Getting ready for winter

With the Ploughing day trip and the recent pleasant weather now a memory, it’s time to think of the dark evenings, remember the straw and feed shortages of 2023 and try and have everything in place for the coming winter. EU Farm Payments are dependent on farmers abiding to ‘Conditionality Rules’ so try to get your hands on the ‘Explanatory Handbook for Conditionality Requirements’ to see what you should and shouldn’t be doing on your farm.

Empty the tanks

The first thing to ensure is to have as much space in your tanks as possible by spreading before the closed period for slurry (before October 1) and farmyard manure (before November 1). Watch out for non-spread buffer zones of 5 to 25 metres beside water, which are increased from mid-September and prioritise slurry for fields with lowest P and K soil levels.

Take soil samples

If soil sample results are four years old or more, take soil samples (1 sample per 12 acres max) before spreading slurry or manure. Soil samples cost about €2-3 per acre, which can quickly be recouped from costly incorrect fertiliser types, and you will also avoid uncertainty on Nitrogen and Phosphate allowances and possible payment penalties from using the wrong fertiliser on your farm next spring.

To house or not?

Write down the number and type of animals you intend to keep for winter 2024/2025. The maximum number you are allowed outwinter is one livestock unit per hectare, assuming the land is suitable to keep them out on, and no major poaching of land happens.

If you intend feeding fodder to outwintered stock, try to have bales beside their planned feeding locations to avoid doing damage to the soil with the tractor when feeding out bales. Avoid feeding close to watercourses and areas of the farm you know get wet in the winter, and remember that Sacrifice Paddocks or designated areas of the farm where livestock are kept to ‘save the rest of the land’, particularly during the winter months, are not allowed under Conditionality rules.

How many fit in shed?

So with the number and type of animals to be housed known, work out if you have enough space for those animals in the shed and in the tank. The lying space requirements for the different animal types is detailed in Table 1 below, and the floor space required differs, depending on the type of housing on the farm, with more space needed in loose-bedded sheds than slatted accommodation.

Also bear in mind that if farming under the Organic Farming Scheme (OFS), organic standards dictate that 50% more space is required for animals housed than the figures detailed below with a minimum requirement of 1m2 per 100kgs liveweight.

Tank space and rain

It’s getting a bit late now to try to build additional tank space for this winter, so try to maximise the space you have by leaving the animals out as long as practical and keeping rain water out of tanks. A rough rule of thumb for the midlands is that five gallons of water falls on every square metre every week of the winter out of the sky, so for a 20-week winter that’s 100 extra gallons of water for every square metre of uncovered tank/unroofed accommodation or from clean rood water from roofs/yards that fills up your tank.

So in a typical tank that water is allowed accumulate in, a third of the tank capacity is wasted collecting water!

How much feed?

And so to feed and the worries of 2023. Work out how many bales you’ll need for this winter from Table 2 below for the numbers and type of animal you propose keeping for the winter and then go and count the bales – a bale is normally 0.9 tonnes of silage. The quantity of silage (tonnes) in a pit can be calculated by multiplying length x width x settled height and dividing this total by a compaction figure of 1.35 (If measured in meters) or 47 (if measured in feet).

If you reckon you won’t have enough for this winter, look at booking/buying extra pit silage/bales before the panic buying starts next February. It’s a good idea to get this silage tested as poor quality silage is the dearest feed you can buy, and instead look at feeding meal/beet etc to reduce the silage requirement. Another option is to sell drystock or breeding stock to be culled, earlier than originally planned, and save fodder and tank space for more valuable stock, while having less work for man and machine during the housing period.

If you need help with your fodder budget contact James or Eanna at Carton Rural Consultants; 044 9396377; James 0862488708; Eanna 0851451317.

Have a good winter and keep safe.

Dates to Remember

The first Genotyped ram for the Sheep Improvement Scheme (SIS) has to be on farm for the coming breeding season if not bought in 2023. The deadline for submitting cow and calf weights for Suckler SCEP scheme to the ICBF is November 1. The SCEP training deadline is November 15.