Cattle are being shot and some farmers are suicidal because of the unprecedented shortage of fodder, senior officials from Teagasc were told by Oireachtas committee members yesterday.
Animals are dying as a result of the shortage and Government aid is needed urgently, according to members of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine.
The Fine Gael TD for Cork North-West, Mr Michael Creed, said there was now the least amount of feed ever to meet the demand and that there was a "fodder famine" in some areas of the State.
"There will be cattle dying in the fields and there will be public health implications unless Government help is given," said Mr Creed.
Officials from Teagasc, the agriculture and food development authority, accepted the shortage was now imposing difficulties on between 40,000 and 50,000 farmers and that the situation was deteriorating. However, they denied that Teagasc could have acted more swiftly to avert the crisis and said they had provided assistance and advice to about 67,000 farmers since September.
Of these, 37,000 were clients of Teagasc and a further 30,000 received one-to-one advice at clinics and other public events aimed at highlighting the shortage. Teagasc had also assisted in transporting fodder that was for sale in the east and south-east of the country to the regions badly affected.
Mr Donal Carey, director of Teagasc Advisory Training Services (North), said the shortage was first recognised at the beginning of August, but severe weather conditions had exacerbated the problem. Falling cattle prices had forced farmers to winter more cattle, and this and the worsening quality of fodder had increased the pressure on farmers.
"We now see it has deteriorated because the supplies of fodder have diminished faster than they would under normal circumstances," said Mr Carey.