Leaving the Straw Incorporation Measure (SIM) aside, there is still a likely shortage of straw set to hit the country this autumn.
A low volume of winter crops being sown last year, combined with late sowing of spring crops and a portion of farmers chopping straw (some in the scheme and some out of it) will lead to tight straw supplies for a second year in a row.
The advice by many farm lobbying groups is for tillage and livestock farmers to liaise with each other and enable straw to be purchased sooner rather than later.
Storing straw in a field in the long term does nothing for aiding quality and soaking ability, while many tillage farmers do not want the hassle of transporting and storing straw in their own yard in valuable storage buildings (hence the reason why many have opted for the SIM). An early purchase is a win-win for both farmers.
How much straw do I need?
Slatted tanks dominate the majority of animal housing and manure storage, mainly due to our limited tillage area and the greater specialisation in individual industries.
However, there is still a large requirement for bedding on livestock farms, primarily around calving, lambing and under youngstock (calves and weanlings).
Looking at straw requirements for ewes, lowland ewes will require approximately 7kg straw for bedding each week to absorb all urine, while the requirement for hill ewes is significantly lower at 4kg to 5kg.
In simpler terms, a typical 4x4 round bale of straw weighing 140kg will generally be sufficient to provide bedding for 18 to 20 lowland ewes and 30 to 35 hill ewes for a week.
This calculation is based on a silage diet. Where sheep are fed on a hay and haylage diet, there may be a saving of between 20% and 30% on the volume of bedding used.
Typically, four to five bales need to be factored in for every 100 ewes for bedding lambing pens where ewes are turned out within 24 to 36 hours of delivering lambs.
In high prolificacy flocks, this requirement should be increased by 20% to 30% to take account of the higher average litter size and the need to keep lighter lambs indoors for longer.
A suckler or dairy cow will likely be housed on slatted floors/cubicles over the course of winter.
However, the likelihood is that she will spend about one week, on average, in and around calving on straw.
Teagasc estimates that cows require 49kg to 55kg of straw per week, equivalent to roughly one-third of a round bale.
For me, this is on the conservative side, and I would be budgeting closer to a half bale per cow per week, especially where individual calving boxes, as opposed to batch calving, are used.
Organics
Organic farmers, be they recent or veteran organic farmers, will likely adopt a system of feeding on slats with a dry lieback area available.
With approximately 40% of dunging and urinating done while animals are eating, it is safe to cut back the straw requirement by 40% to between 33kg and 40kg/cow/week.
Weanlings/store cattle/
finishing cattle
Finishing cattle (greater than two years old) will require a straw equivalent similar to that of suckler cows at 49kg/head/week, with this slightly reduced to 46kg/head/week for yearling cattle (above 450kg liveweight).
Weanlings (spring-born weaned cattle or autumn-born calves still suckling cows) weighing 250kg to 450kg will require circa 26kg of straw per week.
Similar to the organics situation, most finishing units in this country will incorporate bedded areas with slatted feeding areas, with the straw requirement suitably reduced.
Calves are likely the most important animal type on the list when it comes to getting it right with straw; skimping on straw for calves is a high risk-low reward action.
Both spring-born suckler calves with access to a creep area and dairy-bred calves that are artificially fed will require roughly 15kg of straw per week, equivalent to one small square bale or one 4x4 bale per 10 calves/week.
Calf coats
Even when calf coats are taken into consideration for warmth, a dry bed needs to be kept under calves at all times to prevent disease buildup and prevent jackets becoming damp, which would draw energy out of the calf as well as cause other health issues.
Round 4x4 bales typically weigh 150kg on average, but can weigh 140kg to 180kg; 8x4x3 bales weigh about 360kg (ranging between 350kg and 380kg), while 8x4x4 bales vary more and can weigh just below 500kg to 600kg, with an average weight of 550kg.
Varying weight
While straw is generally sold by the tonne in the UK, in Ireland we sell it by the bale, with the result being the varying weights we see in the above bales.
Well-packed bales of chopped straw will contain more volume than those made by older balers or those that have been “turned down”.
However, heavy bales of straw are not always a positive, and can often indicate damp straw rather than well-packed bales.
Straw should be 15% or lower in moisture content to be stored without risk of rot.
Lessening straw requirements
While straw cannot generally be skimped on without negatively impacting animal health and welfare, there are a number of measures farmers can take to reduce straw requirements.
1 Chopping straw: chopping straw, especially long, fibrous straw, will help to break up the cuticle and increase absorbability, reducing straw requirements by about 10%. The real saving with straw chopping is in the labour reduced in spreading out bales through using a chopper. Where a straw chopper is not available, talking to your straw-supplying tillage farmer before baling and striking up a deal to have bales chopped is an option.
