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More than 85% of farmers in the northwest who completed feed budgets are short of fodder this winter, a Teagasc survey has revealed.
The survey shows that 61% of farmers in the Sligo/Leitrim area have less than half the fodder they need, while that figure increases to 67% in Donegal.
The figures are backed up by an Irish Farmers Journal survey of farmers at an ICSA meeting in Ballyconnell, Co Cavan, on Tuesday night.
Listen to "ICSA fodder crisis meeting" on Spreaker.
Some 88% of those in attendance at the meeting are short of fodder.
The level of shortage ranged from 20% short to as much 80% short, with the average being 34% short.
Farmers highlighted the rising price of bought-in fodder as a problem, with €30/bale being paid for round bales of silage.
Scarcity of straw is also a problem, with 80% of the farmers at the ICSA meeting short for straw. The average price being paid for straw in the area was €34/bale.
The difficulty in sourcing straw has forced farmers to switch to use woodchips and peat for bedding, with some farmers even resorting to bedding cattle on rushes.
Farmers supplementing silage with meal reported that weanling ration is currently costing €267/tonne while finishing ration is costing €255/t.
Speakers at the meeting urged farmers to start supplementing with meal if they were running low on fodder.
Farmers were told that 1kg of meal will replace 5-6kg of silage, and were warned against buying poor-quality “lucky bags” of silage.
The ICSA along with other farm organisations have been calling on the Department to introduce a fodder crisis scheme to support farmers in need, but so far farmers and their representatives have been left feeling frustrated by the apparent inaction of the Department.
Lawrence McManus, a suckler farmer from Donegal, said:
“We need help and help fast. This is an absolute disgrace that nothing has been done and yet again our politicians are sitting on their hands.”
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