Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour) | Oireachtas source

On behalf of the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, I thank the Senator for raising the important issue of fodder availability on farms for the coming winter. Furthermore I would like to convey the Minister's regrets that he cannot be here today, due to previous commitments. This is an issue the Minister and the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine have been monitoring and dealing with for many months. The Senator will be aware that a range of measures have been put in place in recognition of the difficulties experienced by a great number of farmers across the country resulting from the unseasonable weather in 2012 and earlier this year, which led to an extraordinary fodder shortage.

As part of the Government's response to the issue, an inter-agency fodder committee was established in early summer under the chairmanship of Dr. Tom Kelly of Teagasc. The committee comprises representatives of all agricultural stakeholders, including a representative from the Department of Agriculture, Food and Marine. The committee not only monitored the fodder situation but also co-ordinated actions to ensure sufficient fodder would be conserved for next winter, which is at the centre of the Senator's concerns. The committee ensured a co-ordinated approach to the delivery of a strong advisory campaign to encourage farmers to maximise grass growth and conserve sufficient fodder for next winter. It produced a fodder budget worksheet, which was widely publicised and allowed farmers to make decisions regarding feed planning for next winter.

In addition, the committee conducted a fodder survey earlier this month. The survey shows a major improvement in availability of fodder for the season ahead, with an overall average surplus of 8% across the country when considered on the basis of a normal winter period. The survey noted that with prudent management of existing stocks, along with appropriate supplementation with concentrate feeds, farmers are well positioned to come through this winter from a fodder perspective. The survey also shows that 72% of farmers said they had a "good" supply of grass going into the autumn grazing period, with the remainder saying they have "normal" levels of grass available in fields.

In April this year, a fodder transport subsidy scheme was established to help alleviate the difficulties being encountered by farmers. The scheme reduced the cost of imported fodder to farmers by approximately one third and supported the importation of almost 2,800 loads of imported fodder, amounting to more than 40,000 tonnes. A total of 81 different bodies participated in the scheme and the Department is paying claims as they are received and processed. I thank all those involved in implementing the scheme and making it a success.

In recognition of the severe difficulties experienced by farmers due to a shortage of fodder and the serious risk of a further shortage this autumn and winter, a temporary and targeted adjustment of two provisions of the nitrates regulations to support additional fodder production on Irish farms were introduced, that is, an extension of the period for the application of chemical fertiliser from 15 September to the end of the month and the discounting of the phosphorus content of a portion of meal fed to livestock.

The Senator will appreciate that publicly-owned grasslands are the responsibility of my colleague, the Minister of State with responsibility for the Office of Public Works, OPW. During the height of the fodder crisis, both Dublin and Shannon airports provided the grass cuttings from their lands to farmers for fodder use. This was a welcome initiative which provided much-needed additional capacity at that time. However, the favourable grass growing conditions over the summer, which has continued into September, have been of great benefit to farmers in addressing the fodder issue for the forthcoming winter. The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine along with Teagasc and other agricultural stakeholders will continue to actively monitor the issue. The Minister has indicated that he will also consult our colleague, Minister of State with responsibility for the OPW, Deputy Brian Hayes, with a view to assessing the possibility of an audit of publicly-owned grasslands.