Tillage
The IFA has welcomed Dairygold's announcement of grain prices today and stated that the prices show strong support for tillage farmers.
Dairygold has become the first of the co-ops to announce harvest grain prices for 2020 today (October 14).
As is usual, there is variation in straw prices across the country and prices are keenest in the south-east. Many farmers are happy to store.
Just small amounts of the harvest in Great Britain remained to be cut as of September 22. Spring barley yields look to be the positive story of the year.
Rural Life
An eight-hour drive south-east from Perth lies a town called Esperance, in Western Australia, where two west Cork men will work on a farm.
Would you consider wearing a face mask for nearly 30 hours - all to work on the 2020 harvest in Western Australia?
As the harvest drags on for many straw is becoming difficult to save. There is a lot of work involved in turning what is left on the ground.
As the harvest continues to be delayed, there looks to be drier weather coming towards the weekend.
The good weather seen over the last weekend has seen farmers rushing out into the fields to begin the harvest cut.
The period of unsettled weather over the last two weeks has left farmers struggling with difficult working conditions for the harvest period.
It might have taken a whole lot of paperwork along with a police escort - but, to this agricultural technician, it was deemed worth it.
Covid-19 remains a threat in our everyday lives and farmers are not exempt from this. As harvest continues farmers need to stay safe.
Tim Cullinan has said an immediate assessment of the damage this harvest is needed from the Department of Agriculture.
The IGGG has said there "is a growing sense of frustration and despair" among tillage farmers as poor weather continues to delay the harvest.
Some combines managed to get out to fields on Sunday and while conditions were far from ideal there was some drying to take advantage of.
As the broken weather makes for difficult working conditions straw is proving hard to gather - as are prices.
Storm Ellen was not welcomed by anyone and certainly wasn't welcome at harvest time on tillage farms.
Jeremy Clarkson is new to farming. He is most famously known for Top Gear and is also the host of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?
A storm is not what tillage farmers want to hear when they listen to the weather forecast at harvest time.
Heavy rain hit the UK this week and flooded fields amidst what is a difficult harvest - similar to Ireland.
There isn't a high-yielding straw crop on many fields and once that straw is removed a stale seedbed can be created.
Winter wheat and spring barley were the main order of business this week. Crops of winter oilseed rape and oats were cut in small amounts.
The president of the IFA visited tillage farmers in Co. Carlow today and called on grain merchants to pay sustainable prices this harvest.
