Worsening weather is threatening to wipe out profits on many livestock and grain farms. Farmers in the west have been have been hit with as much as 550mm of rain since the end of June and the situation has become so perilous in recent weeks that many herds have been housed.
Worsening weather is threatening to wipe out profits on many livestock and grain farms.
Farmers in the west have been have been hit with as much as 550mm of rain since the end of June and the situation has become so perilous in recent weeks that many herds have been housed.
The north midlands, border counties and northwest have been hit hardest, with poor ground conditions since late July, cattle indoors a month and little second-cut silage saved.
With feeding costs alone for a suckler cow at €1.50/day and €1/day for a housed weaned calf, suckler farmers are losing money every day.
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For a 25-cow suckler herd, this is the equivalent of €450/week extra feed cost. This will see annual costs rise to between €600/cow and €800/cow for an increasing number of suckler farmers.
Bedding is expected to be expensive and scarce, even if the thousands of acres of straw not baled are gathered up. While there is a lot of surplus feed this year, it will be another significant cost for any farmer forced to purchase it.
Slurry deadline
On top of all that, the closing date for slurry spreading is only one month away, with tanks filling.
The tillage sector is anxiously watching the forecast, with crops deteriorating and ground conditions requiring a few days of excellent drying before combining can resume.
Met Éireann is forecasting drier weather for next week.
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