Good weather has driven positive seed harvest yields this year

The certified seed harvest for 2014 has been very positive, with favourable weather driving higher than normal yields combined with good quality grain, according to seed assembler Goldcrop.

Donal Fitzgerald, general manager of Goldcrop’s arable seeds division, said they are pleased their growers “got a positive outcome on their crops which have been carefully managed during the growing season”.

“We did of course have to deal with the usual hygiene issues in the field to ensure that all our crops are 100% free of wild oats, brome, canary grass, etc. And our seed growers have worked hard in association with Goldcrop staff and the Department of Agriculture seed inspectors to deliver a top quality crop for process-ing in the coming months.”

Mr Fitzgerald said Irish growers should place more value on Irish-certified seed given the strict standards that are in place. i

“We are fortunate in Ireland not to have any blackgrass in our seed production fields, which is unlike the situation in the UK and many parts of Europe where the weed is widespread,” he said.

“From that point of view, we can be 100% sure that our blue label seed grown in Ireland is free from blackgrass which has to be a key selling point when compared with potentially cheaper imported seed.”

Mr Fitzgerald predicted that the acreage of cereals will hold up reasonably well this autumn, despite pressure from the expanding dairy sector.

He is confident the seed varieties which have been fully tested in Irish trials and are available to growers this year will deliver the best results on-farm.

“Varieties such as Cassia winter barley and Avatar and Lumos winter wheat have proven to be outstanding once again in Harvest 2014. We are also delighted to be offering our new winter barley variety Tower this autumn which will lift yields further along with offering improved disease resistance to help lower production costs,” he said.