Blackgrass will also reduce the quality of grassland.
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It’s surprising to see that Irish farmers have imported 40,000 tonnes of straw so far in 2025 as reported by Siobhán Walsh on page 8.
Teagasc reported last week that dairy farmers are purchasing Spanish straw to feed dairy cows, with quality and ease of chopping cited as reasons for switching to the imported product. Apart from the fact that Irish livestock farmers should be supporting Irish tillage farmers, there is plenty of Irish straw available on the market. Importing straw has biosecurity risks, with Spanish straw also more expensive than Irish straw.
ADAS Sustainable Agricultural Systems Principal Consultant, John Cussans said that the importation of English straw to Ireland sent shivers down his spine due to the risks associated with blackgrass. Almost 20,000 tonnes of straw have been imported from Britain this year.
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If you import straw, it travels the roads and loses debris along the way. One seed into 10 fields on the road from the port to your farm can cause a weed problem in all 10 fields, making them unviable and adding hundreds of euros to the cost of grain production. The tillage industry is in trouble and no farmer should risk adding to that trouble. Blackgrass will also reduce the quality of grassland.
On the topic of biosecurity, our investigation into cover crop seed last week has resulted in farmers getting in touch concerned about their seed. We are following up on this at present.
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It’s surprising to see that Irish farmers have imported 40,000 tonnes of straw so far in 2025 as reported by Siobhán Walsh on page 8.
Teagasc reported last week that dairy farmers are purchasing Spanish straw to feed dairy cows, with quality and ease of chopping cited as reasons for switching to the imported product. Apart from the fact that Irish livestock farmers should be supporting Irish tillage farmers, there is plenty of Irish straw available on the market. Importing straw has biosecurity risks, with Spanish straw also more expensive than Irish straw.
ADAS Sustainable Agricultural Systems Principal Consultant, John Cussans said that the importation of English straw to Ireland sent shivers down his spine due to the risks associated with blackgrass. Almost 20,000 tonnes of straw have been imported from Britain this year.
If you import straw, it travels the roads and loses debris along the way. One seed into 10 fields on the road from the port to your farm can cause a weed problem in all 10 fields, making them unviable and adding hundreds of euros to the cost of grain production. The tillage industry is in trouble and no farmer should risk adding to that trouble. Blackgrass will also reduce the quality of grassland.
On the topic of biosecurity, our investigation into cover crop seed last week has resulted in farmers getting in touch concerned about their seed. We are following up on this at present.
If you would like to speak to a member of our team, please call us on 01-4199525.
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