Over 80% of spring cereal and bean crops are now sown. Reports from growers around the country suggest a surge in drilling in most areas over the past two weeks due to a settled spell of weather.

Due to the poor back-end and a 50% reduction in sown area, upwards of 180,000ha of spring cereals was expected to be sown this season.

Many growers have now completed their spring sowing campaigns, with just a small number interruptions due to rain.

Cereal seed supply has not been an issue, with just a number of growers reporting that spring bean seed was tight. Many growers managed to sow their planned bean area.

With that said, while many growers have completed or are nearing completion of spring drilling, sowing progress has been staggered, depending on the region.

Broken weather

Northern counties such as Donegal, Derry and Antrim have just started drilling this week and progress ranges from 10% to 40% complete in places. The northern region has experienced wetter conditions over the past few weeks when compared with southern counties.

Wet land in parts of the northeast have been slow to dry, with some growers there just past 60% through with sowing. This is a similar story in the west of the country.

Delays in clearing beet fields have also held some growers up from finishing sowing. However, reports suggest that much of the remaining area to be sown will be finished by the weekend.

Concerns

A common theme among most tillage farmers is the concern about the impact of the coronavirus on the agricultural sector and how this will impact the demand for their products.

This uncertainty contributed to the decision by some growers to reduce their spring cereal area this season, instead opting for fallow. However, this area is relatively small.

Elsewhere, beet and maize crops are being planted in places this week. However, some growers have opted to reduce their planned area this year due to expected lower demand later in the year.