Fodder supplies for the 2018/2019 winter are already under pressure on farms in many parts of NI, as the ongoing dry weather continues to hamper grass growth.

Figures from AgriSearch’s GrassCheck programme indicate that dairy farms on the project across NI have on average grown 6.49tDM/ha this season so far, almost 17% less than this time last year.

The worst-affected regions are in the east of NI, with GrassCheck farms in Co Down growing the least amount of grass this year to date. When comparing with last year, the county-by-county figures are only available from April onwards, but indicate that Co Down project farms grew 5.34tDM/ha over the period, down 8% from last year’s levels.

Grass yields

Grass yields in Armagh are also down 8% year-on-year to 5.87tDM/ha and Antrim has experienced a 19% drop in yields, with 6.53tDM/ha grown on GrassCheck farms between April and this week.

Yields in Tyrone are back by around 1tDM/ha to 6.78tDM/ha.

Although growth has gradually slowed across NI due to the ongoing dry weather, the situation is not as bad further west. Grass yields in Co Derry have held year-on-year at 7.07tDM/ha and Fermanagh has been the top-performing county in NI, with yields up 13% on last year’s levels to 7.64tDM/ha.

The western half of NI also received more rainfall in recent days, with over 20mm of rain recorded on some GrassCheck farms in Fermanagh on Sunday. However, less rain fell further east and some weather stations on farms in Down received less than 1mm.

Many farmers in the east have been left no option but to graze ground that was being held for second and third cuts of silage, and many are already eating into fodder stocks made for the 2018/2019 winter.

Some rain is forecast for the end of the week and with silage stocks depleted from a long winter in 2017/2018, the onus will be on replenishing fodder reserves once growth picks up again.

Dr Debbie McConnell, AFBI, points out that around 57% of annual grass yields are usually grown by this stage in the season.

Ten-year average

“Looking at the period from August to October, our 10-year average suggests there is 4tDM/ha of growth to be had,” she said.

Farmers are being advised to carry out fodder budgets to calculate the current supply and demand of winter feed. Other key advice includes removing passenger livestock early to both reduce demand on silage this winter and allow more ground to be cut during the remainder of the season.