New Ross,
Co Wexford
“We probably won’t see the likes of this year again for barley yields,” explains Vivion when reflecting on 2019.
“Every acre of spring barley performed. I averaged 3.83t/ac on all of our spring barley, well above the normal 3t/ac.”
Despite a wet April, the weather was very favourable to his crops for most of the 2019 cropping season.
The beginning of the 2020 cropping season is a different story
Great sowing conditions, low disease pressure and the right amount of rainfall contributed to high yields.
His cereal harvest also went relatively smoothly so 2019 will be remembered as a good cropping year, Vivion says.
The beginning of the 2020 cropping season is a different story, he remarks. Continuous poor weather meant Vivion has not been able to sow any winter cereals.
His potato harvest is still ongoing but despite very poor ground conditions, quality and yields are still reasonable.
High: A high point for Vivion was going for an extra trailer in the field due to very good spring barley yields.
Low: The seemingly never-ending potato harvest.
Chris making short work of his fodder beet.
Eyrecourt,
Co Galway
“We had a great winter, an OK spring and a good summer for growth,” says Chris. “But the weather broke during the harvest and hasn’t settled since.”
All of Chris’s field work in early spring was completed in great conditions and winter crops were quite advanced.
A wet March meant some of his spring cereals and fodder beet were sown later than planned.
It was a stop-start harvest but good yields made the frustration worth it
“Broken weather and broken machines describes my harvest,” says Chris when recalling his challenging harvest.
“It was a stop-start harvest but good yields made the frustration worth it. His spring barley crops were particularly badly lodged but still averaged 3t/ac.
He was able to sow around 60% of his planned winter cereal area and established crops are in reasonable condition, despite very poor weather.
High: A big high for Chris this year was the birth of his daughter on 27 May.
Low: A combine breakdown during one of the only settled weekends of the harvest was a low point for him. Harvesting grain at high moistures caused the breakdown.
Paul making the most of the weather to apply a cereal fungicide.
Ballybrittas,
Co Laois
A great autumn in 2018 and virtually no winter meant crops were in fantastic condition entering the spring, says Paul. All crop husbandry was completed on time and in great conditions, he remarks.
Our early winter barley crops disappointed
By March, ground was becoming very dry and trace element deficiencies as well as BYDV were becoming evident in crops. April’s rain was welcome, but a few frosty nights in May were not.
“Our early winter barley crops disappointed. It could’ve been a combination of either BYDV, frost damage or take-all,” Paul explains. His winter barley averaged 3.5t/ac, well short of his expectations.
His winter wheat harvest was a challenge due to broken weather.
The weather really broke in September, however, with very few opportunities for sowing. He was only able to sow around two-thirds of his planned winter crop area.
High: Getting through the entire 2019 harvest without any problems with his 11-year-old combine.
Low: The frustration of this autumn’s sowing season and seeing a number of bare patches appear in sown fields.
John's maize developed well during the year.
Croom,
Co Limerick
“The 2019 growing year was actually quite good until we got to the stage of having to harvest our crops,” John says.
Conditions at the start of the year were exceptional, so much so that he was able to apply slurry on to a growing cereal crop for the first time ever.
We actually had some crops which were affected by drought
Crop conditions were very good, and John thought they had high yield potential. However, once the harvest began, yields didn’t live up to expectations.
“We actually had some crops which were affected by drought,” he says. The weather also broke during harvest and hasn’t settled since.
He was able to sow around 50% of his planned winter cereal area and questions the condition of around 30% of those crops.
High: John’s high point of the year was being able to apply slurry on to a growing cereal in spring for the first time.
Low: A low point of his was having to sow in late November to use up his remaining dressed seed. It’s questionable if the crop will survive.
Simon tackling steep ground when sowing spring oats earlier in the year.
Poyntzpass,
Co Down
“I think 2019 was a reasonable year overall. We had great growing conditions over the spring which helped achieve good yields,” says Simon.
The spring was mild and dry in Co Down, and rainfall in May and June helped drive crops on. The wet weather really caught up with Simon though during harvest.
Lodged winter oats did slow harvest progress considerably
His winter wheat and spring oats were the real performers this year as yields were exceptional. Lodged winter oats did slow harvest progress considerably, however.
Despite heavy rain at times, Simon was able to sow all of his planned winter crop area. He credits being able to plough and one-pass crops, steadily making progress despite the difficult weather.
High: The performance of his winter wheat and spring oat crops. This showed the real yield potential of crops when the season goes well for them.
Low: The removal of long-established environmental habitats due to substantial cuts in environmental funding.
Donal lending a helping hand with his digger during his maize harvest.
Delvin,
Co Westmeath
“It was both a good and bad year,” says Donal when recalling 2019, which was a year of two halves for him.
Crops got off to a fantastic start in the autumn of 2018 and that’s what made the difference in yield this year, he explains.
Despite a few wet weeks in April, his spring crops were sown in good conditions.
I had a lot of repair opportunities in the autumn due to lots of wet days
It was a good growing year and yields were reasonable, especially for spring barley, which performed particularly well for him.
The harvest was a challenge, as was clearing straw and sowing cover crops. “I had a lot of repair opportunities in the autumn due to lots of wet days,” jokes Donal.
When conditions did settle, he was able to sow most of his planned area.
High: the superb weather for crop establishment in 2018 was a highlight of Donal’s cropping year.
Low: A drop in grain price of 30% was a low point for him. He explains that even if he yielded another tonne/acre, margins still wouldn’t beat 2018 for him.
