Plans need to be put in place to cope with extreme weather conditions

With more teeming rain over the weekend for many parts of the country and more forecast for the end of this week, it’s little wonder some are saying farmers are currently living through an eight-month winter.

At last week’s National Fodder and Food Security Committee meeting, much of the focus was on the here and now, and how farmers could be helped with imminent issues, such as getting animals out to grass and the late-sowing options for tillage farmers.

However, calls from the industry for the Department of Agriculture to throw money at the problem were rejected.

There’s no doubt that some farmers are struggling to cope with the prolonged levels of rainfall, and the stress many are under should not be dismissed or underestimated.

There is enough fodder in the country, it was agreed, but the availability and access to it may need some managing this week if drastic measures such as importing stocks from the likes of Italy, as we did in 2018, are to be avoided. Not only would importing fodder take weeks to organise, but questions would no doubt be asked about the sector’s ability to manage itself in times of stress.

After the introduction of six fodder schemes of one sort or another over the last decade, questions surrounding the sector’s plans for extreme weather conditions have to be raised.

There is now clear science and evidence that our weather patterns are changing and, in particular, our winters are getting much wetter.

There’s no doubt some farmers are better than others when it comes to planning around the worst case scenario when it comes to the weather.

But relying on ad hoc support schemes cannot be a sustainable solution going forward and would possibly provoke the ire of those outside of farming.

Challenges

The sector must come up with a plan on how to will handle future weather challenges. And, a bit like the Chinese proverb on the best time to plant an oak tree, the second best time is now.

Increased slurry storage may have been put in place on many farm in recent years, but that may need to be looked at again, while the guidance on fodder buffers may need to revisited.

Science is telling us we can expect more erratic weather over the coming years and the messaging around this to farmers needs to be loud and clear.