# Winter fodder shortage 2026: the numbers for your county *Published 2026-08-19 by FarmAI Ireland* Teagasc measured winter feed on 306 farms in mid-August. The average yard holds 4.1 months of fodder. You need five months, and closer to six in wetter regions. Fourteen per cent of farms face a significant shortfall, and another quarter are 10 to 20 per cent short. The drought has hit the south-east hardest. Here is what the numbers mean for your farm. ## Where the "nearly 40pc" figure actually comes from You will have seen the headline. It is close to right, but it hides the part that matters. Teagasc presented preliminary winter fodder survey data to the National Fodder and Food Security Committee on 18 August. Two separate groups make up that number. The first is 14% of farms with a **significant** shortfall in winter fodder. In a normal year that figure sits between 6% and 10%. So it has roughly doubled. The second is a further 25% of farms reporting a shortfall of 10% to 20%. That is a serious gap, but it is one you can usually close with management rather than a chequebook. Add them and you get 39%. Two very different problems in one headline. Which one you have decides what you do next. ## What the county figures say The fodder budgets came from 306 farms, dairy and drystock, entered into PastureBase Ireland. Feed stocks were measured around 11 August, counting the stock each farm plans to carry through the winter. Teagasc reckons you need **five months of feed as a minimum**, and 5.5 to 6 months in wetter or later regions. Here is what was actually in the yards, in months of feed: | Area | Months of feed | |---|---| | Kerry | 5.4 | | Clare | 4.5 | | Connacht / Ulster | 4.4 | | Limerick | 4.4 | | Cork | 4.2 | | Wexford / Wicklow | 4.2 | | Longford / Offaly / Westmeath | 4.2 | | Tipperary | 3.9 | | Meath / Louth | 3.9 | | Carlow / Kilkenny / Laois / Kildare | 3.6 | | Waterford | 3.5 | | **National average** | **4.1** | Only Kerry is above the five-month minimum. Everywhere else is short on the day it was measured. Teagasc named the counties with shortages directly: Kilkenny, Laois, Carlow, Kildare, Wexford, Wicklow, Tipperary, Waterford, Louth, Meath, Offaly, Westmeath and north Cork. ## Why the south-east is different Grass growth tells the story. In the week ending 16 August, farms across Carlow, Kilkenny, Laois, Kildare, Wicklow and Wexford grew 14kg of dry matter per hectare per day. Demand on those farms was 32kg. They were running at less than half of what they needed. Compare that with Connacht and Ulster, growing 48kg against demand of 45kg. Those farms are close to balanced. The rainfall figures show how deep the drought ran. Moorepark recorded 1.1mm of rain in July. Oak Park recorded 1.5mm, and Johnstown Castle 1.5mm. Athenry got 16mm. Seven weather stations recorded a heatwave of five or more days above 25 degrees, and Moorepark recorded 13 straight days. Soil moisture deficits are approaching 100mm across the east and south-east. Nationally, 8.2 tonnes of grass per hectare has been grown in 2026. That is close to the five-year average, but 490kg below the ten-year average and 820kg behind 2025. ## What it is costing you right now This is the number to bring to the kitchen table. Teagasc costed the feeding on dairy farms using concentrate at €350 a tonne. Grass silage was costed at €250 a tonne of dry matter, or €315 once feed-out losses are counted. - **Normal feeding** — 16kg grass plus 3kg concentrate — costs about **€2.50 per cow per day** - **Current feeding** — around 9kg grass, 5kg concentrate and 4 to 5kg of silage — costs about **€4.40 per cow per day** - The extra is roughly **€1.90 per cow per day** For a 100-cow herd that is €190 a day. It is **€1,330 a week, or €5,320 a month**. On the worst-affected farms the extra cost runs to €3.00 or €3.50 per cow per day. Supplementary feed now makes up 53% of the diet on farms in Carlow, Kilkenny, Laois, Kildare, Wicklow and Wexford. It is 47% in Munster, 46% in Leinster, and 30% in Connacht and Ulster. Every week you delay a decision on stock numbers costs a 100-cow herd more than a thousand euro. ## No scheme has been announced yet Minister for Agriculture Martin Heydon agreed to reconvene the National Fodder and Food Security Committee on 18 August. That is the extent of it. No financial support scheme has been announced. The Minister said additional supports would be considered when the full picture is available, in the context of Budget 2027. IFA president Francie Gorman has said concrete plans are needed. Plan on the basis that no drought scheme is coming. If something does come, it will be a bonus rather than a rescue. ## What to do this week Teagasc's advice on the fodder shortage is blunt: take action early and get your adviser in. 1. **Do the fodder budget now.