Read more
Irish cereal harvest is up by 20%
ITLUS looks ahead with ‘Visions for the Future’
New Ross,
Co Wexford
“We probably won’t see the likes of this year again for barley yields,” explains Vivion when reflecting on 2019.
“Every acre of spring barley performed. I averaged 3.83t/ac on all of our spring barley, well above the normal 3t/ac.”
Despite a wet April, the weather was very favourable to his crops for most of the 2019 cropping season.
The beginning of the 2020 cropping season is a different story
Great sowing conditions, low disease pressure and the right amount of rainfall contributed to high yields.
His cereal harvest also went relatively smoothly so 2019 will be remembered as a good cropping year, Vivion says.
The beginning of the 2020 cropping season is a different story, he remarks. Continuous poor weather meant Vivion has not been able to sow any winter cereals.
His potato harvest is still ongoing but despite very poor ground conditions, quality and yields are still reasonable.
High: A high point for Vivion was going for an extra trailer in the field due to very good spring barley yields.
Low: The seemingly never-ending potato harvest.
Chris making short work of his fodder beet.
Eyrecourt,
Co Galway
“We had a great winter, an OK spring and a good summer for growth,” says Chris. “But the weather broke during the harvest and hasn’t settled since.”
All of Chris’s field work in early spring was completed in great conditions and winter crops were quite advanced.
A wet March meant some of his spring cereals and fodder beet were sown later than planned.
It was a stop-start harvest but good yields made the frustration worth it
“Broken weather and broken machines describes my harvest,” says Chris when recalling his challenging harvest.
“It was a stop-start harvest but good yields made the frustration worth it. His spring barley crops were particularly badly lodged but still averaged 3t/ac.
He was able to sow around 60% of his planned winter cereal area and established crops are in reasonable condition, despite very poor weather.
High: A big high for Chris this year was the birth of his daughter on 27 May.
Low: A combine breakdown during one of the only settled weekends of the harvest was a low point for him. Harvesting grain at high moistures caused the breakdown.
Paul making the most of the weather to apply a cereal fungicide.
Ballybrittas,
Co Laois
A great autumn in 2018 and virtually no winter meant crops were in fantastic condition entering the spring, says Paul. All crop husbandry was completed on time and in great conditions, he remarks.
Our early winter barley crops disappointed
By March, ground was becoming very dry and trace element deficiencies as well as BYDV were becoming evident in crops. April’s rain was welcome, but a few frosty nights in May were not.
“Our early winter barley crops disappointed. It could’ve been a combination of either BYDV, frost damage or take-all,” Paul explains. His winter barley averaged 3.5t/ac, well short of his expectations.
His winter wheat harvest was a challenge due to broken weather.
The weather really broke in September, however, with very few opportunities for sowing. He was only able to sow around two-thirds of his planned winter crop area.
High: Getting through the entire 2019 harvest without any problems with his 11-year-old combine.
Low: The frustration of this autumn’s sowing season and seeing a number of bare patches appear in sown fields.
John's maize developed well during the year.
Croom,
Co Limerick
“The 2019 growing year was actually quite good until we got to the stage of having to harvest our crops,” John says.
Conditions at the start of the year were exceptional, so much so that he was able to apply slurry on to a growing cereal crop for the first time ever.
We actually had some crops which were affected by drought
Crop conditions were very good, and John thought they had high yield potential. However, once the harvest began, yields didn’t live up to expectations.
“We actually had some crops which were affected by drought,” he says. The weather also broke during harvest and hasn’t settled since.
He was able to sow around 50% of his planned winter cereal area and questions the condition of around 30% of those crops.
High: John’s high point of the year was being able to apply slurry on to a growing cereal in spring for the first time.
Low: A low point of his was having to sow in late November to use up his remaining dressed seed. It’s questionable if the crop will survive.
Simon tackling steep ground when sowing spring oats earlier in the year.
Poyntzpass,
Co Down
“I think 2019 was a reasonable year overall. We had great growing conditions over the spring which helped achieve good yields,” says Simon.
The spring was mild and dry in Co Down, and rainfall in May and June helped drive crops on. The wet weather really caught up with Simon though during harvest.
Lodged winter oats did slow harvest progress considerably
His winter wheat and spring oats were the real performers this year as yields were exceptional. Lodged winter oats did slow harvest progress considerably, however.
Despite heavy rain at times, Simon was able to sow all of his planned winter crop area. He credits being able to plough and one-pass crops, steadily making progress despite the difficult weather.
High: The performance of his winter wheat and spring oat crops. This showed the real yield potential of crops when the season goes well for them.
Low: The removal of long-established environmental habitats due to substantial cuts in environmental funding.
Donal lending a helping hand with his digger during his maize harvest.
Delvin,
Co Westmeath
“It was both a good and bad year,” says Donal when recalling 2019, which was a year of two halves for him.
Crops got off to a fantastic start in the autumn of 2018 and that’s what made the difference in yield this year, he explains.
Despite a few wet weeks in April, his spring crops were sown in good conditions.
I had a lot of repair opportunities in the autumn due to lots of wet days
It was a good growing year and yields were reasonable, especially for spring barley, which performed particularly well for him.
The harvest was a challenge, as was clearing straw and sowing cover crops. “I had a lot of repair opportunities in the autumn due to lots of wet days,” jokes Donal.
When conditions did settle, he was able to sow most of his planned area.
High: the superb weather for crop establishment in 2018 was a highlight of Donal’s cropping year.
Low: A drop in grain price of 30% was a low point for him. He explains that even if he yielded another tonne/acre, margins still wouldn’t beat 2018 for him.
Read more
Irish cereal harvest is up by 20%
ITLUS looks ahead with ‘Visions for the Future’
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