saw his cows become infertile and develop sores and lumps on their bodies. Abortions increased and the calves that lived were dwarfs.
Justin Ryan believes that at least another five farmers in the area have suffered similar problems, but they dare not speak out in case their milk or mart cheques dry up. Some, it is claimed have brought in JCBs at night to bury the dead cattle.
The local creamery takes milk from the Ryan farm but dumps it. "That situation cannot go on forever. The creamery cannot keep paying for milk it dumps.
"We had desperate losses last spring. We could not replace the stock. We could not make a living out of the farm any more, Justin explains.
"The children were suffering too. Our youngest boy, Alex, was regularly sick. Everything going he seemed to get. But he had skin problems that no one could explain and we were very worried about him.
"We had no choice but to get out. We could stay here and starve or start anew."
During the summer they began negotiations with the Department of Agriculture.
In the circumstances, we did the best deal possible," he says.
The Department now owns the farm and a £1 million plus investigation has been launched by the Department, Teagasc and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). A preliminary report from the EPA said that the allegations of industrial poisoning were "inconclusive", but Justin Ryan believes the agency already knows far more about the cause of the problem than it is ready to admit.
The Ryan family is moving out this week. Their children start school in Portumna on Monday.
The two youngest children, Jeffrey (4) and Alex (3), are excited about the move but their teenage son and daughter, Eric and Lisa, are anxious about making new friends in an area where they know no one.
"Suzanne is very sad about leaving, but we have no choice. It has been a nightmare for the last five years and I'm glad to be out of it. There was no future here. But there will be a lot of people sorry to see us go and we are sorry we have to leave them.
"My mother lives down the road, but she knows we have no choice about leaving. She was brought up on a farm and she knows what's what.
"I'm just grateful my father isn't alive to see what has happened. He would have been devastated. He farmed that land until he was 63 when he died of a heart attack. His father and grandfather farmed it before him. Pollution would be totally new to him.
"We are starting from scratch, but I am optimistic about our future. I have enough confidence to start again. I ran a good set up here. Life can not get any worse anyway", he says.