** Count the stock you intend to carry, measure the pit and bales, and subtract. Our [step-by-step guide to the winter fodder budget](/read/winter-fodder-budget-2026) walks through the sums using the Teagasc figures. 2. **Review it weekly.** Feed stocks are moving. A budget from July is already out of date. 3. **Reduce demand before you buy.** Off-load empty cows, high cell-count cows, and cattle fit for selling. This is cheaper than buying silage. 4. **Cap the meal.** Teagasc advises a maximum of 6kg of concentrate. 5. **Hold off on nitrogen and slurry until it rains.** The sward should be green, tillering and actively growing before you spread. Spreading into a burnt-off field wastes the fertiliser. 6. **Look local.** Short-term grazing agreements, extra land, and stored native grain are all in the Teagasc list. Growers are actively offering oats and rye for rations. 7. **Close for a third cut** where conditions allow it. Do not count on buying your way out later. Straw yields are at 80% to 90% of normal, and the cereal harvest is likely to come in below two million tonnes. Prices will follow. ## Where to get help Your Teagasc adviser can complete a fodder budget with you. Teagasc has been running fodder clinics, farm walks and one-to-one consultations since early July. The free [Grass Silage Stock Checker](https://interactive.teagasc.ie/Open/FeedChecker) converts your pit dimensions and bale count into months of feed. It takes about ten minutes. Water is the other half of this problem, and the rules still apply. See our [guide to the 2026 water conservation order](/read/july-2026-heatwave-water-rules-irish-farms) for what you can and cannot do on farm. Weekly grass growth figures by county are in [our PastureBase update](/read/teagasc-pasturebase-update-2026). ## Frequently asked questions **Is 4.1 months of feed a crisis?** On its own, no. It is a shortfall of roughly one month against the five-month minimum. The problem is that it is an average, and farms in the south-east are closer to 3.5 months. Teagasc says an early return to grass growth remains the cheapest way to rebuild reserves. **Should I wait to see if a support scheme is announced?** No. Nothing has been announced, and the Minister has linked any decision to Budget 2027. The corrective actions that work best, cutting stock numbers and securing fodder locally, get harder and dearer the longer you leave them. **My figures are from July. Do I need to redo them?** Yes. Teagasc is asking farmers to review the budget weekly. Grass growth, stock numbers and feed-out rates have all moved since July. ## The bottom line The average Irish farm is a month short of winter fodder. The south-east is closer to a month and a half short. Standing still costs a 100-cow herd €1,330 a week. Do the budget this week, cut demand before you buy, and get your adviser in. --- ## Sources - [Teagasc — Impact of 2026 drought on grass production and fodder supply on livestock farms and on crop and vegetable production](https://teagasc.ie/publications/impact-of-2026-drought-on-grass-production-and-fodder-supply-on-livestock-farms-and-on-crop-and-vegetable-production/) — Presented to the National Fodder and Food Security Committee, 18 August 2026. Source of every grass, fodder and cost figure in this article - [PastureBase Ireland](https://pasturebase.teagasc.ie) — The Teagasc platform holding the 306 farm fodder budgets and the weekly grass growth figures quoted here - [Teagasc — Grass Silage Stock Checker](https://interactive.teagasc.ie/Open/FeedChecker) — The free tool that converts your pit and bale count into months of feed - [Teagasc — Managing Winter Fodder](https://teagasc.ie/animals/managing-winter-fodder/) — Pit measurement method and the published list of options where a deficit is found - [RTÉ News — Food security committee to be reconvened amid fodder concerns](https://www.rte.ie/news/ireland/2026/0818/1588396-fodder-crisis-support/) — Confirms the committee was reconvened on 18 August and that no support scheme has been announced --- *Source: [FarmAI Ireland](https://farmai.ie/read/winter-fodder-shortage-2026-teagasc-numbers)*