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KEEPING LIVESTOCK FED THROUGHOUT WINTER
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By Rebecca Sherratt, Production editor, Milling and Grain
he impact of the summer heatwave around the world is far from over, as farmers are continuing to be fearful regarding their available access to animal feed. The heatwave, resulting in the drying up of grass and other feeds, has meant that the approaching winter will be a potentially dangerous time for farmers, who have yet to recover from the heatwave, with insufficient feed stores saved up for their livestock in the winter. An emergency summit discussing this issue took place back on August 1, 2018, following farmer’s complaints that minimal action had taken place. In the UK, the Government have acted to try and minimise the problems created by this issue, to ensure the safety and comfort of all cattle and livestock in the country. In the driest summer for the UK since 1961, actions need to be taken to ensure the agriculture industry does not suffer.
Ensuring sustainability in feed
The EU Commission has made their current rules more flexible, allowing farmers in Europe to be able to now grow grass and edible forage in areas that previously were not allowed for grazing. Prior to this arrangement, the Ecological Focus Area (EFA) stipulated that certain areas of land must be left fallow or sown with crop mix that is not permitted to be grazed upon, to save it for winter crop shortages. Guidance, published by Defra, contains 40 Countryside Stewardship options, which can be adjusted for 2018 without penalty, providing that agreement holders notify Natural England by the end of 2018. Penalties for famers who fail to establish EFA areas to preserve crops for winter, will also be waived in light of the ongoing crisis. Michael Gove, Defra Secretary, states that “it is only right that we do what we can to support farmers who have been placed under the most pressure. I am pleased that these flexibilities will offer some help to livestock farmers by opening up new sources of fodder ahead of the winter.” Many farmers have also learnt that cows lose appetite in the heat. Some farmers have had to feed their livestock directly via hand, whereas they would usually be self-feeding in the fields. Winter feed, or silage, has also started to be used a significant amount already to ensure that cows obtain sufficient moisture and food. This does, however, add additional, time-consuming manual work into a farmer’s job, and so this is not an ideal solution to combat animal feed and appetite. The summer heatwave also followed a long, cold winter, which means that farmer stores of feed have been low, and now are only starting to recover from the winter of 2017. As our autumn now continues to worsen, many farmers are fearful of a harsh winter that 82 | November 2018 - Milling and Grain