Gearing up for spring barley harvest in Mayo
Weather permitting, the much anticipated 2026 spring barley harvest will get underway later today (August 17) in Co. Mayo.
Fintan Murray, who both farms and provides an agricultural contracting service in the Balla area, confirmed: “If the weather clears up in the afternoon, then we will start cutting.
“The spring barley crops that I have walked over recent days have performed well. Yields in the region of 2.5t-3t/ac look feasible.
“In contrast to the rest of the country, spring cereals grown in Mayo this year enjoyed almost perfect weather conditions.
“Normally, it’s the other way round.”
Murray grows a combined 100ac of spring barley and oats.
Geraldine was the spring variety selected this year with Husky the oat variety of choice.
In addition to his own cereal acreage, he is also booked to combine an additional 100ac of cereal for neighbouring farmers.
Straw
Normally, the barley straw is baled and the oaten straw chopped and submitted for the Straw Incorporation Measure.
But this may change, depending on how winter forage stocks work out around the country over the coming weeks.
Murray explained: “I might decide to bale the oat straw as well this year, depending on the level of demand for it from neighbouring farmers.
“This year’s spring crops were planted out during the second half of April. And they have progressed well since then.
“But getting them harvested in good shape is very much dependent on the weather over the coming week or so.”
Meanwhile, Atlantic weather systems will predominate across Ireland over the coming days.
It will be cooler than recent days with highest temperatures of 16-20℃ in light to moderate westerly breezes, fresh at times along Atlantic coasts.
Current indications show a more settled picture for next weekend with sunny spells and just isolated showers. Temperatures will likely range from the mid to high teens.
The return of the rains will facilitate the planting of winter oilseed crops, one of the few success stories within Ireland’s tillage sector over recent years.
Soil deficits in the east of the country have been running at about 60mm for most of the past month.
It would take a month’s normal rainfall to bring these values back to more normal levels.
This is unlikely to happen in the near future as high pressure looks as if it will start to build in again over the coming days.
