Less than 50% of Irish winter barley crop harvested

Cereal grower James English & his son Jimmy, Ballylooby, Cahir, Co Tipperary, made a start harvesting Armadillo six-row winter barley at the end of June. The crop yielded 3.5 tonnes per acre at 19% moisture & bushelled 65kph. Picture: O'Gorman Photography.

Over 50% of winter barley yet to be harvested Over 50% of winter barley yet to be harvested Unseasonably wet weather over recent weeks has posed challenges to tillage farmers trying to complete the harvesting of winter barley crops.

Speaking at the latest National Fodder and Feed Security Committee meeting, Teagasc's head of Crops Knowledge Transfer Michael Hennessey added that less than 20% of the resulting straw crop had been baled.

Yields for winter barley crops harvested range from 7.5t/ha to 11t/ha, but some low-yield crops have been saved.

“At the very best, 50% of winter barley crops have been harvested. However, there is a huge amount of variation out there, and some areas like the north-east, only have 30-35% of the winter barley harvest completed. 

"We are also seeing quite a bit of variation in terms of yields, but overall – for what’s been harvested – they are reasonable,” he said.

Presenting preliminary Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine BPS figures, Mr Hennessey noted that the area under winter barley crops has declined by 20.4% when compared to 2022, standing at approximately 53,100ha. This decline is largely due to challenging planting conditions last autumn and a move back by some growers to spring barley.

Teagasc had previously estimated that the average yield for winter barley would be 9.2t/ha. 

However, this will depend on how successfully these crops are harvested over the coming days and weeks. In many cases, he noted, winter barley crops have been ripe for two weeks now; some crops have lodged, others are brackling, while seed heads are beginning to break off in others. To save these crops, especially before sprouting becomes an issue, harvesting at higher moisture contents should be considered.

“Winter barley will be the priority. We have a window of two days for those really ripe crops before rain comes back on Friday. Harvesting these crops at lower moisture should be considered. 

"No farmer likes harvesting higher moisture crops, but we are in a critical window now with ripe crops deteriorating day-by-day and, because of the weather conditions, some merchants have moved the specs for these premium crops,” Mr Hennessey said.

Another crop ripe for harvesting is winter oats, he noted, and less than 10% of these crops – covering approximately 10,100ha in total - have been saved to date. 

Early harvest indications suggest yields of 7.5-8.5t/ha, but like winter barley, challenges exist with completing this harvest. Although the grain will dry quickly, he expects the straw from this crop to be very wet, thus posing challenges with getting it dry enough to bale.

Along with these two winter cereal crops, Mr Hennessey noted that early-sown spring barley crops and winter oilseed rape crops are ready for harvest.

He said: “We need kind weather to harvest winter oilseed rape at reasonable moisture levels. The area under this crop has increased by approximately 40% and growers are getting nervous, as it is not the most stable crop during difficult weather,” he said.