Demand for straw is being reported as slow all over the country. Grain farmers are responding to uncertainty over demand and price by turning on the straw choppers on their combines.

With the value of the P and particularly the K contained in straw having grown in line with rocketing fertiliser prices, the economics of incorporating straw have never been clearer. In addition, it’s much easier to comply with stubble cultivation requirements when there’s no need to bale straw and have a buyer remove it from the field.

IFA chair Kieran McEvoy is encouraging farmers who may want straw this winter to source it soon.

“Livestock farmers mightn’t realise it, but the harvest will be wrapped up in the next 10 days across much of the country,” he said.