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Will farmers run out of feed for cattle?

Czy hodowcom zabraknie pasz dla bydła?

Ireneusz Jasiński, a dairy farmer from the Lublin province, assessed his situation best.

– As far as my farm is concerned, the drought did not cause any problems with securing the feed base and I would rate its condition as very good. I currently have a supply for about half a year ahead – he said.

"The drought has hit us hard"

In turn, Tomasz Mroczkowski, a dairy farmer from the Podlaskie province, said that drought made it much more difficult for him to secure his feed base this year.

– The drought has really taken its toll on us. When it comes to corn, I sowed a larger area, about 25 percent, thinking that I would also have some for grain. Unfortunately, there was 20 or even 30 percent less of it, so I gathered it all for silage. Ultimately, I gathered enough, including the previous year's supply for about 2-3 months. However, when it comes to haylage, I only have enough for cows. I have to buy more for the youngsters – he informed.

The area of crops has been doubled, but there is still too little feed

Wojciech Chrostowski, a dairy farmer from the Podlaskie Voivodeship, assessed his situation the worst.

– What does my feed base look like? Unfortunately, it is miserable. The deficit is approaching 50 percent. Although I have allocated half as much area for feed crops as last year, due to the drought I still have not collected enough to fully secure the feed base – he stated.

– I am forced to buy feed. Last year was also weak, so I sowed more hectares of feed to rebuild a bit of a safety stock, unfortunately the yields were so poor that I couldn't catch up. The only positive is that thanks to the yields from these additional hectares there is some hope of maintaining the current herd size. Otherwise it wouldn't have been possible – he added.

As our interlocutor pointed out, the chances of securing the feed base were also reduced by the assumptions of the Green Deal.

– We had to perform spring ploughing due to catch crops in most fields, which dried out the soil even more. It is good that thanks to mass protests, at least some of the assumptions of the Green Deal were abolished. Those from the first version would have made it impossible to secure the feed base, because it would not have been possible to sow a sufficient amount of corn – said Chrostowski.

Drought and flood at the same time. Big problems with animal feed

While one part of Poland is facing drought, the other is battling floods, the consequences of which, apart from numerous threats and destruction, are huge losses in feed bases and difficulties in their construction.

Farmers need help. Flood damage to feed, fertilizers, and seed

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Farmers need help. Flood damage to feed, fertilizers, and seed Thousands of hectares under water. Losses after flood will be gigantic

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Thousands of hectares under water. Losses after flood will be gigantic Chief Veterinary Officer: We have no credible reports of animal losses

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Chief Veterinary Officer: We have no credible reports of animal losses Farmers want to support farmers from the Kłodzko Valley. Collection of feed, grain and straw is underway

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Farmers want to support farmers from the Kłodzko Valley. Collection of feed, grain and straw is underway

Polish breeders are well prepared to combat heat stress

Another problem that farmers often have to deal with during the high-temperature season is heat stress. Fortunately, our interviewees did not report any major problems related to heat stress in cattle this year.

– This year was specific in terms of heat stress, the temperatures during the day were very high. In our case, there were problems with this on some facilities, but on the main facility, where the milking cows arrive, we did not notice any side effects due to high temperatures. We do not have fans installed there, but this barn is characterized by very good gravitational ventilation – said Jasiński.

In turn, Chrostowski noted that on his farm, in a high, free-stall barn with fans, there are no problems with heat stress. It is worse in the old-style barns, he added.

Mroczkowski stated that heat stress occurred in his herd, but the solutions implemented allowed for its effective combat.

– Yes, we experienced heat stress, but two helicopter fans that we installed this year in the barn above the part where the milking cows are kept are quite effective in reducing it. We also added a second fan above the part where the dry cows and heifers are kept – he explained.

– However, it cannot be denied that if the air is heated and still, it translates into worse somatic conditions. This is not a big problem in our herd, but it does appear during a heatwave. A drop in productivity is also visible. Recently, during the highest heat, the average drop in productivity was 4 liters per head, although it should be noted that at the same time we were changing the pile, and previously there was not such a big difference – said Mroczkowski.

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