The results of the December 2017 CSO Livestock Survey show that the number of cattle was 6,673,600 an increase of 60,200 (+0.9%) on December 2016. The number of Dairy cows increased by 48,100 (+3.7%), while other cows fell by 23,700 (-2.3%).
Cattle two years and over (excluding cows and bulls) increased by 18,400 (+4.6%) The CSO also reported that in June last total sheep numbers were up by 73,700 (+1.4%) to 5,252,900.
The early winter in 2017 and late spring this year has again highlighted the need for adequate forage stocks of good quality to cater for our increasing livestock numbers.
Farmers short of forage had to purchase expensive fodder and concentrates often of mediocre quality and also suffered from reduced milk yield and poor liveweight gains.
Farmers who had surplus silage during this period literally did cash in on their spare forage stocks whether it was bales of silage, haylage, grass or maize silage in clamps. Conserving extra silage is a good investment as any silage will last another year if it is safely stored.
It appears that an increasing number of livestock farmers are investing in smaller balers to handle their surplus grass as an aid to good grassland management. Agri contractors can expect to receive a lot more work this year as farmers attempt to conserve more silage and attempt to build up forage reserves.
John Sheehy, National Chairman of the Association of Farm Contractors of Ireland (FCI) told the association’s conference recently that their members employ close to 10,000 skilled operators and used more than 500m litres of diesel annually.
The number of tractors, he said, used by contractors is about one-third of the national tractor fleet or more than 20,000 to carry out their work.
According to the FCI their machines harvest more than 5 million bales of silage each year along with spreading more than 20 billion litres of slurry, as well as establishing and harvesting many different food crops.
However there is a major skill shortage in contracting. Since the downturn younger workers have been emigrating to Australia and elsewhere with their friends who were electricians and plumbers.
Since the economy has improved more young rural people are working in the construction sector in Ireland where they can earn more money and are guaranteed work all year round. So no wonder the trend is to higher HP tractors, bigger slurry tankers and mixer wagons which can get more work done quicker with the available labour.
During 2017, more than 84% of all new tractors registered here in the Republic had more than 100hp. Just over 50% had more than 120hp. The main manufacturers and importers of self-propelled silage harvesters say it has been a good year for them despite the long winter. Last year it was reported that 38 machines were sold here, a 26% rise on the 2016 figure of 30. It is expected that the 2018 number could be over 40.
Forage wagons and over the past number of years there has been an increased interest in the concept of zero grazing. This machine allows farmers to graze distant fields or soft ground and bring the valuable grass home to their hungry livestock. 90% of customers are dairy farmers and according to Teagasc National Farm Survey their average incomes were €86,115 last year.
