Drystock farmers are not having difficulty getting fertiliser delivered, this was revealed after a survey was conducted on the matter at the start of April. The topic formed part of discussions at the third meeting of the National Fodder and Food Security Committee held earlier this week. According to the survey 61% of drystock farmers have confirmed that they have not experienced any disruptions in having their fertiliser delivered.
The snapshot survey, which was carried out among 936 drystock farmers between April 8-14, also found that 33% are using merchant credit to pay for fertiliser bought to date. The survey additionally indicates that less than 5% are using credit union/bank loans.
In relation to the spreading of nitrogen on grazing ground, the survey revealed the following:
- 49% had no nitrogen spread to date
- 45% plan to cut nitrogen rates on grazing ground by up to 30% in 2022
- 27% said they plan on cutting it by 30-50% this year
According to the committee, where fertiliser use was decreased in 2022 the plans to compensate are based on improving grassland management, reducing stock numbers, and making less silage.
As part of the update on ongoing priority actions by Teagasc, the meeting heard that a series on sheep grassland walks is currently being delivered across the country. The more intensive drystock farms are buying and spreading typical fertiliser rates whereas lower intensity farms are slower to buy/spread fertiliser, to date.
A lot of drystock farms have fields that would benefit from an application of lime to release locked-up nutrients. For many it will give a very high return on investment, the meeting was told.