Drummonds’ agronomist, Brian Reilly, has confirmed that winter crop plantings in the north-east are down by approximately 50%, year-on-year.
“This figure does not tell the true story, of the crops now in the ground, 15% will have to be re-sown in January and February,” said Reilly.
Despite the prospect of a few dry days in the offing, Reilly is of the view that the 2023 planting season is over.
“At this time of the year, crows and slugs can cause serious damage within newly sown crops,” he explained.
“Ground conditions may improve over the coming days. However, I would strongly urge growers to speak to an agronomist before committing to planting any crops at the present time.”
According to Reilly, it is perfectly feasible to drill both winter barley and winter wheat crops during January and February.
“They will need a bit of fertiliser in the seed bed to push them on. If ground conditions permit, the opportunity to plant out these crops should be taken,” said Reilly.
The Drummonds’ agronomist is flagging up the fact that spring barley seed may well be imported into Ireland, to meet 2024 demand.
“The pressure to import seed will be reduced if growers can get crops of winter barley and wheat planted during the early weeks of next year.
“This will totally depend on the prevailing weather and ground conditions at that time.”
Eastern Europe has been identified as the region best placed to supply the additional spring barley seed that may be required by Irish growers next year.
It has been confirmed that the Irish Seed Trade Association will re-test all imported seed to ensure it is free of Blackgrass, canary grass, wild oat and brome contamination.
It is also the policy of the Irish government to adopt a zero-tolerance approach, where these matters are concerned.
Meanwhile, Drummonds will be hosting a farmer conference in January.
“The purpose of the event will be to review the progress made by crops over the previous months and to work through the best management options that can be implemented from that point onwards.
“We will also be reviewing the results of our own crops trials and discussing new variety options for 2024,” said Reilly.