Global issues impacting Tasmanian farmers

Barrington farmer David Bloomfield and his farm manager Amy Forster were glad they put the irrigator on the front boundary fenceline at Forest Hill last week because digging holes for new posts was the job of the day.

Despite the lush look of the rolling hills in the district the ground was hard and dry just under the surface and the 40mm of rain they had enjoyed hadn’t found its way down deep.

“Don’t get me wrong, it’s been magic, especially when we’ve only got just enough water left in the dam to get us through,” David said.

“It’s been enough rain to make everything green but we need more to make everything grow.”

The stretch of Sheffield Rd in front of the farm catches drivers unaware and another victim had ploughed through the front fence.

But neither the inconvenience and cost of new steel posts, wire and gates nor the reliance on an autumn break to keep the silage growing could compare to his worry about the lack of urea deliveries from the Middle East.

David believes there won’t be any more urea to fertilise paddocks left in the state by the end of the week.

He managed to buy 50-tonne to see him through autumn, paying $1350 per tonne for urea that normally would cost $800.

“On top of that, buying it before it’s actually needed means we also have to buy bags to store it in and pay someone to deliver it, unload into the shed, then get it back out later.

“Normally the fertiliser company would deliver and spread it as needed.”

The 180ha property supports dairy heifers, silage and cropping and while irrigation is keeping his silage stocks up he reckons lack of rain and urea is a recipe for a shortage of winter grass.

“Without those two things we could lose 100 to 150 percent of our grass and that affects stocking rates,” he said.

“No-one wants to see feed in short supply and expensive.”