Dairygold’s Raheen co-op store in Co Limerick had a queue of farmers waiting for bales on Friday as fodder sourced in other counties and overseas made its way to areas worst hit by shortages.

The co-op store received an initial delivery of 78 round bales of silage and rationed it to two bales per farmer. It was sold at cost price at €45/bale.

There was strong demand for the bales, with only two remaining after the first day, which are now spoken for.

The store is compiling a list of farmers for the next delivery, which management expects will be on Tuesday. They’re expecting 4x4 bales and 8x3x4 bales. The large square bales are understood to be the ones imported from the UK in recent days.

Dairygold is planning to have emergency fodder available at the following co-op stores:

  • Parteen.
  • Mill Street.
  • Rathduff.
  • Buttevant.
  • Coachford.
  • Lumberstown.
  • Ardagh.
  • Mitchelstown.
  • Bunratty.
  • Garryspillane.
  • Carrigaline.
  • Mogeely.
  • New Inn.

    • Alfalfa for Glanbia

    Meanwhile, Glanbia Ireland has announced that it will distribute the 1,000t of alfalfa it is importing from Spain to farmers early next week. Glanbia is contacting individual farmers directly about quantities allocated.

    Glanbia chose alfalfa because of its ability to slow down rumination and increase nutrient digestibility when included at 3kg/hd/day in traditional silage and concentrate diets, its high dry matter content and high buffering capacity. It contains 17% crude protein and has a long shelf life when stored properly.

    “Although we appreciate that this product will not solve the severe issues on farms for all our customers, we must prioritise those whose animals are most in need. We will continue to monitor the situation over the coming days,” said Glanbia chairman Henry Corbally.

    Additional reporting by Thomas Hubert.

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