With talk of a silage package which translates to payment of €100/ha, IFA president Tim Cullinan comments that the silage support scheme is a step forward, but that food security concerns still remain.
Cullinan adds that, “We are already behind time in encouraging farmers to maximise grass growth,” and as such, he urges Agriculture Charlie McConalogue to move quickly to get the silage support scheme up and running.
John Keane, president of Macra, says the package will allow for the feeding of six to seven suckler cows over a five-month wintering period. This deduction he made from Teagasc’s analysis, which indicates that 1t of CAN contains 270kg of nitrogen and that at peak grass growth, the response to chemical nitrogen applied is that 1kg of nitrogen can grow up to 50kg of grass dry matter.
He said: “1t of CAN nitrogen could therefore grow 13,500kg of grass dry matter or13.5t of dry matter. With a suckler cow eating approximately 13kg dry matter silage per day, this package will support the feeding of six to seven suckler cows over a five-month wintering period.”
Minister McConalogue’s €55m package is viewed as something of a “first step” in supporting livestock farmers. But it’s thought that much more will be needed to ensure fodder security and food security for next autumn and winter. In light of this, the Macra president called for “clarity on the detail of the package and the requirements of farmers to access the support”.
“With cashflow a continued issue for smaller farmers, this package needs to be available quickly to provide direct support,” Keane concluded.