Fodder imports are brought in through Rosslare Europort

THE IMPORTATION of over 2,500 tonnes of fodder into Ireland began last Thursday morning at Rosslare Europort.

The animal feed is being brought into the country to combat the crisis currently gripping the farming sector as a result of excessive bad weather and the detrimental effect that has had on fodder stocks.

The measure was taken by the Government as farmers and stakeholders within the livestock sector described the situation as a crisis.

Walter O’Brien is a dairy farmer in the Cushinstown area and while he himself has enough feed to get him through this initial period he described himself as being one of the lucky ones and said there are people locally who are in difficulty.

He said lack of growth is another issue that is compounding the situation for many people.

‘Normally at this time of the year you would be hard set to keep the growth down but that’s not the case now and that’s having an affect,’ he said.

Mr O’Brien also said that even if the weather picks up it would still take around 10 days to a fortnight before the land would be fit for grazing.

There could also be a knock-on effect for the next silage season because farmers can’t now let out land for that purpose like they normally would which means the next silage season could run late.

Another issue facing the sector is the fact that breeding season is just around the corner and if animals are not as well fed or nourished as they normally would be it could prove detrimental.

However, farmers are hopeful that if the weather improves and most significantly, stays dry, then the overall situation might show signs of improvement.