Tom Barry: How 2025’s dry season reshaped tillage outcomes

This year will live long in my memory as a very dry year, punctuated with occasional rainfall, writes North Cork tillage farmer Tom Barry

Tom Barry: The obvious disappointment and worry for all tillage farmers is the harvest price for our high-quality, traceable, low-carbon grain. Irish tillage farmers produce the best-quality grain and yet compete with the lowest-price grain that can be delivered by boat to our shores. Picture: Dan Linehan

As the days shorten, this is a great time to reflect and analyse the cropping year. This year will live long in my memory as a very dry year, punctuated with occasional rainfall. In our area, the contrast in yields between spring and winter crops was pronounced. 

I have never seen such consistently high yields in winter wheat and winter rye. This is in contrast with the moderate yields achieved by spring barley and late spring oats.