Early harvest indications point to disappointing tillage yields
With up to 50% of winter barley crops harvested, yields are reported to be disappointing, reflecting the impact of the wet weather on tillage crops.
Teagasc chief tillage advisor Jim O’Mahony said winter barley crops harvested to date are yielding from 5-8 tonnes/hectare (2.0-3.2tonnes/acre), which is around 0.5 tonnes below yields achieved in 2001. He said the real barometer of the harvest will be the performance of winter wheat and spring barley crops, which account for the bulk of the tillage area.
Because of the exceptional sowing conditions last autumn, a record 90,000 hectares of winter wheat was sown by farmers.
A total of 165,000 hectares of spring barley was sown this year.
Mr O’Mahony said wet weather diseases, such as septoria in winter wheat and rhynchosporium in spring barley, are widespread at present. It is too late for farmers to apply chemicals to control these diseases.
He said: “While we must wait until these crops are harvested to get a definitive picture, it would appear that yields of both winter wheat and spring barley could be up to 1tonne/hectare (0.4tonne/acre) lower than last year.”
He said the 20,000-hectare oats crop looks promising and yields are expected to be similar to last year.
However, while maize crops have improved dramatically during the past two weeks, yields and quality are expected to be significantly lower than last year.
Agriculture Minister Joe Walsh yesterday announced former Glanbia chief executive Ned Sullivan had accepted his invitation to chair the Food Labelling Study Group, which he is in the process of setting up.
He said Mr Sullivan, who was the first chairman of Bord Bia, has widespread experience in the food and drinks industry with Baileys Cream and more recently with Glanbia.
