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Fodder Crisis

Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 12 July 2018

Thursday, 12 July 2018

Ceisteanna (27)

Jackie Cahill

Ceist:

27. Deputy Jackie Cahill asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if a subsidy for a high-fibre concentrate feed will be introduced to mitigate the guaranteed fodder shortage in winter 2018 following the unprecedented warm weather conditions; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31066/18]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Freagraí scríofa

I have taken a number of actions to assist farmers as they plan to conserve adequate fodder supplies for the coming winter. This is the priority task that I assigned to the fodder group I convened earlier this spring to address all issues around fodder availability for the coming winter.

The results of the fodder census I recently launched, together with the follow up census scheduled for September 1st, will provide real information on the availability of home grown fodder in advance of the winter ahead.

Co-ops and feed compounders represented on the group have increased feed output to meet demand and I am confident that they will continue to be able to access sufficient supplies of competitively priced feed ingredients.

The banking institutions, also represented on the group have indicated they are conscious of the additional costs the current weather has imposed on some farmers. As a consequence they have announced a series of initiatives and are working closely with farmer customers on effective financial planning to see them through the current challenging weather spell.

As weather events such as this dry spell and indeed very wet winter gone by have shown, farmers should have access to measures that improve their resilience to these occurrences. I have asked my officials to examine all available risk management tools to determine which of these may be most appropriate to the farming sector.

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