Winter barley yields have been extremely variable this year, in part due to Barley Yellow Dwarf Virus (BYDV) which hit many crops around the country, chairman of the Irish Grain Growers’ Group (IGGG) Bobby Miller has said.

Speaking about harvest 2022 on the latest Farmland programme, Miller said some winter barley yields have been strong, while others have been quite weak. However, the overall outcome will become clearer in the coming weeks.

“I’m guessing that yields will be back on winter barley compared to last year. It’ll probably be nearer to the five-year average,” he told Agriland.

While a number of diseases hit the crops throughout the year, including take-all, BYDV was the main one that affected yields in many locations, Bobby added.

The virus, which is transmitted by aphids and their offspring, was noted as a concern early in the year by tillage experts. A number of smaller farmers who cut back on their fertiliser use have been hit harder than others.

Miller outlined that fighting diseases such as BYDV is becoming more difficult, as the number of preventative and treatment products available to tillage farmers “are dwindling year-on-year”.

He said:

“We’ve lost a lot of chemical products over the years, we’ve lost chlorothalonil and seed dressing.

“We have to reach EU targets as well, so there are a lot of challenges ahead for the tillage industry.”

According to Miller, harvests began earlier this year due to the warm weather, which was helpful for winter barley. He recalled the relatively dry growing season, which was on the cusp of becoming a drought for tillage farmers.

“Thankfully the rain came at the right time to save the year in that regard,” he said.

The harvesting of winter oats and oilseed rape were also brought forward by the weather. Looking at these crops, Miller said that although it is still early days, the yields look positive so far.

“Yields look promising from what I’ve heard so far. Mixed reports on oilseed rape; I’d be guessing that they look good but it’s very early stages to make a call on that,” he said.

“You really don’t know until you know. You’re gambling all the time from the start of the year right until the time when you harvest the crop,” he finished.

You can watch the full interview with Bobby Miller on Farmland by clicking here.