'Almost drought-like conditions' in parts of country - tillage specialist
Rain is badly needed in many parts of the country to get winter oilseed rape crops through germination over the coming days and to allow pre-emergent herbicides to have their full impact, Teagasc tillage specialist, Shay Phelan has said.
He told Agriland: “This is particularly the case in the midlands and places in the south-east where soil moisture deficits are currently running at around minus 50mm.
“These are almost drought-like conditions.
“Cork got rain earlier in the week. And moisture deficits are not that extreme along the west coast.
"However, there is now a key issue with regard to soil moisture availability in those parts of the country where tillage crops are sown.”
Meanwhile, merchants are reporting very strong sales of both winter oilseed rape and cover crop seed mixes.
It has been speculated that the 2025/2026 rape cropping area could come in at around 15,000ha. That is well up on the 11,000ha established last year but still below the 20,000ha recorded in 2023/2024.
Phelan noted: “We have reached a lull, where the actual harvesting of crops is concerned. Recent days have seen growers removing bales of straw from fields and planting out cover crops.
“Demand for cover crop seed mixes is extremely strong at present - to the extent that farmers ordering stocks now will have a very restricted selection from which to choose.
“Driving this trend is the fact that grant aid for cover crops is available courtesy of both the ACRES and the Farming for Water European Innovation Partnership Schemes.”
The earlier that cover crops are drilled, the more benefit to the soil in terms of restructuring the soil, returning carbon to the soil, and trapping any residual nitrogen left behind after the previous crop as well as growing a bigger canopy.
One key benefit of the continuing dry ground conditions is that farmers can get on with drainage improvement and other related activities works without damaging soil structures, according to the Teagasc representative:
He said: “The fact that the harvest has progressed at such a fast pace now gives growers an opportunity to address these issues in a very constructive manner."
Recent days have also seen large quantities of organic manures brought out from sheds and stockpiled on stubble ground.
“Manures that are high in nitrogen - including poultry litter and hen dung - pose a specific problem in this regard if spread on ground over the coming weeks prior to the drilling of a winter cereal crop," Phelan said.
“In such instances, there will not be enough plant growth to absorb all of the available nitrogen. This poses a potential water quality threat.
“And the same principle holds where the spreading of slurries on stubble ground is concerned.”