If growers were looking for the odd omen or two pointing to a good 2026/2027 tillage year, then they have found them.

Ground conditions have held up well over recent weeks, creating the perfect planting conditions for all winter cereals.

Moreover, farmers have been able to get on with the all-important job of securing early weed control in these crops.

Other positive factors are also coming into play. There is now every prospect that significant acreages of winter wheat will be planted-out in excellent conditions, directly following the harvest of potatoes and fodder beet.

Meanwhile, growers of oilseed rape are confirming that crops planted out back in August are looking very well at the present time.

All of this sets up growers to be able to plan a spring management campaign from a position of relative confidence, knowing the hard work put in now should leave crops in a strong position coming out of the 2026/2027 winter.

After that, it’s all up to the weather that comes our way during the spring and summer months of next year.

Yield

It goes without saying that tillage farmers deserve a decent growing year, following the travails of 2025/2026.

Yes, this year’s drought created myriad challenges for Irish tillage farmers. But this is no reason why should consider themselves as hostages to fortune as they look to the future.

And it is very much a case of learning from history.

The key take-home message from the 2026 harvest is the simple fact that yield is the single most important determinant of profitability within all grain production systems.

And this is a factor that growers have control over.

Not every year will deliver the extremes of weather as was the case in 2025/2026.

So it is pertinent to address those other issues that can determine crop performance.

One of these is the fact that winter barley will perform tremendously well if it is planted out as a first cereal after a break crop.

It’s all about addressing the take-all challenge within a tillage system, which can build-up if the right rotation is not followed.

And here again, good news abounds. Winter oilseed rape is an extremely effective break crop. And the same can be said for spring beans.

What’s more, both planting options represent the most potentially lucrative cropping options available to Irish tillage farmers at the present time.

So, yes, the 2026/2027 cropping year has gotten off to the best possible start.