Use of a straw chopper will lower requirements by up to 10%, with the real saving being in labour of bedding.
2 Non-bedded feed areas: slatted or solid floors should be utilised, where possible, as standing areas for feeding to reduce straw usage. As mentioned above, up to 40% of dunging and urinating takes place when animals are feeding. While animals will likely not lie close to feed areas, the damp conditions underfoot by not bedding along barriers can lead to foot problems, especially in ewes or store lambs.
Non-bedded feed areas can also be used for group calving, where cows have access to a slatted area for feeding with a straw lieback.
3 Limiting time on straw: with most straw being used at calving on dairy and suckler farms, having up-to-date calving dates and frequent checking for physical signs of calving (pin bones dropped, flagging of udder and softening of genitalia) will allow for accurate drafting of cows into calving boxes, so that cows ideally spend approximately 24 to 36 hours on straw before calving.
Post-calving, suckler cows and calves will have to spend some time together to bond before being grouped together.
Where weather condition allow, cows and calves can be turned out to sheltered paddocks either full-time or by day shortly after calving.
Alternatively, a temporary creep area can be set up within a slatted shed where there is none by bedding a washed slatted pen.
Straw should be rolled out or layered in sheets (for square bales) on top of the slats, with a creep gate leading to the slatted area where the calves’ dams are.
Lime can be spread on slats to help prevent against mastitis.
4 Diet: diet will have a significant impact on the consistency of dung in animals and the usage of straw. High dry matter diets, such as those incorporating hay or haylage or high volumes of concentrates, will generally see a reduction in straw required for bedding.
In this sense, where high dry matter feeds are available, then they should be concentrated on animals on dry-bedded floors, provided that the diet will not negatively impact animal performance.
The majority of barley straw in this country is destined for winter feeding and bedding of livestock, while the majority of wheat straw goes towards the mushroom industry.
Mushroom growers
However, with a declining number of mushroom growers, there may be more scope for wheaten straw to be used for bedding in livestock farms.
Absorbability
While barley straw has the highest absorbability, good-quality wheaten or oaten straw at the right price and chopped to increase soakage should also be explored.
Livestock farmers should look to source straw supplies sooner rather than later to secure ample, good-quality straw.Straw should only be reduced where there is a planned approach to reduce usage that will not impact animal health or performance. Moisture content and the weight of bales needs to tally; good-quality straw in well-packed bales should not be above 15% moisture content.
Leaving the Straw Incorporation Measure (SIM) aside, there is still a likely shortage of straw set to hit the country this autumn.
A low volume of winter crops being sown last year, combined with late sowing of spring crops and a portion of farmers chopping straw (some in the scheme and some out of it) will lead to tight straw supplies for a second year in a row.
The advice by many farm lobbying groups is for tillage and livestock farmers to liaise with each other and enable straw to be purchased sooner rather than later.
Storing straw in a field in the long term does nothing for aiding quality and soaking ability, while many tillage farmers do not want the hassle of transporting and storing straw in their own yard in valuable storage buildings (hence the reason why many have opted for the SIM). An early purchase is a win-win for both farmers.
How much straw do I need?
Slatted tanks dominate the majority of animal housing and manure storage, mainly due to our limited tillage area and the greater specialisation in individual industries.
However, there is still a large requirement for bedding on livestock farms, primarily around calving, lambing and under youngstock (calves and weanlings).
Looking at straw requirements for ewes, lowland ewes will require approximately 7kg straw for bedding each week to absorb all urine, while the requirement for hill ewes is significantly lower at 4kg to 5kg.
In simpler terms, a typical 4x4 round bale of straw weighing 140kg will generally be sufficient to provide bedding for 18 to 20 lowland ewes and 30 to 35 hill ewes for a week.
This calculation is based on a silage diet. Where sheep are fed on a hay and haylage diet, there may be a saving of between 20% and 30% on the volume of bedding used.
Typically, four to five bales need to be factored in for every 100 ewes for bedding lambing pens where ewes are turned out within 24 to 36 hours of delivering lambs.
In high prolificacy flocks, this requirement should be increased by 20% to 30% to take account of the higher average litter size and the need to keep lighter lambs indoors for longer.
A suckler or dairy cow will likely be housed on slatted floors/cubicles over the course of winter.
However, the likelihood is that she will spend about one week, on average, in and around calving on straw.
Teagasc estimates that cows require 49kg to 55kg of straw per week, equivalent to roughly one-third of a round bale.
For me, this is on the conservative side, and I would be budgeting closer to a half bale per cow per week, especially where individual calving boxes, as opposed to batch calving, are used.
Organics
Organic farmers, be they recent or veteran organic farmers, will likely adopt a system of feeding on slats with a dry lieback area available.
