Farmers across Gloucestershire are celebrating the end of a wet winter that has made farming conditions extremely difficult.
Today is the hottest day of the year so far, seeing the end to one of the toughest winters that Gloucestershire farmers have faced. The long winter and early spring has created a number of issues for farmers in particular, meaning that animals had to stay inside for longer, there was less grass for livestock and they even saw the price of straw rise.
Alex Stevens, Regional Policy Manager of the National Farmers Union spoke to Park Life about the struggle for farmers across the county;
“The wet weather and late spring has seen livestock and dairy producers unable to turn out stock for grazing due to a lack of grass growth, leading to the increased need for farmers to purchase supplementary feed and bedding.
Arable farmers have also experienced delays in spring cultivations and drilling of crops where the ground is too wet to travel on or the ground is simply so wet that seeds would rot without germinating.”
The NFU was forced to open a ‘Fodder Bank’ service earlier this year, allowing members with surplus feed or bedding to match up with those who are in need of extra.
Following the difficulties our members are experiencing with the availability of forage, our Fodder Bank has relaunched today. This free service helps our members find animal feed – or sell any surplus https://t.co/aT0bxgtWcd pic.twitter.com/ll7qazfXK1
— NationalFarmersUnion (@NFUtweets) April 10, 2018
As a result of the poor weather, the union are taking steps to ensure that farmers don’t struggle again as they have this past winter, stressing the importance of farming to the Gloucestershire community.
“The NFU is in close discussion with government about steps that can be taken to mitigate the effects of the bad weather on farm businesses and seeking derogations to allow flexibility around the establishment of crops.
As well as contributing £112 billion to the economy and providing 3.8 million jobs, food and farming underpins rural communities and it is during these difficult times that the support of both government and the wider industry is so important.”
And the good news for farmers – the sunny weather is set to return next week.
