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Banking €6,000 of silage this spring could save a 100-cow dairy farmer €10,000 in higher feed costs in a fodder shortage, Teagasc’s profit monitor figures suggest.
Farmers have been advised to build a fodder reserve of at least 400kg DM per livestock unit on the farm, roughly equal to two silage bales per livestock unit.
Fodder reserve
Taking a 100-cow dairy farm, Teagasc’s Brian Garry recommends keeping a fodder reserve of 200 bales to feed in the event of a repeat of last year’s weather-driven fodder crisis.
Valued at €30/bale, that equates to €6,000 worth of silage.
Profit monitor figures show that dairy farms used an extra 400kg of concentrate feed per cow last year to feed their way out of the fodder shortage and summer drought. That cost a 100-cow dairy farmer €10,000 in concentrate feed.
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