Apart from some late-planted crops of spring barley, the 2022 cereal harvest in Northern Ireland is nearing completion.
The promise of continuing dry weather should allow growers to get on with the work at hand without interruption.
Forecasts made earlier in the year would indicate that the area of combinable crops in Northern Ireland has increased year-on-year by approximately 10%.
Given the predominantly dry weather of recent weeks, it is assumed that most of these additional crops will be harvested as grain, rather than ensiled.
Cereal harvest
Early harvest results would indicate that oilseed rape has performed particularly well in 2022.
And with oilseed markets continuing to strengthen, there is a strong likelihood of the rape area increasing significantly during the year ahead.
Commenting on the current state of the harvest, a spokesperson for the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) said:
“Prolonged spells of good weather throughout July and August have allowed crops to be cut as they become ripe, with ample opportunities to get straw baled in good order.
“In the south and east, spring barley harvest is well advanced with only some later drilled crops on heavier land remaining to be cut along with spring sown oats, wheat and beans.
“There has been a similar picture in the north of the province and most winter cereal harvest has been completed.
“However, spring crop has only recently become ready, and will be harvested at the next available weather window which looks likely towards the end of this week given the current weather forecast.”
The DAERA representative added that generally, yields are around average or slightly below with winter barley appearing to be the poorest-performing crop so far this year, in some cases doing no better than spring barley on the same farm.
“Good spells of dry weather have meant a good deal of grain coming into store close to 15% giving a significant saving in drying costs,” the spokesperson continued.
According to DAERA, a combination of an earlier harvest, plus less time spent drying grain and chasing straw, has allowed arable growers to get on with other jobs.
These include the planting-out of oilseed rape or cover crops and the completion of drainage work.
The department spokesperson concluded: “Where grass weeds are a problem or straw has been chopped, there still is a chance to lightly cultivate stale seedbeds to encourage a flush of weeds and incorporate chopped straw.”