In recent weeks most livestock farmers have been able to make bales of grass silage as grass growth has been excellent for the previous six weeks under ideal conditions. During the last two weeks of September weather conditions were quite good and weather conditions during first week of October was also good.

According to Sean O’Connor General Manager for Silotite in Ireland during this three week period the trade sold as much balewrap as they did during a normal July and August. The weather earlier in the year was also exceptionally dry so baled silage on a dry matter (DM) basis ranged from 30 t0 35% compared with 25% for an average year.

In a normal year around 16 million bales of grass silage is made so taking into account the higher DM bales made earlier in the season the available silage on a DM basis must now be close to 2017 levels. A large quality of excellent hay has also been made and the price of straw in Britain has fallen do this is all good news for livestock farmers.

Forage brassicas are a cost effective winter feed and have been sown by many livestock and tillage farmers this year to increase feed availability and – therefore – helping stretch existing silage stocks and reducing the requirement for bought-in feeds.

A total of 1,701 applications were made to the Dept. of Agriculture under the Fodder Production Incentive Measure. The scheme was introduced in August to encourage tillage farmers to sow forage crops on their land, to reduce the feed deficit in the country.

A total of 6,000ha of grasses have been sown – including Westerwold ryegrass and Italian ryegrass. A total of 19,400ha were planted under the incentive and the average area sown was 10.46ha.

595 farmers opted to sow grass crops, while 1,255 farmers planted brassica crops – some sowed both. Co. Cork saw the largest area of grasses planted under the incentive, as farmers there planted 1,191ha. Kilkenny & Wexford had 723 ha and 715 ha planted respectively.

Aside from strip grazing livestock farmers are using zero grazing and even baling some brassica crops for winter feed.

According to the June CSO (Central Statistics Office) data livestock numbers have not increased to any significant extent and undoubtedly due to the forage crisis many dairy farmers have culled more surplus cows.

According to Bord Bia's beef and livestock manager, Joe Burke over the course of 2018 to date about 15% to 20% extra cows are being killed over and above last year’s levels
Last June according to provisional data from the CSO the total number of sheep was 5,105,500 a decrease of 91,600 (-1.8%) on June 2017. The June 2018 results also show that total cattle numbers were down by 15,000 (-0.2%) to 7,348,500 while the number of dairy cows was up by 48,200 (+3.4%).

However other cows dropped by 33,100 (-3.1%).The total number of cattle 2 years and over increased by 23,700 (+3.0%), while cattle under 1 year decreased by 52,600 (-2.5%).

Kubota announced at the Irish National Ploughing Championships recently that it will bring various machines from its farm equipment line-up to Ireland for the first time.

These products will include a range of its Kubota-branded farm implements, which Kverneland Group Ireland will roll out, supply, and manage.

Kubota Group acquired Kverneland Group in 2012.

Kubota will introduce to the Irish market disc mowers, rakes, tedders, flail choppers, pendulum fertiliser spreaders, round balers, and wrappers.

These implements will bear Kubota’s distinctive orange branding scheme and will initially be launched through four Kubota tractor dealers in Ireland, including DA Forgie in Northern Ireland, Clarkes of Cavan in Cavan, John Atkins & Company in Cork, and Mulchrone Brothers in Mayo.

Kubota says Kverneland Group Ireland will manufacture the implements, distribute them to the dealers, and provide parts and service.

Kverneland Group announced in a press release that it will launch Kubota’s implements in Ireland along with its existing Kverneland and Vicon equipment brands, adding that “there will be no changes to our existing Kverneland or Vicon dealer network as a result of the launch of Kubota implements.”

With the launch, Kubota says it now offers a full range of grassland-oriented implements to Irish customers, noting that the implements are “ideal” companions for the size and power that Kubota’s MGX- IV, M4002, M5001, and M7002 tractor ranges offer.

Fleming Agri Products in Newbuildings, near the City of Derry, a manufacturer of agricultural and groundscare machinery in the north west, has announced an investment of £4m and 34 new jobs as it targets new markets including the US.

Fleming Agri Products trailed topper

This innovative family firm makes equipment for farming and grounds maintenance including landrollers, muck spreaders and hay makers, which it sells mainly to machinery dealers.

The investment comes after the company's annual report said an upturn in the farming industry help lead to an increase of nearly 21% in sales for 2017, from £8.6m to £10.4m.

Pre-tax profits also rose from £1.1m to £1.3m.

As well as heavy equipment, the company has developed a range of merchandise such as bodywarmers, coast and fleeces, which it sells on e-commerce website www.farm-wardrobe.com .

Now chairman and founder George Fleming has announced a £4m spend to further its growth plans and boost its sales in external markets.

Economic development agency Invest NI has offered £220,000 of support towards the new roles, which include production operatives, sales executives and managers.

The 34 staff will be in place by 2020, and 15 of the jobs have are been filled.

EGO say they are growing their list of independent ‘Best Buy’ awards for their range of garden technology.

The latest award is from BBC Gardeners’ World magazine who rated the EGO Power Plus PH1400E as their favourite cordless Multi-tool, stating it was “robust, powerful and comfortable to use.” Adding that it was “straightforward to change attachments.”

The Multi-Tool was trialled head-to-head with other established brands, coming out on top.

This is one of several Best Buys awarded to Ego over the last 12 months from prominent industry influencers. These have included awards for EGO Power Plus ST1500E-F 38cm Loop Handled Line Trimmer, LM2001E 49cm Mower and most recently the LM2024E-SP 50cm Self-Propelled Mower.

Steve Roskell, marketing director (EMEA) at EGO said, “Since our launch, we have been awarded numerous independent ‘Best Buys’ for how sophisticated but easy-to-use our tools are.

“Our customers always provide us with incredible feedback so it’s fantastic to know that more independent reviewers are showing their support for EGO. This proves that choosing to sell our products is a reliable and sensible choice for stockists.”

KUHN Group has announced the signing of an agreement aimed at the purchase of all outstanding shares of the company ARTEC PULVERISATION, located in Corpe (Vendée), France.

KUHN Group has been a minority shareholder of ARTEC since 2008 and plans on becoming its sole shareholder by the end of 2018 upon the fulfillment of the conditions of the transaction.

Founded in 2005 by Jean-Pierre Chevallier, ARTEC specialises in the manufacture of self-propelled agricultural sprayers used for crop protection, in particular for large farms. In 2017, ARTEC’s revenues reached 19 million euros with 60 employees.

Kuhn say ARTEC’s self-propelled sprayers complement their current crop protection offering. The ARTEC products will continue to be distributed under the ARTEC brand and colors by a specialised dealer network.

As a result of the acquisition, ARTEC will benefit from the expertise and means of the KUHN Group to support its development both in France and in the international markets.

The exhibitor application packs for the FTMTA Farm Machinery Show 2019 have now been emailed and have been sent to all exhibitors at this year’s FTMTA Grass & Muck Show and at the last FTMTA Farm Machinery Show held in 2017, plus to firms who have requested an application.

All other firms interested in exhibiting at next year’s Show should contact FTMTA on admin@ftmta.ie or at 045 409309 to request an exhibitor pack.

A copy of the non-member application pack is available to download from the FTMTA website at www.ftmta.ie

Around 65,000 farmers applied for a machinery and plant capital allowance, according to the Revenue Commissioners.

That is a 20% rise in the number of farmers using the capital tax allowance, based on an annual 12.5% wear and tear allowance.

The allowance is available on a straight-line basis for eight years but only on new machinery purchased for farm use.

Farmers used the allowance to collectively saved a handsome €370m in tax.

The average amount farmers received in the machinery and plant allowance in 2016 was €5,325 each.