Fodder situation worst since 80s

Now is the time for farmers to take stock of their winter feeding, calculate how much fodder they have and start making provision to supplement, rather than waiting for next spring. Those words of advice reflect the consensus of opinion from Teagasc experts and the farm groups such as the IFA, whose regional vice-president Joe Brady spoke to The Anglo-Celt last week. "The summer was so bad and difficult with all the rain, and the first cut silage quantity was down," said Joe. "The majority of people got second cuts but they're low quality and in some cases the grass was eaten before the second cut. "The grass growth was very poor and the ground conditions were bad. Cavan would be hard hit, with the high density of livestock and we have difficult soil conditions - wet and the poor drainage makes it difficult to get early grazing." Joe said the six weeks of decent weather from early September to mid-October were a huge help, but the situation remains serious. "Most farmers had cattle indoors during the month of August, and those were got back out to grass again in September. It was a big help, but the problem is some of the winter feed was used in the sheds during August, taking away from winter supplies, with the shortage from the yield being down on the first cut." Joe's recommendation ties in with what Dr. Siobhán Kavanagh told the Teagasc National Feed event at Ballyhaise College last month. She was one of the expert speakers that advised farmers on their options for winter feeding with scarce or low quality forage. Dr. Kavanagh agreed that the good weather in September allowed second cuts, but they were generally poor quality, and farmers face an expensive few months ahead as they attempt to deal with the deficit in terms of quantity and quality. The most critical bit of advice she gave was: don't ignore the problem. Instead farmers should assess what silage they need and how much feed they have. A booklet available on the Ballyhaise feed event day outlines the figures, with options for the number of stock you have and the number of winter feeding months. Subtracting the total feed demand from the total supply shows the size of the deficit for your farm. So what to do..? A Teagasc survey found that farmers were considering three main options: buying extra silage; restricting the amount of silage fed and buying extra meals; and selling stock. The expert advice appears to be some combination of those three. The recommendation is to buy the minimum amount of silage as there are attractive alternatives - extra meal, for example, which has a more consistent feed value - or restrict silage, which is an economical option at current prices. Selling stock is not something most farmers want to do, but it will reduce demand during the winter; the key is to choose carefully what stock to let go. The advice Siobhán Kavanagh offers dairy farmers in the Teagasc booklet is: 'selling cull cows, surplus replacement heifers and store cattle may be an option but only if the price is competitive'. The biggest challenge on dairy farms this winter, she writes, will be to maintain dry matter/energy intake and minimise body weight loss in cows. Low digestibility, low dry matter content, low crude protein and poor intake characteristics are the primary problems on many farms. Discussing the effect of silage quality on its intake, she writes that every unit drop in digestibility will drop silage intake by 0.15 kg DM and drop milk yield by 0.25-30kg/day. Joe Brady agrees with that advice and adds: "The best thing a farmer can do is calculate how much silage he has and the number of weeks he has to feed for, then supplement with meal feed and concentrates. It's extra expense but it's better doing it now than leaving it to February and running short of silage. Start feeding now and spread it [the cost] over the winter months. "There won't be surplus silage for sale next spring and what is for sale will be high price," Joe predicted. "Most prudent farmers will be taking a look at what they have... and we don't know how early the spring will come or what the turnout date will be." Asked just how bad the situation is, Joe replied: "Really serious... there was no fodder carried over from spring '09, it was a poor spring and there was a late turnout - the winter went into the month of May. There's nothing left anywhere, on my farm it's the most difficult winter since '85/86. "People have to realise there's going to be a scarce supply of silage next spring - the price will be high and it won't be great quality. Barley and grain are at an all time low, so now's the time for the farmer to take stock of winter feeding."