High pressure building, even at the beginning of November, adds up to a very good news story for Irish farming.

Dry weather can be expected for all of the coming week and possibly beyond.

Meanwhile, grass continues to grow while conditions underfoot for cattle are starting to improve again.

This means that livestock farmers can look forward to animal growth rates being maintained while stock continue to graze over the coming weeks.

The even better news is that the winter of 2026/2027 may well be shortened on those farms struggling with silage stocks at the present time.

One very tangible benefit resulting from the drought of 2026 has been the fact that land remains very dry.

Much needed rain has fallen over recent weeks. But not to the extent that ground conditions have deteriorated.

In fact, the very opposite has been the case. The lush grass growth of late has meant that swards can cope with even the heaviest cattle with ease.

So are we now seeing the extended grazing opportunities that many scientists had predicted would be a direct consequence of climate change impacting in Ireland? Let’s hope so.

Tillage

The current spell of good weather is also good news for tillage farmers.

With ground conditions on the up, growers will be able to plant winter cereals, after crops of potatoes, maize and beet have been harvested.

However, the one downside to the high air temperatures of late is the accompanying encouragement in aphid numbers and their ability to infect winter cereals with Barley Yellow Dwarf Virus (BYDV) disease.

But countering this threat, to some extent, is the growing avail ability of winter barley varieties with a degree of BYDV tolerance.

And, of course, looking down the road that little bit further comes the promise of genuine BYDY resistance across all cereal varieties.

Changing weather

Autumn was once described as the season of mellow fruitlessness.

Up to this point, the months of September and October 2026 have truly delivered in this regard.

Agriculture remains the one profession that is truly dependent on the weather throughout the year.

There is now little doubt that our weather is changing. More extremes of heat, cold, rain and snow can be expected.

But there will always be that underlying assumption that Mother Nature will always strive to deliver a level playing field for those of us who are prepared to work with her.

And, let’s be honest, farmers deserve a fair ‘roll of the dice’ now and then.