While the dark winter evenings continue to close in on us and most farmers have cattle housed for the winter – or else are very near doing so – a different agenda is on the cards in the midlands.
The picture above was taken in the midland and shows one farmer’s ongoing campaign to secure an exceptionally late cut of baled silage.
The weather experienced has been unusual this year to say the least, but considering the crisis that Irish farmers thought was looming this winter, the incredibly mild autumn is no doubt being warmly welcomed and is a nice change of fortune.
In July of this year, Michael Moroney, CEO of the Association of Farm and Forestry Contractors in Ireland (FCI), was speaking to AgriLand and said that farmers could be mowing their second-cut silage in September due to the parched conditions the country was experiencing at the time.
However, it must be remembered the impact a late spring can have on farming in this country and the importance of having fodder reserves for unexpected weather events.
As the saying goes: ‘Old hay is as good as old money.’