Grass supplies scarce or very scarce, Teagasc surveys reveal

Thursday, August 02, 2012

By Stephen Cadogan

Nearly two out of three dairy and drystock discussion group members surveyed by Teagasc last week said that grass supplies on their farms are either scarce or very scarce.

Their winter silage deficits ranged from 10% to 40%, with 38% of dairy farmers and 15% of drystock farmers saying they are short of silage for the winter. The average deficit was 23%, and to compound the situation over half of the farmers were feeding silage last week, further eating into stocks.

Carried out from Jul 17 to Jul 27, the Teagasc survey showed that 87% of dairy farmers and 79% of drystock farmers had completed harvesting of their first cut silage. Nine out of ten dairy farmers were providing supplementary meal to cows.

To alleviate fodder problems, 30% of dairy farmers surveyed and 17% of drystock farmers had sold livestock. Eight out of 10 dairy farmers and over half of the drystock farmers have spread fertiliser in July to boost grass production.

According to Teagasc, huge numbers of farmers were seeking advice on how to deal with the weather situation.

To cope with immediate problems farmers are advised to house livestock where necessary and feed meals/silage to fill the gap, while protecting the grazing ground for the potential four months of grazing left in 2012, and grass utilisation to help reduce winter feed costs. Spreading nitrogen to increase grass supply for the autumn is also recommended.

As for fodder shortages next winter, farmers are advised to act early, examining the cost effectiveness of different options, such as buying silage, buying meals and/or wet feeds, and selling high value livestock.

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