For dozens, maybe hundreds, of cows across the Island, life will never be the same after Thursday's storm.

But while it threatened to cripple the milk business, damage was limited by quick action and excellent team work with Dunkley's Dairy, say some farmers.

Michael Dunkley, MP, said the six farmers that supply Dunkley's Dairy were left without electricity for most of the night and Friday morning.

Those without generators - the majority - are still counting the cost.

Most of the Island's cows were left with extra heavy udders, having missed at least one milking, and now face the possibility of being scarred for life.

Harry Kromer, a dairy farmer with five farms and close to 150 cows, told The Royal Gazette that the damage was already up to a few thousand dollars - an estimate he expects will increase over the next few weeks.

"Without Dunkley's Dairy I would be in serious trouble today," Mr. Kromer added.

"Belco did a good job keeping us on most of the night," Mr. Dunkley said.

But the widespread power outages meant that milk had to be delivered to the dairy as soon as possible after the cows had been milked.

"We have been working with the farmers - getting them generators so they could milk their cows and process the milk. Since they have no power every time they milk our trucks go out and take the milk off them," Mr. Dunkley said Friday.

About 30,000 pounds of feed were lost, a portion of a roof disappeared and because the cows are milked mechanically, power outages meant hundreds of gallons of milk down the drain.

But Mr. Kromer said it could have been worse. "I'm very, very fortunate none of my cows got struck," he said. But the cows suffered in other ways.

Creatures ruled by routine, cows are easily traumatised by any changes, Mr. Kromer explained.

The storm made sure they could not be milked as usual early Friday morning. "For cows to produce milk they have got to be contented... It's very uncomfortable for a cow - all that milk in their udder," Mr. Kromer explained.

Mr. Kromer said that it would take at least ten days for the cows to get back to normal levels of production. "Some cows never get back to normal - 30 percent of the herd may not get back to normal."

His cows were among the luckier ones - Mr. Kromer has a generator which he rigged up to a tractor so he could continue milking.

At Richard Bascome's Daniel's Head farm of 50 cows, five of the animals are sick from having missed three milkings over the period. Power was restored at the farm around 11 p.m. Friday after being cut off Thursday afternoon.

The cows cut back their production considerably because of overfull, and very sore, udders. And whether they get back to normal levels remains to be seen.

"High producing animals have to be milked mechanically," Mr. Bascome said. "Milking by hand is out - you just can't physically do it."

Belco, he said, did "the best they could" while admitting to some complacency on his part.

"It's been so long since we've had a problem - you grow complacent."

And now purchasing a high priced generator is a number one priority.

"Most farmers are behind the eight ball anyway so they hold off getting a generator," Mr. Bascome said.

"But I'm not holding off anymore. Firstly, I've lost a days milk. Secondly, I've got sick animals. And thirdly the cow's udders were so sore they wouldn't put out anymore."

The cows are now producing far less than the 1,000 quarts they did before the storm, Mr. Bascome said, adding: "Cows that were giving 50 pounds are now giving me eight."

And Mr. Bascome is also throwing away milk - about 20 gallons daily - from cows that are being treated with antibiotics.

"Bermudians don't think about farming - they think about milk when they don't get it," Mr. Bascome offered.

"We have to get a little more farm oriented. Most people look at it as something somebody else has to do. That thinking has to be out," especially after the events of September 11.

"We have to do something about feeding ourselves."

At Dunkley Dairy's Devonshire complex it was all hands on deck throughout Thursday night. The heavy winds peeled off the roof of one warehouse and the company's engineering team was out from shortly after midnight until the early hours.

"They did a marvellous job getting out there," Mr. Dunkley reported. "Throughout the night they were moving some of the goods and battening down where they could."