PRAGUE, Sept. 18 (Xinhua) -- Farmers in the Czech Republic most likely have to reduce the volume of livestock by tens of thousands of pieces due to the lack of feed caused by this year's drought, a survey revealed on Tuesday.
The survey, by the Agricultural Association of the Czech Republic (ZSCR), was published at its conference in Vetrny Jenikov in Jihlava, a city in the couth-east of the Czech Republic.
The conference gathered authorities where they discussed the lack of hay, straw and silage as the result of this year's drought. Compensation payment for the drought will probably happen at the end of the year.
According to Chairman of the Agricultural Association Martin Pycha, the livestock reduction process is quite difficult and demanding. He said that the idea does not mean the cattle liquidation.
Pycha also added that livestock market is stagnating. "Selling animals today is a huge problem," he was quoted as saying. According to him, in the Czech Republic the supply exceeds the demand and that the same problem begins in Germany.
It was suggested farmers should try to keep the livestock by buying food in the regions less affected by drought or from abroad.
"We have the information that farmers are trying to buy from Poland, but there is also a lack of feed, so it is not easy," said Pycha.
Based on data from the survey of Agricultural Association, the biggest shortage of hay is found in Central Bohemia as farmers produced only half of what expected. Half of the expected quantity of silage is available to farmers in the Pardubice Region. As for straw, an average of about 20 percent is available in the country.
The price per ton of hay, according to farmers, is now ranging around 4,000 Czech crowns (about 183 U.S. dollars), whereas last year it was only one third of it.
As for the compensation for this year's losses caused by drought in the country, the payments are expected to begin in December, said Petr Jilek from the Ministry of Agriculture.
Data collection, on the basis of which the compensation to be calculated, was completed on Monday by the Agricultural Association. Enditem
