Much-needed rain 'will get potato, beet and maize crops back on track'
Approximately 15mm of much-needed rain has fallen in east Co. Cork over the past 24 hours, according to Teagasc tillage specialist, Ciaran Collins.
This follows a month of almost drought conditions impacting across the island of Ireland.
Soil moisture deficits of up to 60mm had been confirmed in parts of the east and south-east.
Collins said: “The rain was badly needed: it will help to get crops of potatoes, beet and maize back on track. The weather for the week ahead is mixed.
“Boosting soil moisture levels will also encourage tillage farmers to drill cover crops over the coming days.
“A lot of land has been cleared of straw over recent weeks. But soil moisture levels were just too low to allow any meaningful planting work take place.”
Met Éireann is forecasting spells of heavy rain to impact the north and north-east of the country over the coming couple of days.
It will be fresher with a good deal of dry weather on Thursday and probably for many on Friday too, with just a scattering of showers.
The weekend will be more unsettled for a time, with rain Friday night and Saturday, followed by a brighter day on Sunday with sunshine and a scattering of showers.
Dodging the rain showers may well slow down the pace of the 2026 cereal harvest.
Collins added: “It will also increase growers’ costs to a certain extent as they will have no option but to turn straw prior to baling.
“The grain harvest is approximately 75% complete at this stage. Spring barley remains the largest grain crop grown in Ireland.”
Harvest 2026
Meanwhile, harvest 2026 is almost wrapped up in the UK, spurred on by the continuing hot and dry conditions.
“But the shorter growing season for these harvested crops has come at a significant cost," Collins explained.
"In some cases, yields are down by approximately 20-30% relative to a 10-year average figure,"
In Europe, the prospect for spring grain crops is equally challenging.
France is a key producer of grain maize. However, drought conditions are reducing the yield potential of 2026 crops on a daily basis.
While some thundershowers are forecast to impact on western Europe over the coming days, the prospects of real rain impacting on key maize and grain growing regions further to the east remains remote.
