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Calls on the Department of Agriculture to introduce a meal voucher scheme have been amplified in the face of increased feed prices and expected fodder shortages.
“Feed prices have gone up by around €10/t for ration due to the vitamin shortage and we have another two months of winter left in Roscommon,” IFA Roscommon chair John Hanley said.
The fodder scheme is a paper trail full of bureaucracy and red tape
“The impact of storm Emma in the east of the country means that farmers there will need fodder for their own stock and it will limit the availability of fodder to the west.
“The fodder scheme is a paper trail full of bureaucracy and red tape and a meal voucher scheme should be put in place to help with the cost of feed.”
The last meal voucher scheme that was in place was straightforward
A factory fire in Germany last October, caused a global shortage of vitamins A and E. The German company BASF, has confirmed that although the factory is being rebuilt, its vitamin supply operation could still be out of action until July.
“The last meal voucher scheme that was in place was straightforward and worked well for farmers, John Grennan of J Grennan and Sons told the Irish Farmers Journal.
“The voucher worked at any feed distributor and it helped farmers if they had credit problems to get feed for their stock.”
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