Forage shortage create new problems for dairy farmers this winter
UK - Drying cows off early, dropping to once-a-day milking and shifting stock off farm are the options milk producers should consider as they face a forage shortage this winter.
20 September 2006
1 minute read
Planning to buy in feed is only part of the solution. It's going to be a costly winter, says grazing consultant Tom Phillips.
"In most areas, it's been a tough season. There wasn't a lot of spring grass, so not a lot of silage was made. Some farms have less than one-third of their normal winter silage stocks and the dry summer was expensive for herds which bought in up to 95% of their diet."
Even conventionally managed herds have been forced into feeding cows one or two months earlier than normal.
Source: Farmers Weekly Online
