With farmers looking ahead to autumn and winter, having adequate fodder stocks will be high on the agenda.

More silage will be harvested over the next month or so to build up stocks that were depleted in the spring.

Some farmers use more than just silage to feed their livestock. Those farmers with diet feeders will also require a quantity of straw to incorporate into their feeding plan.

Straw is also heavily used in beef cattle systems for both bedding and feeding.

With the supplies from the Irish market being questioned, due to a downturn in acreage planted due to poor conditions for establishing winter cereals last year, a local business is supplying straw from an alternative source, bringing in loads of straw from England and Spain as well as parts of Ireland.

Philip Howe, from GC Metals, Ballinamallard, has a quantity of barley and wheat straw chopped to about 50mm (two inches) in length, packed in 8x4x3 foot large bales, weighing 670kgs each.

The material is also sold in 16kgs bags. Other large bales of English straw come in at 480kgs.

Philip says the Spanish straw has had extremely dry conditions, and it and the straw brought in from England has been selling well, especially to those with diet feeders.