THE government is working on how to support the farming industry, with farmers warning that the relentless hot and dry weather has left them in a ‘critical’ situation.
Less than a millimetre of rain has fallen since the start of July and Jersey is on course for one of its driest years on record.
The extreme conditions are causing havoc for farmers who are having to use up winter feed for their herds because of a lack of grass.
No details of support for farming have been finalised, but Economic Development Minister Kirsten Morel said: ‘I recognise that the drought and cost of importing feed are causing difficulties for the industry, and am working to determine how best to support farmers. We are working closely with the industry to evaluate the exact nature and cost of the challenges, gathering the evidence to ensure that we address the challenges effectively.’
A sustained period of drought in 2018 resulted in emergency funds being made available in Jersey to purchase imported feed. In Guernsey, the government answered concerns about dairy farmers going out of business earlier this month by agreeing emergency funding of £500,000.
‘The situation is getting fairly critical if we don’t get rain very soon,’ said Jersey Farmers’ Union president Peter Le Maistre. ‘It’s getting more and more difficult, particularly on the dairy farmers’ side, as they are having to use all their winter feed. No grass is growing.’
Jersey Dairy chair Andrew Le Gallais said farmers had no choice but to use feed that would typically have been kept for use in the late autumn and winter.
He said: ‘There’s nothing else we can do – we take the welfare of our animals very seriously.
‘Nature seems to throw these things at us, but the challenges seem to get worse and worse.
‘We’re putting a plan together but it is early days. I am confident we will have some resolution.’
Mr Le Gallais said that importing additional stocks of feed for the winter was one option, although this would not be easy, as neighbouring countries including the UK and France had also been affected by the hot, dry summer.
He added: ‘Importing bulk feed isn’t a perfect solution, as it’s a pretty low-value product, which means the shipping costs are proportionately very high.
‘We are also looking at whether we can get some crops in the ground earlier, which would enable us to have some locally grown feed available for our herds in February or March.’
Farmer Darren Quénault, of Classic Herd, said the drought was the worst he had seen in 40 years.
‘Global warming is real,’ he said. ‘People say it’s like the summer of 1976, but it’s not.
‘The patterns are changing and it’s extremes all the time. Either it’s raining all the time or it’s dry all the time. It’s a hard thing to cater for.’
Mr Quénault’s farm is the only independent dairy farm in the Island, selling directly to consumers rather than through Jersey Dairy, and has also been obliged to start using stocks of winter feed.
While sympathetic to the situation facing other dairy farmers, Mr Quénault said he was not convinced government should step in, given the many other pressing concerns in Jersey.
‘There is an awful lot of pressure on an awful lot of people,’ he said. ‘For most people, there is a housing crisis. On the other hand, there are only 13 dairy farmers.’
Deputy Morel said: ‘The agricultural industry is of great importance to the Island, and the Economic Framework for the Rural Environment contains policy components which will enable us to better manage the ongoing impacts of climate change with emphasis on water use, soil health, alternative crops, investment and research into our food system to deliver a sustainable farmed environment in the future.’
