An Independent Ireland councillor in Co. Kildare has called on the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Martin Heydon to immediately bring forward Basic Income Support for Sustainability (BISS) and Areas of Natural Constraint (ANC) payments.

Cllr. Bill Clear is also calling for any outstanding money already owed to individual farmers to be paid without delay.

The local authority councillor has stressed that farmers need cash flow now to purchase hay, straw and silage while supplies are still available and to take advantage of the very short window remaining to grow additional fodder.

Following the prolonged dry conditions and drought this summer, grass growth and fodder production have been severely affected on many farms, leaving farmers facing into the autumn and winter with potentially serious shortages.

Some farmers are already reporting that they are halfway through fodder saved from their first-cut of silage because they have been forced to feed livestock during the summer months when animals would normally be grazing.

There are now serious concerns on some farms that there may be little or no second cut of silage at all, if grass growth does not recover sufficiently.

Cllr. Bill Clear said: "Firstly, where the department [of agriculture] or any State scheme owes a farmer outstanding or backdated money, that money should be released immediately.

"Secondly, BISS payments, ANC payments and every other eligible farm payment that can legally and administratively be brought forward, should be paid at the earliest possible opportunity.

"This is not about creating another complicated bureaucracy or making farmers fill out another mountain of paperwork. It is about getting money already destined for farmers into their bank accounts when they actually need it," Cllr. Clear added.

Fodder deficit

The message from Teagasc and the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) is that there is still straw, hay and silage available in fields and from producers around the country.

The local Kildare councillor has therefore stressed that providing farmers with cash flow now, would allow them to secure those supplies before availability tightens further and prices potentially increase.

"Thirdly, there is now a very short window remaining to put additional fodder crops into the ground," Cllr. Clear added.

Independent Ireland is calling for an immediate, fast-tracked fodder support scheme to encourage tillage farmers and other suitable landowners to sow fast-growing Italian ryegrass and other appropriate short-term fodder crops.

"We are already in the second half of August. Every week that passes reduces the opportunity to establish crops capable of producing additional fodder," Clear continued.

Italian ryegrass can establish quickly and can provide an additional source of grass-based fodder.

It is considered to also have important practical advantages because it can be cut, baled, stored and transported relatively easily to livestock farms experiencing shortages.

Independent Ireland has also stressed that the government cannot wait until December or January to announce an emergency response.

By then the opportunity to grow additional fodder will have been lost and farmers may be competing for increasingly scarce supplies the political party has outlined.

"The crucial issue here is time. There is still fodder available to purchase," Cllr. Clear added.

"Farmers cannot produce grass when prolonged drought has prevented it from growing.

"Many have already incurred substantial additional costs feeding livestock throughout a period when those animals should normally have been sustained largely through grazing."

The Independent Ireland politician has said that every additional week of poor grass growth increases the pressure on winter reserves.

"If farmers continue feeding first-cut silage now while simultaneously losing the prospect of a meaningful second cut, Ireland could be facing a very serious fodder shortage later this year and into early 2027."