Contractors are seeking a month-long extension to both the slurry spreading date of 15 October and the fertiliser cut-off point of 15 September.
The Association of Farm and Forestry Contractors (FCI) has said the extension will be essential to allow them safely complete all required work on farms. Due to exceptionally dry conditions there has been a month where virtually no animal slurry or fertiliser has been spread.
Challenges
Many farms are reporting large deficits of winter forage and the FCI are predicting silage harvesting will extend to the end of October. This is coupled with a harvest date for the maize crop, which is understood to have grown by close to 70%, coinciding with the closure dates for slurry.
FCI national chair, Richard White, said: “In order to cope with the current grazing challenges and the expected return to growth in late August, we believe that ground and soil conditions will allow for the optimum uptake of mineral fertilisers later this year, where grazing and late silage will be urgently required.”
He said this extra work combined with the short-window for hedge-cutting and the need to sow grass seeds and winter cereals would mean a very busy month of October for contractors.
Safety
He concluded by saying: “Postponing the decision to extend the slurry and fertiliser spreading deadline dates to the last minute will only increase the health and safety risks on farms in a year when we have already reported a very high national level of farm accidents and fatalities.”
"Creating a last-minute panic and an expectation that the slurry must be spread before the 15 October deadline, against the backdrop of more than 10 weeks of exceptionally dry weather conditions, can be considered to be tantamount to creating an additional and unnecessary health and safety risk on many farms."
SHARING OPTIONS