Stress on farmers over fodder shortages is being multiplied by confusion over fertiliser allowances, the Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers’ Association (ICMSA) has said.

ICMSA deputy president Eamon Carroll has called on Minister for Agriculture Charlie McConalogue to immediately inform all farmers of the amount of fertiliser they are legally allowed to spread between now and the closing date in September.

“There is a very serious fodder issue at farm level and the stress around that is being multiplied by the utter confusion in relation to what a farmer can and cannot spread.

“The Minister has the information available and he should immediately inform farmers of their remaining fertiliser allowances for the year, so that farmers can make informed decisions to grow more grass and fodder, while staying within the prescribed limits.

“Very bluntly, we have enough to be worrying about without having to guess whether we can or cannot use fertiliser to grow the badly needed grass for fodder.

“The Minister can at least remove that additional pressure by collating the data they hold on the individual farms and then communicating the remaining fertiliser allowance available to individual farmers,” he said.

Information immediately

Carroll added that the current fodder shortage was shown in an ICMSA fodder survey and this shortage is now coupled with confusion around fertiliser allowances.

“That’s just absurd and there’s an onus on the Minister and his Department to provide this information to farmers immediately.

“The Department has the fertiliser register in place, they know the number of livestock on each farm and they know the number of hectares along with the slurry imports and exports.

“The Department has all the information required to provide clear guidance to farmers on the remaining amounts of N and P that they can spread within the legal limits before 15 September.

“They must utilise that information and communicate with the individual farmers what their individual situations are in terms of fertiliser usage by that date,” he added.