Special catch crop initiative has seen seed ‘selling like hot cakes’

SEED for crops covered under the Fodder Production Incentive Scheme is selling “like hot buns”, merchants and wholesalers report.

Demand for catch crop seed, and for seed for short-term grasses such as Westerwolds and Italian ryegrass, has intensified over the last week as farmers push to get the crops planted as quickly as possible so as to maximise yields.

“The clock is ticking,” Donal Fitzgerald of Goldcrop commented.

He said sales of seed for catch crops was running around four times ahead of normal years.

He said the strongest demand was predominantly for fodder rape mixed with leafy turnip.

Goldcrop was sold out of seed for Westerwolds early last week, with the level of demand going up exponentially this year, Mr Fitzgerald said.

Most of the seed appears to have been planted by cereal growers, with much of it sown out of goodwill towards neighbouring livestock farmers, Mr Fitzgerald explained.

Jim Gibbons of Germinal Seeds in Tipperary described the trade for Westerwolds and Italian ryegrass as “very lively”.

The company sold out of seed last week but was expecting to get further stocks in yesterday.

Quinns of Baltinglass sold 10 times more Westerwolds and Italian ryegrass seed than normal, according to David Shortall.

The sale of seed for catch crops such as brassicas and rape is up 60 to 70 per cent, he said.

Under the terms of the Fodder Production Incentive Scheme there is a payment of €155-per-hectare to grow shortterm grasses such as Westerwolds and Italian ryegrass, with a payment of €100-per-hectare for catch crops such as brassicas.