Having cattle housed since early September has placed additional pressure on winter fodder reserves on the programme farms.

BETTER farm beef challenge NI programme farmers adopted a proactive approach in the latter stages of 2017 to sourcing additional feed, which should help them avoid a situation where they run out of fodder this spring.

Central to this has been completing a fodder budget at the start and midway point of the winter period to determine if they are using up silage stocks faster than planned or if they are on track.

Feed programmes were also drawn up for the farmers. The programmes outlined what level of silage and concentrates were required by each cattle group on farm.

It also identified where savings could be made by restricting silage to cattle in good body condition and with a lower feeding priority.

This week, we feature three of the farmers who have taken different steps to address a possible fodder shortage.

Barry Carty: Garrison, Co Fermanagh

We had a good crop of silage harvested in May and June and, in any normal year, we would have been fine for winter fodder.

However, a large percentage of the herd has been housed since early September, which basically added an extra two months on to the winter period that was not originally budgeted for.

Also, we are changing our system from selling weanlings in autumn to carrying them over winter with the aim to sell them in spring as yearlings. Having these extra cattle over the winter means we have a big demand for silage.

We would have made over 800 round bales of silage, but approximately 200 of them were used by the end of October.

I managed to source 40 round bales of hay in December to add to another 20 bales I bought in August. I also bought 60 bales of straw in early autumn for bedding.

To ease the pressure on straw requirement, autumn-born calves have access to rubber mats in the calf creeps.

Dry cows are being fed hay, with the best silage targeted to the autumn cows that are in milk. The autumn cows are in the middle of the breeding season. To increase energy intake and stretch silage supplies, I would be feeding concentrates at 2kg/day to cows.

Weanlings were getting 1.5kg/day of meal, but I have since increased this to 2.5kg/day as weight gains were low.

Since increasing meal levels, weight gains have improved, with bullocks gaining 1.37kg/day over December and heifers gaining 0.7kg/day.

We are still tight for fodder, but with planned feeding, I think we should manage.

Oliver McKenna: Eskra, Co Tyrone

Silage supplies were running extremely tight in the early stages of winter. I was considering my options between buying additional forage and feeding more meal. Given the price of silage and the variability in feed value, I opted for meal. The reason being it is was working out at good value for money and is a much more consistent feed.

There have been times in the past when I was short on silage and have done something similar. Usually, I fed rolled barley to stretch silage and it has worked well for me. But this time, I went for maize gluten instead. Again, it was working out at better value for money than both barley and silage.

Gluten is higher in energy and protein, which is an advantage when feeding to the autumn-calving cows that are suckling a calf. I am also feeding gluten to the replacement heifers and in-calf cows.

I started feeding the gluten on 1 December and it is simply mixed with silage in the diet feeder. Cows are now on second-cut silage, as all first-cut silage has been used up.

Autumn cows are getting 30kg of silage daily and 2kg of gluten. Autumn-born replacement heifers are getting 15kg/day of silage and 2kg of gluten. Spring-born heifers are getting 10kg of silage daily and 3kg of gluten.

Spring-calving cows started off on 15kg of silage daily and 2.8kg of gluten around 12 weeks prior to calving.

Gluten levels are increased as cows get closer to calving, based on nutritional requirement and body condition. I am happy with how it is working and hopefully I should have enough silage to carry cows through to turnout.

Mark Lewis: Markethill, Co Armagh

With cow numbers increasing for 2018, there was a greater demand for silage this winter. Feed stocks are tight, but I feel that if I stick to my feeding plan I will be OK until April.

By this stage, grazing ground should be ready to carry some cattle and relieve the pressure on fodder.

One of the biggest ways we have managed to save on silage this winter is by restricting it. Cows were weaned in good condition and this has been used to our advantage.

Rather than feeding cows to appetite, they have been eating around 60% of what they could eat if given free access to silage.

As cows come closer to calving, silage levels will be increased gradually up to ad-lib feeding around two weeks pre-calving.

With the savings made from restricting silage throughout the autumn, I have avoided the need to buy in extra feed, which is a big saving on cashflow.

All spring-born males are finished as bulls on farm. Concentrate levels are now being increased to maintain higher growth rates.

As meal levels increase, the bulls are eating less silage, which is again helping to stretch fodder reserves.

We have just finished our new cattle shed and it is already making a difference to management. With more cattle on farm and earlier housing, we would have been struggling for slurry storage.

Thankfully, the new tank offers ample storage and there will be less pressure to empty tanks in early February.

The new shed has also increased housing space, making it easier to group cows based on body condition and calving date and offer silage on a restricted basis