Tillage farmers may have a big part to play in reducing the fodder deficit this winter by sowing forage crops and this topic was among the questions asked in a poll posted on AgriLand last week.
Readers were asked: Will you sow forage crops for livestock farmers?
Of the farmers surveyed, 24% stated that they have already sown forage crops for livestock farmers. A further 21% stated that they planned to sow forage crops.
Wholecrop silage
Readers were also asked: Did you sell any crops for wholecrop silage? 16% of those who took the poll had sold tillage crops for wholecrop silage, while 84% had not.
Calls on tillage farmers to sow these crops
Last week, the chairman of the IFA (Irish Farmers’ Association) Grain Committee, Mark Browne, spoke to AgriLand. He urged farmers to consider growing these crops.
Browne explained that he was worried about the slow uptake on the fodder production incentive and stated that the Department of Agriculture has allocated €2.75 million to the scheme and it needs to be used.
“Some farmers have sown these crops already, while others have started to talk about sowing in the last few days; they’ve got straw baled and cleared,” Mark stated.
We need to push it on because there is a critical need for this extra fodder. There is going to be a major fodder crises and we as tillage farmers have to do our bit.