Fodder Crisis

blackdog1

Markcheese wrote:

As grass growth and grazing conditions pick up in the south and south east, will we see much fodder heading west...? Lads forced to put stock out in unsuitable conditions will have wrecked fields and no silage to make for next winter, leaving them doubly feiced next year....

Grass growing slowly on paddocks grazed 2 weeks ago before the snow and got urea mid-late Feb.

Mooooo

Markcheese wrote: »

As grass growth and grazing conditions pick up in the south and south east, will we see much fodder heading west...? Lads forced to put stock out in unsuitable conditions will have wrecked fields and no silage to make for next winter, leaving them doubly feiced next year....

I doubt it, a lot of lads would have cows out fulltime other years, hardly a cow in a field by day in a lot of parts this year, a lot of extra feed going in with lads using their reserves which many will want to build up again this year. Was hoping to not have to buy in maize this year as switching to all spring but tbh id say I will as will have extra reseeding to do as well

kk.man

If this weather keeps up we will see a fodder crisis nationwide.

mengele

kk.man wrote: »

If this weather keeps up we will see a fodder crisis nationwide.

Plenty of it down sout here in cork. A neighbour here has in excess of 500 bales for sale. He was keeping them till the end of Feb hoping he could charge extra for them. Has been no demand for them.

kk.man

mengele wrote: »

kk.man wrote: »

If this weather keeps up we will see a fodder crisis nationwide.

Plenty of it down sout here in cork. A neighbour here has in excess of 500 bales for sale. He was keeping them till the end of Feb hoping he could charge extra for them. Has been no demand for them.

With the large herds of Dairy cows and the tegasc early turn out dates the extra fodder won't be long running out.
Not many hetds out around the South East. I have neighbours with 100 plus cow numbers. It takes some feeding to keep them going and no grass outside.

20silkcut

Neighbour of mine getting ten tons of pit silage delivered for €500 only lasting him 3 or 4 days.
He has all his own gear and gave the whole summer last year doing bales hard to credit he has none left.!!

Muckit

20silkcut wrote: »

Neighbour of mine getting ten tons of pit silage delivered for €500 only lasting him 3 or 4 days.
He has all his own gear and gave the whole summer last year doing bales hard to credit he has none left.!!

If he was calving cows all year he'd be called inefficient. Funny those rules dont apply to silage!

Mooooo

Was talking to vet there and he said a few lads out of silage and have been buying for a while but harder to get, here in cork

Who2

Theres a fair few lads buying around me. i know of one lad travelling daily 90 miles round trip with a tractor drawing pit silage.

GrasstoMilk

We have heifers out with a week now, not ideal but we need what silage and straw we have for the cows and calves.
We're usually out fulltime with all stock at this stage, cows are only out by day when ever the weather allows.
We should have had heaps of silage left over if we had a normal autumn and spring but it will all be gone soon. Using 2016 straw and silage now

shootermcgee

Talking to a friend who bought 20 bales of good straw and gave a €1000 the other day

kk.man

shootermcgee wrote: »

Talking to a friend who bought 20 bales of good straw and gave a €1000 the other day

Can see the reason in that..if he brought those bags of saw dust (for the horsey set) he would have better value for his 1k.

Reggie.

kk.man wrote: »

Can see the reason in that..if he brought those bags of saw dust (for the horsey set) he would have better value for his 1k.

I'd sell the cattle before I'd spend €50 on a bale of straw

bogman_bass

Reggie dropped out a load of peat to me during the week. Better value than straw at the moment.

whelan2

Must be very stressful sourcing feed. Was talking to a lad who was drawing silage to a dairy farmer. He said what he brought would only do him a couple of days and then he'd be looking for silage elsewhere. Total headwrecker

patsy_mccabe

Be positive. The upside to all this is, as each day slips by, days are getting longer and when the weather changes there will be a sudden burst of growth.

Reggie.

bogman_bass wrote: »

Reggie dropped out a load of peat to me during the week. Better value than straw at the moment.

Seems I charged too little

Must get into this straw game

Reggie.

patsy_mccabe wrote: »

Be positive. The upside to all this is, as each day slips by, days are getting longer and when the weather changes there will be a sudden burst of growth.

Hopefully

Timmaay

Reggie. wrote: »

Seems I charged too little

Must get into this straw game

You'll lose 9 outa 10yrs tho haha

jaymla627

patsy_mccabe wrote: »

Be positive. The upside to all this is, as each day slips by, days are getting longer and when the weather changes there will be a sudden burst of growth.

Next 7-10 days is looking brutal, mt cranium is saying mid April before any sign of proper warmth, lads need to have plan b's in place the spiel about the thing turning around with a few kind days is been rehashed the past month now and no sign of it turning, Mother Nature can be a right c""t sometimes and it's looking like it's our turn this time around

tanko

Exactly, the wearher has been crap for eight months now, for all we know it could be crap for another two months. Hopefully not tho.
Ive been buying bales in bits and pieces since xmas and sold cattle in January i intended to sell in May.
Have enough bales to keep everything in until May but im beginning to wonder will that be enough.

darragh_haven

Lots of dairy farmers buying silage around west cork. Lots of lads going up to 25 miles for it. Pit ir bales doesn't matter now. Hunger is a great sauce.

theaceofspies

wouldn't like to be feeding cows now in North Kerry right now - seen 2 starving crows for the first time ever here today in the field.

Who2

theaceofspies wrote: »

wouldn't like to be feeding cows now in North Kerry right now - seen 2 starving crows for the first time ever here today in the field.

Don’t worry I’ve some u grade crows here on ad lib I’ll sell cheap

Grueller

I sold 105 bales over the last week or so to two local lads here. Mainly made off paddocks taken out. They are two sound lads and neighbours. I let them on to them at €25 a piece. I could have gotten €30 but I am happy enough and so are they.

darragh_haven

Grueller wrote: »

I sold 105 bales over the last week or so to two local lads here. Mainly made off paddocks taken out. They are two sound lads and neighbours. I let them on to them at €25 a piece. I could have gotten €30 but I am happy enough and so are they.

I maintain it costs me 26 to make and store a bale. Been selling at €30 for the last 4 or 5 years

Grueller

darragh_haven wrote: »

I maintain it costs me 26 to make and store a bale. Been selling at €30 for the last 4 or 5 yearz5

I am calculating it put at €21-22 but I wouldn't argue. They are dear to produce. These two boys have taken me out of many a bind. The two lads that I ring at 3 am when I am in bother with a calving and they are in the shed with me by 3.05.

Say my name

I had a neighbour who was extremely short of silage.
He ended up buying silage off a neighbour. This neighbour sold him his silage and then bought better silage off another neighbour ( that the first neighbour knew nothing about) for himself.

Some lads are too cute for themselves.

Odelay

Grueller wrote: »

I am calculating it put at €21-22 but I wouldn't argue. They are dear to produce. These two boys have taken me out of many a bind. The two lads that I ring at 3 am when I am in bother with a calving and they are in the shed with me by 3.05.

Means the world to have someone sound to call for a hand.

blue5000

jaymla627 wrote: »

Next 7-10 days is looking brutal, mt cranium is saying mid April before any sign of proper warmth, lads need to have plan b's in place the spiel about the thing turning around with a few kind days is been rehashed the past month now and no sign of it turning, Mother Nature can be a right c""t sometimes and it's looking like it's our turn this time around

Very tempted to ban the messenger. Wind here this morning would freeze the balls off a brass monkey.