Almost 670 farmers successfully applied to the Department of Agriculture’s fodder transport scheme in recent months.

The average payment being issued to those who applied for the Fodder Transport Support Measure is over €2,000/farmer.

A transport support of €30/bale was available to farmers who bought silage from over 75km away after 1 April this year.

While the Department said that the processing of applications is still ongoing, the average number of bales per application currently stands at 73 and the average tonnes of bulk fodder is approximately 30.

A subsidy of €40/t for pit silage and fodder beet was also available. Meanwhile, a subsidy of €35/bale was available for hay and straw used for feeding.

A total of 678 applications were received by the Department, despite weak early demand from farmers initially – just seven farmers had applied for the scheme by 24 April, two weeks after opening.

Based on the average number of bales farmers applied for, at €30/bale, a total of close to €1.5m is expected to be paid out by the Department.

Weather

The subsidy was introduced to provide targeted support by way of a transport support contribution to farmers having to purchase fodder over longer distances.

This was in light of the prolonged and unfavourable weather conditions on-farm this spring.

Co-ops across the country facilitated farmers in seeking fodder for sale in other areas and connected buyers with sellers.

Farmers had until 15 May to apply for the subsidy and the scheme is now closed.

With lower grass growth conditions recorded in spring and early summer this year, there are already some concerns that farmers need to focus on ensuring they have adequate fodder for next winter.