Assistance for Flood Hit Farmers

The Teagasc advisory service is working closely with the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, farm organisations and other community groups to assist those farmers worst affected by the flooding. The initial priority is to assist those farmers where farm yards are flooded and where livestock have limited access to fodder.

Teagasc Galway area manager Brendan Heneghan said: “We are working with the farm organisations, the Department of Agriculture and the army to ensure that adequate fodder is delivered to livestock in areas that are inaccessible by road. A co-ordinated approach to delivering fodder by helicopter to those farms most in need, is being implemented.”

Forms for a Targeted Fodder Aid Scheme, announced by Minister Brendan Smith today, will be available directly from Department offices, from Teagasc offices and online. The Scheme is targeted at farmers in the West, Midlands and South West who suffered damage to fodder.

In addition, Teagasc will be holding a series of fodder clinics in the worst affected areas to assist individual farmers in deciding on the best course of action to ensure there is adequate feed stocks for their livestock for the rest of the winter.

Teagasc nutrition specialist Siobhan Kavanagh said the extent of the damage to silage pits and baled silage will depend on how quickly the flood waters drain away.

She advised that silage bales damaged by flood waters should be moved to dry ground as quickly as possible to limit damage. Take care in moving bales to limit damage to the plastic.

She said: “Where silage pits have been submerged in water, if possible, try to drain away the water. Depending on the length of time that the pit is submerged in water, there will be damage to the preservation and intake characteristics of the silage.”

The Teagasc specialist advised that concentrate feeds in meal stores that have been contaminated with dirty water are not suitable for animal feeding and should be disposed of appropriately.

Provision needs to be made for any fodder losses over the coming weeks. Concentrate feeds are better value than forages this year. Once you have at least 40 per cent of your forage requirements, allowing stock restricted access to silage and topping up with 3-4kg of concentrates, depending on target gain, will be the cheapest method of feeding your stock this winter. Baled silage is of variable quality and is poor value this year and you should avoid buying it unless necessary.

It is important to act now and decide on a plan to deal with the issue. Your local Teagasc adviser is available to help you devise a feed budget for the winter and help formulate the best value diets for your situation.