The heavy rain at the weekend brought combines to a halt. The end of last week saw the harvest start in many parts of the country, including the midlands and north-east.
Many crops are at the stage that they need to be cut or they will begin to break down. Farmers will be keeping a keen eye on the weather forecast to avail of a suitable window of opportunity.
Straw prices
The harvest is really only getting going – weather permitting – and therefore it is hard to gauge precise straw prices, but general talk at present centres around €18-20 for a 4X4 bale of barley straw.
This is despite numerous apparent incidents of people trying to talk the price down. It was brought to AgriLand‘s attention over the weekend that there are some ‘bogus prices’ circulating.
In one incident, dare we say it, reported prices of €9/bale (4X4) for oaten, €10/bale for wheaten and €11/bale for barley last week might best be described as ‘fake news’.
One advertisement featuring such figures was removed after the ad in question – not surprisingly – fielded numerous phone-calls from farmers. The contact number (for the ad in question) had previously been used to sell items in counties Mayo and Roscommon.
Chopping straw
Elsewhere, AgriLand has talked to many farmers on its travels. In the past few weeks a number of tillage farmers have claimed that straw might be chopped if the price drops below €15/bale.
The farmers in question stated that it is simply too valuable to sell at a low price; any price below this threshold would warrant the product being incorporated back into the soil.
Prices will become clearer over the next few weeks; when it is on the move. Stay tuned to AgriLand for ongoing updates.