Teagasc has recently launched a survey to seek information on planting activities since the last harvest, and any plans to plant crops over the coming weeks.
The backdrop to the creation of the survey, was the challenging harvest conditions of 2023, and the equally demanding autumn planting season that followed.
This was not just a phenomenon that impacted Ireland – all of western Europe was affected in an equal manner.
The end result is a very distinct shortage of cereal seed, as farmers look towards the spring planting season of 2024.
Survey
If it is a case of allowing some land to remain fallow in 2024, this information should also be included within the survey-related information sent through to Teagasc by growers.
The end objective is to estimate the amount of spring seed that will be needed in 2024.
One very obvious release valve within all of this, is for growers to keep planting winter cereal varieties during the January/February period.
There are still sufficient seed stocks available, where these specific varieties are concerned.
Taking this approach is not as simple as it might initially seem, e.g., all plantings after January 1 will be deemed to be spring-cropping related, for the purposes of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).
This will have immediate applications for the two and three-crop-rules. It may also restrict the amount of fertiliser that can be applied to what are ‘bona fide’ winter barley and wheat varieties.
The obvious way around all of this is for the farm minister, Charlie McConalogue, to step in and allow a number of relevant good agricultural and environmental condition (GAEC) exemptions within the tillage sector for 2024.
‘Force majeure’ is a widely accepted and understood principle within the European Union – after all, unforeseen circumstances can arise any time.
However, all of this will count for nothing if the weather does not improve. More heavy rain is forecast in the run-up to the New Year.
It will be, at least, the middle of January before tillage farmers could even consider getting on with field work of any kind.