At long last, we seem to be getting to the end of a winter that many of us will never forget. Weather conditions were difficult from early August onwards last year, leading to poor grass growth in late summer, sub-optimal ground conditions for grazing, a difficult harvest season, reduced straw yields and, in some cases, entire crops of second cut silage being lost. Winter feeding regimes started much earlier than budgeted for. Add to this multiple falls of snow and prolonged spells of sub-zero temperatures (which led to increased levels of supplementation to out-wintered animals), culminating in stock being in much poorer condition than normal come springtime.

This left us relying on an early spring to make up the shortfall, which unfortunately, never materialised.

As a result we have seen fodder trading at record prices throughout the winter and right up until last week. I have heard numerous cases of farmers feeding silage that was made over five, 10 and even 15 years ago. While this older silage will have been perfectly fine to feed to animals once preservation was good, it goes to show the degree of fodder shortage in the country, the likes that hasn’t been seen in a long number of years.

All this means that there is going to be virtually zero fodder in reserve for next winter should the weather conditions be unfavourable once again. Therefore, farmers need to do everything they can to conserve as much fodder this year as possible to try to build up a buffer for prolonged winter periods.

Throughout the pages of this fodder focus, our specialist team look at the options available to farmers to boost supplies. This must be done in the most cost effective manner as possible. While some of these methods may not have been considered on your farm previously, every option should be considered this year.

Over the coming months, we will continue to give advice on what additional steps can be taken as the summer progresses. The most important thing is to put a plan in place and act on it as soon as possible.