Irish farmers could potentially be exporting fodder supplies to England this winter as supplies run tight.

Parts of Ireland struggled with low rainfall and poor grass growth this year, but the majority of farmers across the island were fortunate enough to build surplus fodder stock as some managed to secure third cuts this summer, with others even aiming for fourth cuts.

In contrast, across the Irish Sea in Britain, the majority of English farmers struggled with drought for much of the summer.

Many English farmers only managed to gather one cut of silage, which is already being fed out to animals as grass growth has being severely stunted.

Many of these UK farmers are now in serious fodder deficits for the winter, which poses the question, will Ireland be exporting its fodder this winter?

According to the National Farmers Union (NFU), English farmers worked through the driest spring since 1956.

With the sun not letting up throughout the summer months, the NFU confirmed many farmers in England are already under pressure, as animals are currently being fed winter fodder and stocks reduce.

The union called on the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and the Rural Payments Agency (RPA) for flexibility when it comes to grazing land in agri-environment schemes.

Currently under Defra's policy, farmers are not permitted to graze this despite weather events without getting financially penalised.

NFU deputy president David Exwood said: "With increasingly extreme dry and wet periods, there must be greater flexibility in agri-environment schemes to protect animal welfare, ensure farmers are paid fairly for the environmental work they deliver, and safeguard our national food security.”

A spokesperson for the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) said: "We have experienced 75mm of rain in the last six months, newly planted crops have failed, and we are rapidly feeding our winter supply of forage now.

With Britain's milking herd population at 1.6 million head as of July 1, 2025, many farmers will be in a panic to source winter fodder.

At this stage of the year, farmers should have winter fodder budgets completed for their planned winter stock.

Farmers were advised to plan for at least a five-month winter, plus an extra month in contingency.

However, many farmers will have extra silage left over in the yard due to the short winter experienced coming into this year.

With this surplus, many Irish farmers may be opting to export their silage to the drought-struck farmers across England.

For farmers who have not yet completed their fodder budgets, you can do so by measuring your silage pits (length x width x average height in metres) and count bale stocks.

Multiply the measurement of the pit by 1.35 to get the amount in tonnes. To convert bales to the equivalent of tonnes of silage, multiply the number of bales by 0.9. 

To measure how much tonnage is required for a farms livestock, follow the calculations below.

Example: A herd with 100 cows, 25 in-calf heifers and 25 yearling heifers will need the following amount of feed reserves:

For farmers who allow an extra month as contingency, add 20%. In the above example, that would give a total requirement of 1,797t.