Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 10 May 2012
14 Deputy Dessie Ellis asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if the current unseasonable weather continues into the summer and the effect that this has on grass yields, if there are plans in place to assist farmers with feed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23343/12]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs summer has just begun and it is early in the grass growing season I believe any talk about unseasonable weather conditions prevailing into the summer is premature. I am aware that grass supply has declined on many farms across the country during the past number of weeks due to the unseasonable wet weather and temperatures being around 3 to 4 degrees below normal for this time of year. Broadly speaking grass growth is considerably below what it should be at this time of year. However, this varies from location to location depending on weather, soil type, drainage, soil fertility, fertiliser usage, herbage varieties and grassland management.
Unfortunately, this poor grass growth is at a time when the majority of cows are now calved and the demand for grass is outstripping the growth rates on many farms. Teagasc-recorded grass growth on their farm at Moorepark Co. Cork for the last week in April is well below the Moorepark 30 year grass growth average for the same week. Large variations in grass growth have been recorded in different parts of the country over the past three weeks.
For as long as these weather conditions continue the advice from Teagasc is for farmers to: Continue to apply Nitrogen (N) fertiliser, when weather conditions allow. Remove all animals, on dairy farms, other than milking cows from the dairy cow grazing area. Hold the rotation length on dairy farms at 21 to 23 days. Increase the area available to the dairy herd by grazing silage ground where possible, and Introduce silage into the diet.
Teagasc is of the opinion that grass growth rates will increase once this difficult weather period has passed. Historical grass growth rates recorded at Moorepark would reinforce this belief as the grass growth rates in the month of April in the years 2000 and 2002 were poor and well below the 30 year average grass growth rates recorded. By mid-May in both these years compensatory grass growth had taken place and the daily growth rates surpassed the 30 year Moorepark average for the same period.
Overall, apart from the month of April, it is fair to say that it was a mild Spring, exceptionally so in March, with higher daily grass growth rates for the months of February and March than for the same period last year. This mild weather in early spring helped to shorten the winter and allowed farmers to get their animals out earlier which resulted in large amounts of reserve silage on farms.
