Willie Penrose (Longford-Westmeath, Labour)

However combined with a wet June, July and August many farmers were only able to cut one crop of silage rather than the usual two or three crops. This shortage, combined with the long winter, will lead to major problems in the early spring. As Deputies Connaughton and Creed are aware I make this point from the perspective of beef farmers. Not only is there a problem with fodder quantity, there is also a problem with fodder quality. The reduced dry matter of silage made in bad weather along with reduced digestibility as a result of late cuts will force many farmers to purchase very expensive concentrates to supplement the nutritional needs of such stock.

I draw the attention of the Minister to an excellent article in Teagasc's Today's Farm wherein there is an excellent analysis of the fodder crisis facing farmers on page ten. It calls for a response in the budget to assist farmers in the light of the difficulty presented to them at present. A survey was carried out by Teagasc last September. It included the Minister's county and that of Deputy Brady, and indicated one in three farmers does not have an adequate supply of fodder. Given the disastrous weather of recent weeks, I believe this figure will rise significantly. The year 2009 has been a poor year for silage. It has compounded the drop in real income in the sector due to increased inputs for feed and the low dry matter content in silage. Farmers will now have reduced stock in a market already deflated. As Deputy Creed remarked there are issues of animal welfare, a slurry build up and so on, all of critical importance. The situation is not tenable. The price for silage bales ranges from €35 to €50, although closer to the more expensive figures at present. This development will impact very negatively and very severely on agricultural income when coupled with the fact that silage is rotting in the pits, slurry spreading is curtailed until January, as Deputy Creed remarked, and we are working off this calendar of events.

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