There is a range of decisions relating to spring crops that farmers must make over the coming days.
But a lot of this comes down to a balancing act, one that takes account of the final yields that can be achieved, relative to the input costs required to make this happen.
According to Teagasc tillage specialist, Shay Phelan, for a spring barley crop planted now with the potential to deliver final yield of around 2.5t/ac, growers would be looking at an overall budget of up to €600.
This also assumes that the crop is submitted for the straw chopping scheme.
But there is a fundamental bottom line within all of this – the management decisions taken with all late-sown spring crops must be spot on. There is no room for error.
Spring crops
Luck will also be a factor in securing the highest possible yields.
Teagasc agronomist Ciaran Collins is confirming that the big push to get spring barley crops into the ground has now been completed in the south of the country.
“This is particularly so in those parts of Cork and Wexford, where large acreages of spring barley are grown,” he said.
“But there is a bit of an east/west split developing. There would still be a lot of crop to be planted, west of Kinsale.”
According to Collins, there may still be about 25% of the 2023 spring barley crop to be planted out. Growers are still waiting for heavier ground to dry out.
Meanwhile, in the north east, last week’s heavy rain put a stop to most planting operations.
“Some crops were sown out prior to the wet weather returning,” Shay Phelan confirmed.
“But much of the rain that followed lay on the surface of the ground. This would give growers some concern regarding subsequent germination rates.
“However, growers in the north west did not get much rain at all last week. As a result, they were able to get on with a fair amount of drilling work.”
Planting plans
So will growers now facing further planting delays continue with their initial cropping plans? Or will they look at other options?
“For growers in the north east, it very much depends on the markets that they have locally,” Phelan continued.
“Their default position will be to try and get spring barley in. Failing that, they will have to look at other possibilities.
“Maize may well be an option, or possibly fodder beet. But I would still think that most farmers will try for spring barley, although it is getting very late for the drop at this stage of the year.”
Budget
Teagasc agronomists are strongly advising farmers to work through accurate budgets for crops going into the ground now.
According to Phelan, machinery costs are going to work into €200/ac.
“Fertiliser will probably come in at something similar,” he continued.
“Seed costs will be in the region of €60/ac. So all of this totals some €460/ac. Assuming a total crop budget of €600, this leaves the budget for herbicides and fungicides very tight indeed.”
Phelan has concluded that many farmers will just about break even with spring barley this year.
“But a longer term perspective must be taken on this issue,” he explained.
“Farmers will want to keep their land active as much as they possibly can. The alternative of leaving land fallow over the summer is not really an attractive one.”
Ciaran Collins agrees that tillage farms in the south of the county will still opt for spring barley, at least in the short-term.
“Forage is scarce on may livestock farms. No maize or beet of any consequence has been sown out yet,” he said.
“I sense that the commitment to the likes of beet and maize will remain the same in 2023 as would have been the case in previous years.
“The other factor coming into play here is the fact that both crop options represent a very significant requirement on the part of growers.”
Current Teagasc costings bring maize crops in at €2,200/ha. And this is without the use of plastic. If used, this would add another €600/ha to the cost.
“There are has been a general move towards the growing of maize in the open. In fact, Department of Agriculture [Food and the Marine] studies have been carried out on maize crops grown without plastic over recent years.
“But always with maize, a lot has to do with location. It requires an excellent site to grow crops of maize in Ireland without the use of plastic.
“Beet crops also entail a massive investment. In this case we are talking over €3,000/ha. And growers need a market for the end product.
“Growing crops like beet on spec is not an option. So for those reasons, I think that maize and beet will be very much as you are, relative to previous years.”
Collins has reviewed the actions that growers can take to give crops like spring barely the best possible start.
He pointed to the fact that nutrition is critical. In practical terms this means putting nitrogen (N), phosphorous (P) and potash (K) into the seed bed.
“At this stage, I think a strong case can be made for putting all of the crop N into the seed bed,” Collins stated on a recent Tillage Edge podcast.
“If we do run into a dry spell, having that N there is very valuable. Within this scenario, growers would not be worried about putting N on to dry ground, after the crop has emerged.
“Rolling would also be important in order to maintain moisture within the soil for the growing crop.”
According to Collins, N application rates should be matched to crop potential. So if spring barley crops are sown out into a poor field, we are talking about a final yield potential of around 6.5t/ha.
This equates to an N application rate of around 135kg/ha.
In the case of crops capable of delivering 7.5t/ha of grain, the N rate rises to 155kg.
“Growers should be careful with fertiliser N,” Collins added.
“Supplying enough to grow the crops is essential. But over supplying the nutrient makes no sense at all.”
The Teagasc representative also pointed to the need for farmers to increase spring barley seed rates at this stage.
“This reflects the fact that individual plants will have less time to tiller out,” he explained.
Assuming normal weather patterns for the month of May, late sown barley crops will go through their various growth sages very rapidly.
“We saw this in 2018 when spring sown crops were drilled in late April and early May,” Shay Phelan added.
“Really what it does is concertina in the growing season. As a result, lots of jobs will come on top of one another.”
According to Phelan, the threat of Barley Yellow Dwarf Virus (BYDV) will be very high in late sown spring barley crops this year.
“The use of an insecticide is strongly recommended in these high risk crops. But the question than arise of when is best to spray,” he said.
“But given the high growth rates these crops can achieve, the best option may be to combine an insecticide with a herbicide at slightly beyond the four-leaf stage.”