Weather Threatens Winter fodder

Posted on: 02/07/2012

IFA President John Bryan said farmers will need to see a significant improvement in weather conditions in the next week if serious problems with winter fodder are to be avoided later in the year.
“As it is, the very challenging conditions of recent weeks have led to increased costs for farmers and caused major difficulties with silage harvesting. We estimate that half the crop has not been saved, which is a very unusual situation for farmers at the beginning of July. This delay could have very serious implications for next winter, as adequate feed supplies will be critical for the expanding national herd.”

Mr Bryan said stock has had to be re-housed in some parts of the country, extra feed has had to be used and production levels are back. John Bryan said the adverse weather conditions will have a negative impact on farm incomes. “Bad weather inevitably means higher costs, at a time when inputs are already rising in price.”

The tillage and horticulture sectors are also under pressure because of the high levels of rainfall and humidity, at what is a crucial stage in crop development.