Teagasc’s head of Crop Knowledge Transfer, Michael Hennessy, has confirmed that spring planting conditions have improved dramatically over recent days.
Speaking on the latest episode of the AgriFocus podcast on Agriland, the Teagasc representative, said water levels in fields are dropping significantly: “With a week or so of good weather coming our way, the need for growers to show that little bit of patience and waiting for a couple of extra days before going on to land, has never been more relevant.
“It’s important to get the conditions at planting as good as possible, even at this stage of the year when drilling dates are that little bit later than usual.
“The old adage to the effect that ‘a crop which is well-sown is half-grown’ has never been more relevant.”
Hennessy admitted that on farms with limited resources and a significant area of ground to plant out, the temptation for growers to push on ahead with the work as soon as possible is immense.
“But, it’s critically important that sowing conditions for crops such as spring barley are right,” he added.
“Tillage farmers are living on fine margins when it comes to getting overall yields right, while also securing a return from the crops they are growing,” he said.
Ploughing
Up to the end of last week, it is estimated less than 10% of the envisaged spring planting area has been drilled.
Hennessy continued: “Growers are really only getting going at this stage. One of the biggest factors kicking in has been the lack of ploughing completed up to this point. This is a direct consequence of ground being too wet.”
“The reality is, that ploughing is a relatively slow process. Most tillage farmers in Ireland still use the plough as an integral part of their cultivation practices.
“Given the fact that soils have been so wet for so long, there is a temptation to increase further the amount of ploughing work undertaken this year.
“But, again, even for ploughing, patience is required. The basic starting point is going into fields when soils have adequately dried out,” Hennessy explained.
He added that going onto land and “simply turning over soil that is still shiny underneath, is doing more harm than good”, and that it is a case of “picking filed that are ready to go and moving through the rest of the farm on that basis”.
Spring cropping options
The Teagasc representative discussed the various cropping options now available to tillage farmers.
“Spring wheat is on the edge of being very late. Crops drilled now will, in all probability, be harvested in September. The relatively late planting date will also bring with it a yield penalty,” he continued.
“However, the use of spring wheat for wholecrop is an option that many tillage farmers may wish to look at.
“Spring oats can be tricky enough as well at this time of the year. Yes, crops can be sown at this stage, but growers would be strongly advised to secure a premium market for these crops in order to maximise their total value.”
Beans represent the final crop option, which is now well beyond its traditional spring planting date, but “beans come with the added incentive of the protein aid payment”, Hennessy explained.
“The support measures for beans will kick-in to make crop margins positive, even when yields are well below par.
“However, the other issue to be considered is the fact that beans represent a good entry point for a winter wheat crop next year,” he added.
Spring barley
The Teagasc expert stressed the need for tillage farmers to look forward in terms of the crop rotations they develop for the future.
“Growing spring barley on a continuous basis is not a sustainable option,” Hennessy added.
“It’s not too late to get spring barley into the ground. If we get a decent growing season from here on in, the potential for spring barley crops to deliver well is significant.
“The last thing that growers need, is a summer drought, similar to that experienced back in 2018,” he stressed.
Turning to the issues of crop margins, the tillage specialist indicated that premium crops, such as malting barley and contract oats, will deliver sustainable returns for growers – even in years when yields are compromised.
“Malting barley yielding 2.5t/ac can still generate a margin of €400/ac,” he told Agriland.
“Admittedly, fixed costs and land rentals will have to come out of this figure. However, where spring feed barley is concerned, farmers will quickly find themselves in a break even position at best, once planting dates start heading for the beginning of May,” Hennessy said.
It is universally recognised that abandoning ground is not a sustainable option for tillage farming.
The last 10 years have seen more extremes of weather impacting on Ireland’s tillage sector.
Hennessy continued: “There is evidence that wetter and drier spells are impacting on growing conditions for that little bit longer than would have previously been the case.
“It’s anyone’s guess as to whether this will be a longer-term trend in our general weather conditions, but the reality is that we are an island perched on the edge of the Atlantic Ocean.
“There is evidence to conform that our seas are warming. Basic physics tells us that the air lying on top of these water masses have a greater capacity to hold water.
“So, there is the potential for more rain to fall on Ireland. But, who knows how all of this will turn out in reality?” he concluded.
You can listen to the full interview with Michael Hennessy on the AgriFocus podcast by clicking here.