We are getting a small taste of last year’s weather in Donegal at the minute. Maybe not quite as good, but dry and mild and all very welcome.

Grass is growing very well and hopefully I will soon have some aftergrass back in the rotation, which will ease the pressure even more.

I have stopped spreading fertiliser momentarily. As of my last measurement, PastureBase tells me I have 16 days grass ahead of me, without counting my aftergrass.

My growth figure was 83kg DM/ha, but I would expect it to be higher on the next measurement.

I should have plenty of ground closed for second cut, all of which will have to be baled, as my pit is more or less full.

I do not want to be in the position where I have to take out excess bales, unless I need to improve sward quality. Thankfully, all is good at the minute!

Mercosur

Unfortunately, on the more political side of the spectrum, the opposite seems to be true.

The threat of Brexit still hangs over us and there is a real likelihood that Boris is going to be the new sheriff in town, so a no deal would not surprise me.

Now to make matters worse, the Mercosur trade deal has finally been agreed. Where does this leave the Irish farmer?

The IFA is calling the deal a “sellout” of Irish farmers and a bad deal for Ireland and the environment.

Beef Plan wants farmers to march on Leinster House. Phil Hogan said that he was satisfied a balanced Mercosur had been achieved.

The fact that he followed this up by saying “there will be both opportunities and challenges for EU producers, they will have the time and support from the EU to make any necessary adjustments” does not fill one with confidence!

Of course, this trade agreement is only the beginning of a very long process and should be no threat to beef prices in the short to medium term.

Suckler cull

It is hard to justify a call for reduced suckler cow numbers in Ireland to reduce carbon emissions or increased tree planting across Europe, while on the other hand doing a deal with countries that are wiping out rainforest to increase beef farming.

I have been told that the quota over a five-year period will not have a huge effect over and above what is already coming in, assuming there are conditions in place not allowing this to be filled with high price cuts.

Meat industry Ireland has said that the additional volume of low-priced South American beef will be damaging.

Either way, we can be sure it will be used as an excuse for low beef prices, whether it’s to blame or not!

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