While fodder budgets from the southern BETTER farm beef challenge participants made for some pretty grim reading and fodder budgets from the midlands BETTER farmers treated us to a mixed bag of positive and negative, this week’s examination of fodder budgets in the west and north of the country has a much brighter outlook.

With ample rainfall during the last month and with a much shorter drought period, fodder conservation kept going at a steady speed in the northern and western counties.

As a result, seven out of the eight farmers profiled are expected to have fodder surpluses by the time housing rolls around this winter.

Adviser comment

John Greaney

Thankfully, the farms across the northwest have recovered well after enduring a difficult spring, coupled with the recent drought conditions. There is no doubt variable costs will increase for 2018, affecting profitability targets set out at the beginning of the programme. Budgeting for anything less than a six-month winter is now too risky given the weather extremes of the past two years and inevitably all farms involved in the programme will need to have a fodder reserve built up prior to increasing stocking rates on farms. Heavier farms have definitely had a better year to date and profit monitors should make for interesting reading in early January.