Drought leaves Bavarian farmers short of winter hay

Drought has sharply reduced hay supplies for livestock farmers in parts of southeastern Bavaria, leaving some farms worried about feeding their animals through winter, BR reports. A support initiative in Schnaitsee is trying to source hay from other German states.

Tobias Dirnecker stands in front of his family’s hay stores. It is August, but the storage area is far from full. After the harvest, the bales should normally be stacked tightly together. Instead, Dirnecker says, the supply already looks as it would in spring, even though winter has not yet begun.

The organic farm keeps 65 dairy cows, according to the family. About 90 percent of its agricultural land is grassland. Drought has reduced growth there and left the farm with smaller reserves. The animals still have enough to eat, Dirnecker says, but the family is unsure whether its supplies will last until next spring.

Winter feed used in summer

The family has adjusted its feeding practices and is now mixing straw into the feed. It is also already using silage that had been intended for winter. Too little has grown on the pastures, says Andi Dirnecker, Tobias’s father. The family is hoping for further productive grass cuts in autumn, but will also need to obtain additional feed.

Andi Dirnecker says he is worried that the situation could become more common. Until two years ago, he thought such a shortage could not happen in the Alpine foothills because of the amount of rain. This year, however, the farm has received only about one-third of its average amount, he says.

As it became clear that more farms in the surrounding area were running short of hay, farmer Tanja Jell from Schnaitsee in Traunstein district launched a support campaign with the Bund Naturschutz environmental group. There was little hay left to buy locally. Jell and her supporters are trying to source supplies from other German states for affected livestock farmers.

Farmers seek hay and storage space

Jell and her husband keep cattle themselves and know the difficulties of buying hay. Some farmers are refusing to sell because they do not know whether their own supplies will last, she says. Deliveries from other regions could help, but they bring additional transport costs. A truck from northern Germany costs at least 1,000 euros in freight, Jell says.

She also says supplies are becoming more limited because people from neighbouring countries are now coming to Germany to buy hay. Dry storage space is needed as well. Jell plans to sell the hay organised by the initiative at cost price, without making a profit.

Prices vary widely. Jell says she recently paid 38 euros per bale to a long-standing supplier, while comparable bales elsewhere cost more than twice as much. These individual examples do not establish a general price trend.

Agriculture office sees differences between farms

Michael Kaiser, head of the Traunstein agriculture office, gives a more cautious assessment. Grassland yields have been significantly lower, he says, but some farms still have reserves from the previous year. At the time of the interview, he said there was no evidence of a region-wide crisis. Further grass cuts could still improve supplies.

For farmers in Schnaitsee, the immediate tasks are to check available feed and hope that enough grass grows back. Their winter reserves must last until fresh grass returns to the meadows.