There has been much talk in the UK media about Covid and Brexit issues affecting the supply chain for a range of goods.

The Food and Farming page decided to check on how things were going with the availability of items farmers are typically stocking up on at this time of year: animal feed, ewe’s milk replacement and other supplies for lambing, seeds and fertiliser.

Mike Caley, general manager of Isle of Man Farmers on Richmond Hill, said: ’Although the availability of goods is not an issue, indirect effects of the Covid situation and Brexit is that there has been a delay in the arrival of certain goods due to many suppliers having to alter staff working practices.’

Farmers will also find that many of these products have gone up significantly in price. And that is nothing to do with Covid-19 or Brexit.

Mike said: ’There are no major issues around getting hold of anything but prices have gone up, particularly on the higher protein feeds that contain soya.

’The two feed companies we use in the UK have told us that it’s a global issue.’

It might sound surprising that a dockers’ strike in Argentina could affect animal feed prices in the Isle of Man but a lot of soya comes from South America and the strike has affected the supply chain. Although the strike, which lasted 20 days, has now been resolved, more than 150 grain ships were left stranded in Argentina’s ports which has hampered the grain flow trade and contributed to a global grain price rally.

To make matters worse, China, which lost more than 40% of its pigs to a devastating outbreak of swine fever in 2019, has been restocking massively and their requirement for feed is also putting pressure on the markets.

’Also the autumn of 2019 was exceptionally wet and a lot of wheat and winter cereals were not planted and that’s another factor which has meant the stock of wheat from last year’s harvest is down. This is pushing up demand which affects the price of compound animal feeds,’ explained Mike.

All this comes at just the point in the year when farmers still have cattle indoors and are also making sure that their in-lamb ewes receive the nourishment they need.

’It’s a bad time for the prices to go up,’ said Mike.

And it’s not only animal feed: fertiliser too has risen in price. Where, depending on the grade of fertiliser, farmers might have paid around £225 a tonne six months ago, now they will be paying around £300.

When you consider that the largest farms in the island will buy up to 100 tonnes, you can see what a significant difference this will make to their costs.

’Some farmers, if they have the storage, will generally buy at the end of the summer when prices tend to be lower,’ said Mike.

But that is no guarantee: fertiliser prices are also based on the oil price which, as we know from home heating costs and filling up the car, frequently fluctuate.

Another possible issue which Mike foresees is as a result of the wet weather during last year’s harvest. Grain quality has been affected resulting in some varieties not meeting the required germination standards which could cause seed shortages.

Is it all doom and gloom for farmers? Well, not quite. The good news is that fatstock prices are holding up well.

Phil Parsons, plant director at Isle of Man Meats, said: ’The market is remaining steady, and both local and UK sales are holding up well despite all of the current challenges. Producers are getting a good price, and as always we’re working closely with them as part of our broader strategy to support a sustainable business model that allows us to grow the market for quality Manx meat both on and off-island.’