Fodder crisis 'a national emergency'

The fodder crisis spreading across the country as a result of the extreme weather conditions is causing a national emergency on farms, according to IFA President, Joe Healy. 
Mr Healy called for an emergency response to the crisis, which he said had "left farmers reeling." 
Teagasc has set up a Forage Register to help farmers who have run out of silage and other fodder to source supplies from those with a surplus.  
This was one of the key actions to emerge from a meeting of industry stakeholders to discuss the current weather related difficulties being experienced on farms. Representatives from Teagasc, the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, and the major dairy co-operatives met in Moorepark  to review the situation.
Meanwhile Minister Michael Creed announced an immediate review of fodder supplies and identification of possible measures to increase fodder availability.   
Mr Healy had insisted Minister for Agriculture pull together an emergency response to tackle the fodder and income crisis on farms due to the unprecedented weather conditions this spring.
He said  the weather conditions had caused havoc and untold stress at farm level.”
“The weather over the Easter weekend has left farmers reeling at a time when they really needed a period of good weather to get things moving,” he said.
“Poor grass growth because of cold weather and wet conditions in fields due to huge rainfall has meant that farmers who are already under pressure for fodder have had to keep their animals indoors at a time when they should be out on grass.” he said.
The IFA President said while there is no magic bullet to solve the current problem, farmers need to see leadership from the Minister, who has to bring everyone together to come up with coherent and practical action that can help farmers at this time.
Meanwhile, farmers who have silage they can sell are invited to ring their Teagasc office to get it listed on the register.  Teagasc will text all clients asking them to register any supplies of fodder they may have on regional fodder registers. Teagasc will compile a list of names, telephone numbers and details of forage available and will make the list available to farmers in the market for forage.
Dermot McCarthy, Head of the Teagasc advisory service said; “Given the late spring and slow grass growth rates it will be essential for many farmers to budget feed to meet the minimum roughage requirement of stock for the next three to four weeks.  To achieve this, it is important to act now and complete a feed budget which will indicate how much silage can be fed on a daily basis to stock to stretch the feed and how the balance of requirements can be met from grass and supplements.  On balance, most people need to be feeding more meals to fill the gap.”
Meanwhile, Lakeland Dairies are advising farmers to measure fodder stocks on the farm and to budget/estimate a fodder requirement to 1st May. Farmers should then quantify any shortfall or surplus and contact Lakeland Dairies to inform them of their situation and for advice and assistance. 
Lakeland Dairies says will buy any surpluses from farmers for redistribution and has sourced forage and fodder reserves at home and   established a number of immediate fodder supply channels from the UK.
ICSA rural development chairman Seamus Sherlock has said he is concerned at reports of co-ops and merchants tightening up on credit at a time when many farmers are in a vulnerable position with fodder shortages. “The shortage of money is becoming just as big a problem as the shortage of fodder. Even where farmers are able to source fodder, being able to afford it is another matter,” he said.
He urged Minister Creed to speed up the balance of payments owed to farmers from the various schemes. “At the very least farmers need to have what they are owed as a matter of urgency. Constant delays in payments only add to the frustration and make any sort of planning very difficult.”