Winter feed supply may look scarce on many farms, as grass growth was far from satisfactory throughout the summer months due to the lower than usual sunshine levels during May, June and July.

Due to poor growth, there was very little opportunity for farmers to take out surplus bales.

Most farmers in the country have also been eating into their silage pits from early on in the summer in order to match their cows’ feed demand and keep up production.

This has accumulated to create winter feed shortages on many farms as we approach the winter months.

Many farmers plan to purchase silage or other feed sources to bridge the fodder deficit gap, and this is quite commonly the best way of doing it.

However, that purchased silage is not going to be as common as other years as after a prolonged wet spring, feed availability may be scarce.

Winter feed supply

First, establish your own situation – farmers should use the fodder budgeting worksheet below to calculate the winter feed required on your farm and compare it to the feed you have available.

If you have surplus silage in the yard, a farmer should consider keeping an extra month’s worth of feed supply and if they are in a deficit, farmers should be acting now.

The reality is, that farmers should be planning for a seven-month winter, where cows are housed for most of the spring as it would be foolish to be hoping for a good spring.

The following worksheet should be used to work out your winter feed supply:

Animal Type A
No. of stock to be kept over winter
B
Number of months
C
Pit silage needed/animal/month (tonnes)
Total tonnes of silage needed – Mutiply AxBxC
Dairy cows 1.6
0-1 year old0.7
1-2 year old1.4

The biggest issue when buying silage, is that you don’t know the quality of the silage that you are purchasing.

Although it is not ideal, a farmer could consider buying extra straw for adding to the silage diet for dry cows, yearlings or weanlings, although price and availability could be another limiting factor.

Another costly way of reducing your silage demand, is through feeding more concentrates but this is the last resort as it may become an expensive winter if you were relying on that method.

Selling on surplus stock must be considered, and if there are empty cows in the herd that are due to go, they should be sold sooner rather than later to save on fodder.

The advice is to get your herd scanned as soon as possible, as you don’t want empty cows diminishing your grass covers and your supplies for the winter.

Scanning will also allow you to make a proper plan for cows that are calving down, as knowing their exact calving dates will allow for optimal nutrition.

These cull cows can be fleshed up easily once they are dried off. According to Teagasc, five to six weeks of feeding straight barley on grass can prepare them for sale without consuming your scarce silage.

Six cull cows could consume up to 55 bales of silage over a five-month winter, which would be crucial for silage saving.