Irish Concerns Raised for Fodder Deficit
IRELAND - The bad weather and extremely low rate of grass growth in April and May has left a serious winter fodder deficit on some drystock farms.
1 July 2009
1 minute read
According to Independent.ie, the amount of land closed for first cut was reduced because some silage ground had to be grazed and yields of silage crops already harvested is reported to be lower by 10-15pc.
The Irish news agency says that the immediate priorities now are to take stock of the amount of fodder already saved; to calculate expected requirements and to close up whatever land that can be saved for silage while there is still time where this has not already been done. "Think first about producing as much fodder as possible on your own farm before purchasing fodder from outside", says the report.
The opportunity to do this only exists for the next six weeks to two months. It will require the close integration of grazing and silage area in order to release sufficient land for silage and at the same time provide enough grass on the grazing area to maintain animal performance.
The vast majority of drystock farms are at REPS 3 type moderate stocking rates in the range of 1.5 to 2.0 LU/ha and should have capacity to take out up to 35pc of the grassland area for silage at this time.
TheCattleSite News Desk
