Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers’ Association (ICMSA) president, Pat McCormack, is urging livestock farmers to make plenty of high quality silage over the coming weeks.
This is particularly so in the case of producers who plan on carrying high stock levels next winter.
He is also mindful that concentrate feed shortages could still become an issue as the year progresses.
“Good stocks of high quality silage are the most effective buffer against high meal costs,” McCormack told Agriland.
“So my clear advice to farmers is to plan accordingly now.”
The ICMSA president confirmed that many livestock farmers had already made the decision to reduce their fertiliser purchases at the present time, as a way of reducing costs.
“However, I am mindful that many dairy farmers will want to sell cull cows and young stock at the back end,” he stated.
“But if the silage is not in the country to feed them, this could lead to a very distorted market for these animals at that time.”
Finance for fertiliser
Meanwhile, the banks are also voicing their concerns about the perceived lack of fertiliser being purchased across the country at the present time.
Ulster Bank’s chief agricultural manager in Northern Ireland, Cormac McKervey, has expressed concern to the effect that farmers are not buying enough fertiliser.
While this may well be a direct response to the explosion in all commodity prices that has taken place over recent months, McKervey is quick to point out that a failure to grow enough grass now, could leave farmers short of silage next winter.
“Given the strict limitations on commercial credit right now, I thought that we would have had greater numbers of farmers contacting the bank, seeking finance to secure their 2022 fertiliser supplies.
“This hasn’t happened up to now, which leads me to conclude that some producers might have taken the decision to cut back significantly on the actual amounts of fertiliser they acquire in 2022.”
However, McKervey firmly believes that such an approach represents a false economy.
“Any shortfalls in silage availability next winter will have to be made up for through the purchase of very expensive concentrate feeds,” he said.
According to McKervey, farmers should not be using their overdrafts to purchase fertiliser at the present time.
“A better option is to sort out a loan arrangement with the bank, which can be paid back over a six-month period or settled in full when the 2022 single payment monies arrive.”