With approximately 40% of dunging and urinating done while animals are eating, it is safe to cut back the straw requirement by 40% to between 33kg and 40kg/cow/week.
Weanlings/store cattle/
finishing cattle
Finishing cattle (greater than two years old) will require a straw equivalent similar to that of suckler cows at 49kg/head/week, with this slightly reduced to 46kg/head/week for yearling cattle (above 450kg liveweight).
Weanlings (spring-born weaned cattle or autumn-born calves still suckling cows) weighing 250kg to 450kg will require circa 26kg of straw per week.
Similar to the organics situation, most finishing units in this country will incorporate bedded areas with slatted feeding areas, with the straw requirement suitably reduced.
Calves are likely the most important animal type on the list when it comes to getting it right with straw; skimping on straw for calves is a high risk-low reward action.
Both spring-born suckler calves with access to a creep area and dairy-bred calves that are artificially fed will require roughly 15kg of straw per week, equivalent to one small square bale or one 4x4 bale per 10 calves/week.
Calf coats
Even when calf coats are taken into consideration for warmth, a dry bed needs to be kept under calves at all times to prevent disease buildup and prevent jackets becoming damp, which would draw energy out of the calf as well as cause other health issues.
Round 4x4 bales typically weigh 150kg on average, but can weigh 140kg to 180kg; 8x4x3 bales weigh about 360kg (ranging between 350kg and 380kg), while 8x4x4 bales vary more and can weigh just below 500kg to 600kg, with an average weight of 550kg.
Varying weight
While straw is generally sold by the tonne in the UK, in Ireland we sell it by the bale, with the result being the varying weights we see in the above bales.
Well-packed bales of chopped straw will contain more volume than those made by older balers or those that have been “turned down”.
However, heavy bales of straw are not always a positive, and can often indicate damp straw rather than well-packed bales.
Straw should be 15% or lower in moisture content to be stored without risk of rot.
Lessening straw requirements
While straw cannot generally be skimped on without negatively impacting animal health and welfare, there are a number of measures farmers can take to reduce straw requirements.
1 Chopping straw: chopping straw, especially long, fibrous straw, will help to break up the cuticle and increase absorbability, reducing straw requirements by about 10%. The real saving with straw chopping is in the labour reduced in spreading out bales through using a chopper. Where a straw chopper is not available, talking to your straw-supplying tillage farmer before baling and striking up a deal to have bales chopped is an option.
Use of a straw chopper will lower requirements by up to 10%, with the real saving being in labour of bedding.
2 Non-bedded feed areas: slatted or solid floors should be utilised, where possible, as standing areas for feeding to reduce straw usage. As mentioned above, up to 40% of dunging and urinating takes place when animals are feeding. While animals will likely not lie close to feed areas, the damp conditions underfoot by not bedding along barriers can lead to foot problems, especially in ewes or store lambs.
Non-bedded feed areas can also be used for group calving, where cows have access to a slatted area for feeding with a straw lieback.
3 Limiting time on straw: with most straw being used at calving on dairy and suckler farms, having up-to-date calving dates and frequent checking for physical signs of calving (pin bones dropped, flagging of udder and softening of genitalia) will allow for accurate drafting of cows into calving boxes, so that cows ideally spend approximately 24 to 36 hours on straw before calving.
Post-calving, suckler cows and calves will have to spend some time together to bond before being grouped together.
Where weather condition allow, cows and calves can be turned out to sheltered paddocks either full-time or by day shortly after calving.
Alternatively, a temporary creep area can be set up within a slatted shed where there is none by bedding a washed slatted pen.
Straw should be rolled out or layered in sheets (for square bales) on top of the slats, with a creep gate leading to the slatted area where the calves’ dams are.
Lime can be spread on slats to help prevent against mastitis.
4 Diet: diet will have a significant impact on the consistency of dung in animals and the usage of straw. High dry matter diets, such as those incorporating hay or haylage or high volumes of concentrates, will generally see a reduction in straw required for bedding.
In this sense, where high dry matter feeds are available, then they should be concentrated on animals on dry-bedded floors, provided that the diet will not negatively impact animal performance.
The majority of barley straw in this country is destined for winter feeding and bedding of livestock, while the majority of wheat straw goes towards the mushroom industry.
Mushroom growers
However, with a declining number of mushroom growers, there may be more scope for wheaten straw to be used for bedding in livestock farms.
Absorbability
While barley straw has the highest absorbability, good-quality wheaten or oaten straw at the right price and chopped to increase soakage should also be explored.
Livestock farmers should look to source straw supplies sooner rather than later to secure ample, good-quality straw.Straw should only be reduced where there is a planned approach to reduce usage that will not impact animal health or performance. Moisture content and the weight of bales needs to tally; good-quality straw in well-packed bales should not be above 15% moisture content. 
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