A TD has said she is “deeply alarmed” at the results of a survey carried out by Agriland which revealed that one-third of farmers are running short of fodder.
At least 33% of farmers who took part in the survey will at some stage have to purchase fodder.
The survey was open to respondents for a 24-hour period between 4:00p.m on Tuesday (January 9) until 4:00p.m on Wednesday (January 10), with 2,356 farmers responding in total.
Responding to those results, independent Laois-Offaly TD Carol Nolan said she is “deeply alarmed by the findings of the Agriland survey”.
“As such I will be making urgent representations to (Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine) Charlie McConalogue urging the roll-out of all necessary support measures to address what is now a clearly foreseeable emerging crisis,” Nolan added.
“Inaction is not an option,” she said.
Concern was also expressed by a member of the Seanad, senator Victor Boyhan, who also said that he will raise the results of the survey with Minister McConalogue.
Agriland survey results
The survey asked three questions, as follows:
- Are you running short on fodder?
- Will you have to purchase more fodder?
- What county are you from?
Participants were also invited to leave a brief comment on their situation.
796 farmers said they are running short on fodder, while 1,560 said they have sufficient supplies. Meanwhile, 769 farmers also indicated that they would need to buy-in fodder, while 1,587 respondents said they would not.
Feedback from farmers who participated in the survey shows that many are now facing a critical shortage of fodder on their farms which has forced some of them to buy-in more silage.
This option is costly, with some farmers stating that the prices are too high, and some are considering the possibility of selling off some of their livestock earlier than planned.