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Last week brought beautiful weather and rising temperatures. It was good for us.
Grass growth has been on target this spring and the farm is well set up for the next round of grazing.
The higher temperatures will drive it on and make management easier. Things have been going well on the farm and yet we are wound up like springs.
Farmers in Ukraine can’t plant the crops. They especially can’t sow crops at night for fear of becoming a target for the Russians
Tensions are mounting in farming families as the problems of war-torn Ukraine promise to disrupt our farming lives. Grain shortages was one of the first items flagged.
Farmers in Ukraine can’t plant the crops. They especially can’t sow crops at night for fear of becoming a target for the Russians. Being a target of war while planting crops seems unimaginable.
Our trump card is our ability to grow good grass
No planting means no harvest and so ration prices are set to go skyward impacting our pockets. Therefore, our grass-based systems have never been more important.
The target is always to improve the management of the grass in order to feed less ration and now we have no option but to optimise grass utilisation. Our trump card is our ability to grow good grass.
Fertiliser shortage
The weather largely defines how much grass we can grow provided we have the right type of grass with adequate amounts of organic and artificial fertiliser.
We are well informed that a substantial quantity of our artificial fertiliser comes from Russia. So that source is restricted to us for now.
Consequently, the price of it has also soared. Farmers are worried about how they will meet these rising bills.
The co-op advice is generally accurate so we acted on it
We are lucky that our Co-op Dairygold gave us fair warning of the shortage in early January advising us to buy and take delivery of the fertiliser that we would need. The co-op advice is generally accurate so we acted on it. At least, we now have one headache less.
Nevertheless, the shortages are in farmers’ minds and we are already concerned about next year in what looks like a protracted war situation. The rise in the price of diesel is another massive cost to absorb on the farm. These are enormous issues in a tight margin scenario. We are told that global inflation could be as high as 7 or 8%. This basically means that our money will not buy as much. The trend is being compared to the early 1980s. The only message there is, we survived it.
While all that is going on out in the farmyard, farmers are stressed and thinking deeply and talking to themselves, trying to plan, trying to keep everything going, watching every bill, wondering how they will meet them. Is it any wonder people are having cranky days? Farmers come in to have a break and they are hit by the household bills.
Tim is going around turning off radiators and I’m taking my hot water bottle to bed
We got a fine shock in January when the bill for heating the house was €700! We have vulnerable people that need to be kept warm. So, Tim is going around turning off radiators and I’m taking my hot water bottle to bed. We’ll just have to remember that we had a lovely cosy Christmas! All bills have to be reduced. We have to drop our energy usage. There is no choice.
Meanwhile, we have two couples, David and Julie and Colm and Elaine with the valuable planning permission to build a house. To their dismay the price of all building materials is getting out of control. How do young people deal with this added pressure? I’m telling them to refocus on what they need in a house. In the 80s we built our houses by finishing the structure and finishing out the rooms over 10 years. This idea of finishing out a house and having the curtains hanging immediately is the stuff of dreams.
Keep things in perspective. We have to spend less
So with everything, we have to take stock, pause and plan how we will actually handle all these challenges. Keep things in perspective. We have to spend less. It’s back to managing the budget and stretching the resources. More importantly, we must support each other. Being cranky brings nothing to the table.
Rethink
I walked into SuperValu last week and there wasn’t a bag of flour to be had. Four empty shelves from unnecessary panic buying of a product that doesn’t keep well and wall to wall Easter eggs in the next aisle! I reckon a rethink is necessary! And, I haven’t even mentioned the challenges of climate change.
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