Farmers need more help following poor weather

THE Government acknowledged farmers’ weather difficulties in September, announcing two-week extensions for spreading fertiliser and slurry.

The decision was taken partly because of a fodder shortage for livestock, with the extension allowing extra fertiliser spreading to produce grass.

It posed a predicament for farmers whose slurry tanks were fuller than usual after a wet summer during which many cattle had to be housed, and the ground was sometimes too soft for slurry spreading. They were given until next Friday to spread slurry. But they were not going to spread it on fields growing badly needed autumn grass, which is worth more than €2 per cow per day, when compared to the cost of feeding on concentrates.