A review of the 2023 harvest so far by Teagasc tillage specialists has revealed a mixed bag.
Teagasc’s Michael Hennessy and Ciaran Collins used the opportunity of the most recent Tillage Edge podcast to review the out workings of 2023 harvest up to this point.
And it really is a good news / bad news story. Firstly, the weather has been extremely challenging over recent weeks; last month has been the wettest July on record.
Given these challenges, growers are being encouraged to get grain in store as a matter of priority. After that it will be a case of thinking about the straw left in the field, some of which has now been lying for up to four weeks.
But it’s how the vagaries of the weather throughout the 2022/2023 growing season has played out across the different crops that makes for the most interesting conclusions.
2023 harvest
It now looks certain that spring barley sown out in February will be the most successful grain enterprise recorded in Ireland this year.
A number of these crops have already been harvested. Yields, for the most part, have exceeded 3t/ac. Moreover, accompanying protein levels have been exceptionally low, making these grains very suited for distilling purposes.
In total contrast, barley crops sown out later in April and early May have extremely low yield potential. And, in addition, protein levels will be high.
Adding to the challenge facing growers with these crops is the presence of secondary growth and green grains.
Both of these traits will automatically rule out barley for the purposes of both brewing and distilling.
For those farmers wanting to maximise the value of their crops, Ciaran Collins advises the option of combining those parts of fields showing no signs of these issues separately.
“That’s if this option is a practical runner,” he added.
“In many cases, this may not be possible. Growers cannot use glyphosate on crops destined for distilling or seed production.”
Turning to winter oilseed rape (OSR), Collins confirmed that the advent of ‘pod shatter’ varieties is helping to ensure minimal losses in crops that have reached full maturity.
“But even here, seed will start falling from pods in the wake of heavy and continuous rain,” he explained.
Approximately 20,000ha of winter OSR were planted in Ireland last year. Collins points to yields averaging 1.6-1.7t/ac.
Last year, similar crops were hitting the 2t mark. There may have been some delays in the OSR harvest, caused by growers waiting for contractors with combines fitted with side knives.
“But two or three drying days should provide growers with the opportunity they need to get the rape harvest over the line,” Collins said.
“After that we can try to work out why yields have fallen back that little bit this year.”