Farmers forced to bring cattle indoors to be fed
Cattle and cows are being fed indoors on silage and concentrates which obviously adds significant costs to milk and beef production.
However leaving stock out overnight on soft ground could cause severe poaching and damage grass growth this autumn and next spring. Indeed it may be necessary to reseed paddocks which were severely damaged by grazing stock or heavy silage machinery. Heavy cattle will cause most poaching so these should always be housed first and autumn swards grazed with lighter animals. Farmers have to ensure that their stock are well fed otherwise animal health and livestock performance will be damaged both in the short and longer term. It is surely preferable to purchase quality concentrates now and feed enough of them than to pay later for higher mortality, more disease problems, higher veterinary expenses etc.
