An extension to the deadline for spreading chemical nitrogen, such as the one farmers were permitted in 2018, will be needed this year, according to Deputy Jackie Cahill, chair of the Oireachtas Agriculture Committee and Fianna Fáil TD for Tipperary.

Deputy Cahill made the call to Minister for Agriculture Charlie McConalogue following an exceptionally long period of dry weather, where growth has been at a minimum and farmers have failed to get a second cut of silage saved before the end of the summer months.

“With the prolonged period of dry weather we’ve experienced this year, fodder supplies are already coming under pressure on many farms,” according to Deputy Cahill.

The Tipperary TD highlighted that a similar policy was implemented in 2018: “We saw an extension to the deadline for the spreading of chemical nitrogen during the 2018 fodder crisis, which had a major benefit in extending the grazing season and the amount of grass produced that year.

“The same extension should be applied now for 2022, due to the lack of growth we have unfortunately been experiencing this summer.”

Second cut

Deputy Cahill highlighted the struggles that many farmers are already facing in relation to fodder, saying that many have failed to get a second cut of silage saved due to the dry weather and the lack of growth on farms and some are already digging into the first cut to make up for a shortage of grass.

“We need to take advantage of late grazing this year and also allow for a second cut of silage on farms. This can be done by providing the extension for the spreading of chemical nitrogen, just as we were permitted in 2018.

“I have written to the Minister for Agriculture Charlie McConalogue on this and I am pushing my colleagues in Government to see this extension granted," Deputy Cahill concluded.